I Know! I Know!

[navygreen]

Discussion for I KNOW! I KNOW! by Robbie Fischer.

[Belisma]

I loved this theory! It's the best theory I've heard yet. It sounds completely plausible to me that during in various experiments in attempting to acheive immortality Voldemort may have removed his heart and transformed it into something ordinary that no one would ever connect with him and/or destroy.
But I will go one step further then Mr. Fischer... What if the thing that Voldemort transformed his heart into wasn't an ordinary, everyday object at all? What if the thing Voldemort transformed his heart into is actually Harry's heart? "Together yet separate." It would be the safest of places for Voldemort's heart because Harry would be protected more than any other child in the wizarding world. And maybe the "look of triumph" that came into Dumbledore's eyes when he heard that Voldemort took Harry's blood for his resurrection was because he knew that now they each had a part of each other residing within themselves. And maybe neither can live while the other survives... And maybe love is the answer....
I could go on and on. I love editorials that make you think. But I, like Robbie Fischer, am also so excited about this theory that i hope it is wrong and I'm also hoping I forget all about it... as if I could.

[KianRosencrantz]

This is actually my favorite Voldemort theory out there. Although I find no defense of it actually being true, there really isn't a defense of it not being true either. Just one of those things to think about. Knowing Voldemort though, if he turned his heart into anything, it was prolly going to be snake-like in form. I guess why this theory is so appealing is because it sort of feels like something JKR would twist into her own devices. I mean, we are suppose to be asking the why didn't he die question. I think this leads me to the question of, "if jkr did twist this into her own manner, what exactly was it that Voldemort did?". I think this might actually follow along the same lines as his "memory diary" does. He left behind an imprint of himself. Sort of like a step towards leaving other things behind that could come into future play, who knows? I just know that JKR does a lot of things in pairs.

I wish I knew the answer but I do not. I hope this post was mildy coherent, midnight and i'm sleepy. ^_^

[Starlight]

(At last, a forum for discussing these essays! )

I've read the idea that Voldemort transferred his soul/lifeforce to an inanimate object before, but I love the other idea that this presents - that Voldemort transferred his heart/soul to a person.

Actually, when I first read the description for Howl's Moving Castle, the first thing I thought was "SNAPE!" Then I read the rest of it and saw that the conclusion I jumped to didn't really fit. But now I've re-read it, Snape could still fit in.

Dark Arts-hungry Snape, just out of Hogwarts (or maybe as a small child, without even his knowledge), is selected as Voldemort's "Heart-Keeper". The results are that Voldemort is made immortal, and Snape has a knack for the Dark Arts, but is enslaved to Voldemort. Untill he found a way to break free...?

Also, another thing I noticed - Howl. Howl. H(edwig) OWL.

Could Hedwig be Voldemort's "Heart-Keeper"?

[Belisma]

Oooh, good suggestions Starlight! I never thought of that. I loved this article so much that I went out and bought Howl's Moving Castle. I haven't had a chance to read it yet (I've had a whole list of books to read this year and the list keeps getting longer and the year keeps getting shorter) But I'm dying to read it! It sounds like such an interesting story. I'd like to thank Robbie Fischer for writing this article. I read all the editorials on Mugglenet, but this is my favorite.

[diametric]

I found this to be a great idea. Also, the addition that Belisma added, that Voldemort turned his heart into Harry's was good. I liked it and I wanted to believe it but I couldn't because Voldemort started his experiments before Harry was born. Before he knew anything about the prophecy.

And about Hedwig being Voldemort's heart, I very much doubt it since Joanne would not base a major plotline on another book's title.

Though I do think that this theory may have some truth in it but I just have an instinct that it is a red herring. Sorry.

~dimetric

[Belisma]

Voldemort may have started his experiments long before Harry was born, but there's nothing to suggest that he was done experimenting once Harry was on the scene.
However, I think my idea might be way off base because supposedly Voldemort went to the Potters to kill baby Harry because he had heard part of the Prophecy. I wonder which part he heard and if maybe he still would have tried something like this experiment. ???

[Starlight]

Supposedly, the only part of the prophecy was the first part... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... not sure if that's exact quote or not.

One of the questions that has been raised elsewhere on the board, is why it took so long for Voldemort to attack the Potters. Here's the timeline -

Late 1979/Early 1980 - Prophecy made, first part of which reported to Voldemort.

July 31st, 1980 - Harry born

Around Halloween, 1980 - Wormtail turns spy (in POA, Sirius says that Wormtail had been spying for up to a year before the Potters were killed)

October, 1981 - Dumbledore learns from source that Voldemort is after the Potters, go into hiding with fidelius charm

Halloween, 1981 - Voldemort attacks.

Maybe the reason why it took so long was Voldemort was finalising some plans or experiment?

[Belisma]

oh, good point Starlight!

[darkRose]

This is an absolute brillant theory! I was thinking about the same possibility ( last year, after my english teacher forced the class to read Bless Me Ultima- it's not the greatest book ) , but my version said it was his soul instead of his heart. This definitely seems like the ideal plan JKR might use to get rid of Volermort. If theory turns out to be false, I'm very positve an explanation (soul/heart transferring) similar to this will be used at least in once of the last two books. For the power of love idea....it's pretty shaky.. I highly doubt she'll use a hackneyed theory like this one.

[sunshine1313]

This was a very interesting editorial, however this story line has already been done, so I don't think JKR could use it. There are copyright laws.

[Paintball]

JKR did say that she didn't think any of us would guess What Voldemort did to keep from dying. This is as good a guess as any. Certainly as good as my theory of a spell or portion similiar to that done by a ghost. This theory is at least a guess of what Voldemort did. So many don't try to answer that question. GOOD THEORY and you just might be right.

Ah! Someone who thinks along the same lines as me! I made the same connection to Howl's Moving Castle, and I'm so glad someone else did as well. I thought, for a few minutes, that I'd gone a bit loony.

The question with this whole theory now is, "In what did Voldemort put is heart?" I do like this notion that he transferred it into Harry, and I'm going to have to give it some more thought, but I thought I'd just throw my two knuts out into the comsic void. Although, I must say, most of this comes from a discussion over the SugarQuill forums. But anyway...

On pages 105-106 of OotP, Ch. 6, American Edition, Harry, Sirius, and the Weasleys are cleaning out the drawing room. After they get down de-doxying, we get a look at a cabinet that belong to the Black's.

Mrs. Weasley pointed at the dusty glass-fronted cabinets standing on either side of the mantelpiece. They were crammed with an odd assortment of objects: a selection of rusty daggers, claws, a coiled snakeskin, a number of tranished silver boxes inscribed with languages Harry could not understand and, least pleasant of all, an ornate crystal bottle with a large opal set into the stopper, full of what Harry was quite sure was blood.

What I find interesting, is that right in the middle of all of the trash, there is a coiled snakeskin. And, as everyone knows, snakes are closely associated with Voldemort. The fact that JK put a snakeskin in the cabinet makes me think that there is more to it's contents than meets the eye. And there is...a crystal bottle filled with blood. Now, I know that the house belonged the Blacks, and the Blacks were notoriously dark wizards, but either because of intuition or my unconscious desire to make this theory make sense, I don't think this is an innocuous vile of blood. I think that this is where Voldemort's "heart" is.

Now, the idea that the bottle, or any object for that matter, would actually be Voldemort's real heart doesn't sit well with me. Throughout the books, JKR emphasizes the fact that even though these people can do magic, they are still human. I don't think it would be her style to have Voldemort function without a heart pumping blood to his body. The impression that I get is that this bottle actually contains Voldemort's blood, and that a complex spell...enchantment if you will...was put on the bottle. One that keeps Voldemort from dying as long as the blood is in the bottle.

The only thing wrong with this theory, aside from the fact that I'm going off of total speculation, is that they cleaned the drawing room out completely until, "finally the only undesirable things left in it were the tapestry of the Black family tree, which resisted all of their attempts to remove it from the wall, and the rattling writing desk..." If they threw away the bottle, how can it come back into the story? My answer, however implausible it may seem, lies in everyone favorite house elf.

Several times, Kreacher sidled into the room and attempted to smuggle things away under his loincloth, muttering horrible curses every time they caught him at it. When Sirius wrestled a large golden ring bearing the Black crest from his grip Kreacher actually burst into furious tears and left the room sobbing under his breath and calling Sirius names Harry had never heard before."

Pg. 117, Ch. 6, American Edition.

Maybe the only thing Kreacher got out with that day was an ornate bottle of blood.


Now that I've rambled on for as long as humanly possible...just one last little tid bit. The bottle is set with an opal stopper. Throughout history, the opal has been regarded as a bringer of good luck. Many ancient civilizations thought it had magical powers, including giving a wearing invisibility...why they thought this when the OBVIOUSLY didn't go invisible is beyond me...but...anyway. At one point, I think in the 18th and 19th centuries, it fell from it's glorious position. It became a bad luck charm, as it were, and people thought that it brought famine and demise to royal families.

[Sol_Lyric]

Wow, this was a really intresting theory! I would've never thought about something like this.

[iamsirius]

Starlight, are we sure Voldemort learned of the prophecy at the time it was made, or was it maybe sometime (like a year) later...

[LJB85]

I think it is a great theory but I'm not sure it covers everything. If it was this simple I'd be disappointed. I think this is just part of Voldemort's quest for immortality that you may have caught on to.

[Imagine]

My personal favorite part of the theory revolves around this statement in the editorial.

sorry I don't know how to do the quote things:
"Therefore, the key to Voldemort's undoing is as simple as figuring out where he has hidden his heart, and gaining control of it. Whoever gets hold of that object, Voldemort can do nothing against him, but becomes in effect that person's slave. That person could use Voldemort as a source of vast, evil magic power, like the djinn in Castle in the Air or the demon in Dark Lord of Derkholm - becoming potentially an even worse villain than Voldemort himself."

What if somebody was already controlling Voldemort somehow? Man, that could be bizarre.

[Shewoman]

imsirius, Dumbledore says that the one who overheard the first part told "his master"--and if V was his master, I'd say the spy told him right away but we're not given that much detail. The prophecy was made in the year that Harry and Neville were born.

[Imagine]

holy ****! this theory is right! only with the soul being split into seven pieces rather than only one.

[justaHPfan]

I have to give KUDOS to you - I remembered this theory as I was reading book 6 and my reaction was "No WAY!!! Someone wrote an editorial on this and I can't believe how right/close he/she was!!!" Great job!! (inserts non-existent smiley face tipping his hat to you). I smiled during that chapter and felt such pride for my fellow Mugglenetian (is that what we're called?)