"Voldemort" (Re: Dumbledore's Unspeakable Word)

[nkafkafi]

> David wrote:
> 
> >It's my belief that there *is* good reason to be careful about
> >saying 'Voldemort'.  <snip>
> >I suspect that in defined circumstances (which Dumbledore understands,
> >and knows do not apply most of the time) it is best not to say the
name, 
> >and wonder if Hermione is going to fall foul of this in the  coming
book.


> GulPlum AKA Richard:

> <snip> 
> A further question is, at what stage did the name become
"unmentionable"? 
> Tom Riddle changed his name for a reason. If nobody uses it, and his
own 
> followers call him the "Dark Lord" anyway, what was the point? What 
> happened to make people think that using the name might bring down 
> misfortune on themselves? Is it pure superstition or did, as David
implies, 
> something happen to somebody "unworthy" who used it?
> 

Neri:
You both seem to ignore the possibility that looks the most probable
to me: that saying the name *is* magical, but the magic works in the
opposite direction. That is, Voldemort becomes stronger when people
refer to him but avoid using his "proper name". When people use his
proper name Voldemort gets weaker. The fear of the name isn't a
superstition – it's a magical fear, and people can learn to conquer it
if they try hard enough, like resisting the Imperius curse. This
explains all the mysteries: why DD encourages people to always say the
name, how all wizards know the name yet fear it, why the DEs are the
most sensitive to it, etc. 

This would also fit perfectly with the Potterverse style of deep
magic: a corny psychological/moral issue becoming a cool magical
devise. I mean, look at that:

Loyalty to friends and cause --> Fidelius charm 
Gratitude for saving one's life --> Life debt
A mother's sacrifice for her son --> Ancient magic protection
Love (most likely) --> a mysterious power the Dark Lord knows not.
Sadism in the cause of evil --> Cruciatus curse
Brain washing and totalitarian discipline --> Imperius curse 
Fighting depression --> Patronus charm against dementors
Using humor against fear --> Ridikulus charm against a boggart
Rebelling against a terror regime --> ________  (fill in the blank) 


Regarding Richard's question at what stage did the name become
unmentionable: canon implies that it coincides with Voldemort's rising
to power. In the first chapter of SS/PS DD says "we had little to
celebrate for 11 years" and later "for 11 years I've been trying to
persuade people to call him by his proper name". So within a single
year Voldemort becomes powerful, all wizards learn his name but fear
mentioning it, yet DD doesn't see any reason to fear, and is trying to
convince everybody to say it. Now, what is the relation between
Voldy's power and not saying his name? Nudge nudge, wink wink, how
much more obvious can we get?

Neri