Why did Voldemort wait so long?

[Night_Seeker]

Why did he wait eleven years to go after the Sorcerer's Stone? Why did he wait until Harry went to Hogwarts? I always found that a bit contrived that Vaportmort makes a grab for the stone, the same year Harry starts his first year.

Also, why was the stone in Gringotts? Was it there for thosands of years? Why didn't Nicholas Flammel keep it in his house? How could he make Elixer for hundreds of years if the stone was locked away in gringotts?

How did DD know Quirell was gonna break into the gringotts? (he had Hagrid remove it the very same day, remember).

I'm re-reading PS/SS and these questions are bothering me.

Does anyone know?

[sllagnire]

I think it was a matter of when he could get the help to do it. Quirrel met Vapormort while he was studying Vampires in whatver country that was. Before then, Vapormort was exsisting on his own, without any help. Once he had Quirrel under his control, then he was able to go after getting some semblance of a body back. Before then, he simply had no way to do it.

[freelantzer]

Yes, I think Voldemort was too weak to take any action until a wizard stumbled into his path. Then he was able to use Quirrel to begin pursuing a way to come back. I think Dumbledore somehow knew that Voldemort was attempting to get the stone and that's why it was moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts. Don't know why it was in Gringotts in the first place. Maybe Flamel didn't want something that valuable lying around his home where anyone could steal it so he kept it in Gringotts the way we would keep valuables in a safe deposit box. Maybe he kept a store of the elixer and when it ran low, would go to Gringotts, get the stone, make more, and then return the stone.

[HanD]

I have always suspected that the stone was in Gringotts because there had been an earlir attempt to steal it from Flammel which failed (Quirrels plans throught book 1 were a bit feable). This in turn prompted Flammel to give it to his Freind Dumbledore to guard as it was already at the bank the easiest method of transfer was for Hagrid to collect it on Dumbledores behalf.

[Daelin]

I think it makes sense if you turn it around. Morty was blowin' in the wind for quite a while, and I suspect Dumbledore was keeping an eye out for him. Remember in HBP he told Harry that he could detect traces of magic, and knew the style of the wizards he'd taught, including Riddle.

For years Dumbledore sees and hears nothing about Voldemort, as Morty is finding out how hard the Jet Stream currents can screw up plans for World Domination when you don't have a body. Eventually, with his Death Eaters not bothering to look for him, and various activities not resulting in a body, Voldemort decides to go back to more familiar ground to see what he can do.

So Voldemort finds his way back to England, and Dumbledore notices him. Gee, what to do? Dumbledore did not know about the horcruxes at that time, so he had to guess at what was going on. Being made of vapor might keep Voldemort from being full-strength, but he was still the Dark Lord. So Dumbledore laid a trap: let Voldemort find a way to "live again", through the Sorceror's Stone. I think there was a trap in the Mirror of Erised for that, but for our purposes here, Voldmort spent years waiting for his Death Eaters to get off their butts and rebuild him, but they don't. Morty also, judging by his statement in the graveyard scene in GoF, is not sure about why he is still alive, and so he does not know for sure what step is the right one in getting back a body. Should he just possess a good-looking corpse? Should he magically rebuild a body? Should he possess someone and ride around in their head for awhile? When Dumbledore lures him with the Stone, Voldemort makes his way to Hogwarts and ends up revaporized, and in the process rediscovers Harry Potter and begins to realize that Harry's ability to thump Voldemort means that Morty cannot afford to ignore him.

[Shewoman]

in GoF Voldemort--er, Morty--talks about what a hard time he had after Godric's Hollow. I don't think he was capable of doing anything heinous until he met Quirrell (otherwise he would have).

I think the Stone was in Gringotts for general safe-keeping but that Flamel was able to use it from time to time to brew more Elixir. As I recall, at the end of Book 1 Dumbledore tells Harry the day after Quirrellmort's defeat that Flamel has enough Elixir to give him time to set his affairs in order, etc. I don't think he just brewed it--I think he kept a good supply on hand and when he got low, went to Gringotts.

[thru_n_thru]

Originally Posted by Night_Seeker

Why did he wait eleven years to go after the Sorcerer's Stone? Why did he wait until Harry went to Hogwarts? I always found that a bit contrived that Vaportmort makes a grab for the stone, the same year Harry starts his first year.

As for why he "waited" eleven years, we only have his own acccount to go by, and according to it he didn't intentionally wait that long, he was powerless to do anything else BUT wait, until by chance Quirrell came along, coincidentally in the same year Harry Potter started at Hogwarts.

GOF, chapter 33: Voldemort talking to the DEs:

"I was as powerless as the weakest creature alive, and without the means to help myself... for I had no body, and every spell that might have helped me required the use of a wand...

I settled in a far away place, in a forest, and I waited...

but I waited in vain...

I dared not go where other humans were plentiful, for I knew the Aurors were still abroad and searching for me.

Then... four years ago... the means for my return seemed assured. A wizard - young, foolish, and gullible - wandered across my path...

... a teacher at Dumbledore's school"

Voldemort wasn't "waiting" for Harry Potter to go to Hogwarts at all, as he clearly would have come back much sooner if he could have.

[EBJ23]

I think that Voldemort was too weak to do anything much less try to steal the stone, so he waited until he was strong enough.

[hedwig_3180]

Ummm... did you just call him Vapormort?

I think the reason it took him a long time was because he was so very very weak, and living in snakes. He had to wait until some stupid or power- hungry wizard or witch came aross him.

[SKasparRollins]

Voldemort only was able to go after the Stone because he got lucky - Quirrell happened to wander into his forest. Voldemort says this himself in his resurrection speech in GoF.

[lady_quintala]

Originally Posted by SKasparRollins

Voldemort only was able to go after the Stone because he got lucky - Quirrell happened to wander into his forest. Voldemort says this himself in his resurrection speech in GoF.

I agree

[taupimu]

I think that Vapormort needed Quirrell and his information about Hogwarts before he decided to come back. The stone was probably kept in Gringotts until it was needed and then returned. It would be safer that way.

[dasfres]

Originally Posted by EBJ23

I think that Voldemort was too weak to do anything much less try to steal the stone, so he waited until he was strong enough.

Well, he was strong enough to kill a unicorn in order to drink its blood. Wouldn't that keep him alive? The stone (or blood) wouldn't have done him any good anyway without a body. What he needed was what we saw in GoF where his body was recreated and his soul placed inside of that.

[shortie97890]

i think that Voldemort wanted to wait for just the right moment to take the stone and he probably wanted to have enough strength to go and get it.

[Freaky]

Originally Posted by Shewoman

I think the Stone was in Gringotts for general safe-keeping but that Flamel was able to use it from time to time to brew more Elixir. As I recall, at the end of Book 1 Dumbledore tells Harry the day after Quirrellmort's defeat that Flamel has enough Elixir to give him time to set his affairs in order, etc. I don't think he just brewed it--I think he kept a good supply on hand and when he got low, went to Gringotts.

I agree with this about the Stone.

Originally Posted by thru_n_thru

As for why he "waited" eleven years

Just to be technical - it was 10 years...Voldemort "died" when Harry was one, and tried to get the stone on Harry's 11th birthday.

Originally Posted by hedwig_3180

Ummm... did you just call him Vapormort?

Yes...on this site he's referred to Vapormort (when he's bodyless and therefore vapour), babymort - in GOF and then back to Voldemort.

I see he's also called Morty (above)!!! and Voldie.

[Montse]

ok,first i think at the bieginig alive still he must have been very ,very ,very weak,if you know what i mean .Still being alive bbut only havin 1 of six pieces of soul ,that must have been tough for such a little piece of soul,then ,he was gaining strenght by dwellin in animals,but neve stron g enough to try to possees anothe rwizard,getting that strenght took him so long..and then when after so many years he was strong enough...quirell happeed to go by and well BINGO

[AliceFO]

Yeah, it was Quirrel who came by him, it wasn't that he could've tried to come back any soon, it was just chance that he came by.

[Matt54]

I dont think Vaportmort could do anything unless he was possessing somebody.

[Shewoman]

Dasfres--Matt54 is right. Voldemort couldn't drink unicorn blood without a body, and (although he possessed some animals here and there) he didn't have a human body until he ran into Quirrell.

[Murzim]

Originally Posted by dasfres

Well, he was strong enough to kill a unicorn in order to drink its blood.

I don't think he was, he needed an able bodied servant (= Quirrel) to kill the unicorn and drink the blood, or to break into Gringotts and steal the stone.
Voldemort said :

GoF, cpt.33, The Death Eater's Only one power, remained to me – I could possess the bodies of others. But I dared not go where other humans where plentiful, for I knew that the Aurors were still abroad and searching for me. … Then, four years ago the means for my return seemed assured. A wizard, young, foolish and gullible wandered across my path in the forest I had made my home … He was easy to bend to my will, he brought me back to this country and after a while I took possession of his body to supervise him closely as he carried out my orders….

The only ability Vapomort had was to bend someone to his will so that that person would act for him, so he had to wait for suitable person, and he wouldn't risk being caught and, in his powerless state, imprisoned.