Hoax? (Re: That Bloody Man Again )

[pippin_999]

Jen:
He doesn't need to 'get' anyone else
because he assumes no one can touch him.


SSSusan:
This may be an incredibly naive & suracey reading on my 
part, but in addition tthe objections laid out by Jen, I can't
 quite figure out a way in which a cave-and-horcrux hoax 
would add to the story *at this point.* While I could
imagine Voldy being skilled enough to set it up, I can't 
quite imagine how this would move along a story which 
is heading into its final-of-seven-parts part.

<snip>

. Having the cave/locket scene turn out to be just a 
har-dee-har-har on Voldy's part would, imo, make Harry's 
ability to find & destroy all the hincapies still out there even 
MORE unbelievable.g.

Pippin:
Anyway you look at it, Jo's still got to explain how a fake horcrux
got swapped for the real one. Now suppose Voldemort was keeping 
the locket near him, as he now keeps Nagini. Let's suppose that RAB 
was Regulus,  just as clever and rash as Sirius (Sluggy wanted the
set). Unlike Sirius, he  remained on good terms with his family and 
had access to their library of information on the Dark Arts. 

Of course, Sirius said Reggie was an idiot, but Sirius did have
a woeful tendency to underestimate anyone he didn't like. 

Regulus realized what the locket was. Having decided
to defect, he stole the real locket, leaving the fake in its place. 
He took the real locket to GP, where he erased its distinguishing 
mark ("that'd come off," quoth Mundungus.) The spell that disguised 
the fake wore off quickly, and Voldie discovered the theft,
but Regulus was already dead and beyond questioning. Oops!

Voldie realized that if Regulus could discover his secret, 
someone else could too. So he decided to hide the fake horcrux as if
it were a real one. If anyone else ever seems to be hunting his
secrets, he will see that their quest leads them to the fake and a 
very nasty end. 

As for the real locket, I think Voldemort doesn't believe
that someone like Regulus could destroy it. The locket
has endured a thousand years, surely it has magic
enough to look after itself. If it's now concealed in a
stronghold of his enemies, so much the better. 

This leaves the real locket at GP for Harry to find, along with
Regulus's story. It makes Harry realize that though Dumbledore 
took great pains to conceal Harry's involvement in the hx hunt 
from anyone, he flaunted his withered hand, wore the ring openly, 
and even left it on display in his office. He openly hired Slughorn
and brought him to Hogwarts.

 Why? Would DD  want Voldemort to know he was hunting horcruxes? 

 Perhaps. In all those long years of searching, only two have
turned up, discovered by chance. Not a good record of success.
How is Dumbledore to find the others? 

But Voldemort is ruled by fear. If he thinks one of his preciouses
has been destroyed by intention, he will need to reassure himself
that the others are safe.

Voldemort wants there to be just six, remember. He can't just
make more, willy nilly.  Voldemort will have to check on his
horcruxes, and lead Dumbledore right to them. A clever plan,
but the cheese cauldron in this case is that Dumbledore assumes
that he is the first to discover Voldemort's secret. Not so.

Of course Voldemort would think that with Dumbledore dead, and his
secret known to no other, he can safely check on his real horcruxes, 
thus leading Harry right to them. Ah, yes. That moves the plot along
nicely.

Pippin