[the_old_crowd] Death and magic

[Amanda Geist]

Jo was thinking about death and its varieties in HP and came up with the
following observations

<which I snipped most of>

> If magical power holds the key to surviving death then Voldy must
> have been exceptionally powerful, uniquely powerful, unnaturally
> powerful. Where did he get that power from?\

This feeds in nicely to my private theory that Death Eaters are so named
because the share a magical bond with Voldemort that has everything to do
with why he did not die. I think they, as part of their bond to him, lent
him power and/or "took on" or "ate" part of Voldemort's death for him, so he
didn't have to do it.

This stems from a correspondence my husband saw, between the Death Eaters
and what they may have done for Voldemort, and the Welsh folk tradition of
Sin Eaters, who take on the sin of someone (usually someone dying), perform
the penance for them, so that the person will be free of the sin.

And, of course, I see it working in the other direction as well--if
Voldemort had ever truly died, all his Death Eaters would surely know it,
and that's why he's so pissed in the graveyard, because they *knew* he was
alive and didn't come to find him. Further, I think there's an excellent
chance the DEs are bound to Voldemort for life, and if he dies, they will
die as well. Which has always made Snape's choice to serve the good and seek
Voldemort's downfall, worth a little more substance to me.

~Amanda