Hey guys,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be
discussing the chamber of secrets, lord voldemort, and whether or not it would have ever been
possible for two of him to exist simultaneously.
In the Chamber of Secrets, we see a much younger version of Voldemort, AKA Tom Riddle, inside
of the chamber. This version of Riddle was of course a product of his first horcrux,
the diary of Tom Riddle. The ultimate purpose of creating a horcrux is to achieve immortality.
However, the truly sinister component of creating a horcrux is that in order to produce one,
you must MURDER someone. The diary of Tom Riddle became a Horcrux after Voldemort murdered
Moaning Myrtle in 1943.
When Harry enters the chamber, he’s met with Riddle:
Harry : You. You're the Heir of Slytherin. You're Voldemort.
Tom Marvolo Riddle : Surely you didn't think I was going to keep my filthy Muggle father's
name? No. I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day
fear to speak, when I became the greatest sorcerer in the world!
Minute by minute, the Tom Riddle in front of Harry appeared more and more real. Riddle
seemed to grow stronger and stronger, assuming a more prominent corporeal form over time.
He achieved this by ‘feeding’ off of Ginny and her deepest and darkest fears:
"She put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave its pages at last.”
Riddle also later says:
“Yes, Potter, the process is nearly complete. In a few minutes, Ginny Weasley will be dead.
And I will cease to be a memory. Lord Voldemort will return... very... much... alive.”
So, that poses the question: if Tom Riddle had been successful in killing Ginny and assumed
a form of his own, would there have been TWO Voldemorts? How does that work? This confuses
things a bit, as The Half-Blood Prince references the diary as a weapon to possess someone else
to work on Tom Riddle's behalf, while the Chamber of Secrets shows him as being able
to return to some kind of independent form. What would this mean for each Voldemort? The
new, younger form of him, and the ‘wraith’ form of him that kept lurking around. The
new Riddle appears to be entirely independent from the present day Riddle- he has some concept
of who the future Voldemort is- and some understanding of present day events, but doesn’t share
the memories of the new Voldemort.
As we know, the purpose of a Horcrux is not to create a new individual, but to protect
its creator from death. This is why the events of the Chamber of Secrets are unusual - how
could another person be created?
"What intrigued and alarmed me most was that that diary had been intended as a weapon as
much as a safeguard," said Dumbledore
"I still don't understand," said Harry.
"Well, it worked as a Horcrux is supposed to work -- in other words, the fragment of
soul concealed inside it was kept safe and had undoubtedly played its part in preventing
the death of its owner. But there could be no doubt that Riddle really wanted that diary
read, wanted the piece of his soul to inhabit or possess somebody else, so that Slytherin's
monster would be unleashed again."
"Well, he didn't want his hard work to be wasted," said Harry. "He wanted people to
know he was Slytherin's heir, because he couldn't take credit at the time."
The answer to the question of whether two Voldemorts could exist is yes and no. Yes,
there would have been two Voldemort’s present in the world, but no, the new Voldemort wouldn’t
be a ‘clone’ of the old Voldemort. The two would still share a life-force, and so
the destruction of one could mean the destruction of the other. However, the most important
thing to remember is that the present day Voldemort would be far too arrogant to accept
that another version of him exists in the world- one who is his equal. To quote Highlander:
“There can only be one”
JK Rowling was once asked what would have happened if Ginny had died and Tom Riddle
had escaped the diary?
To which Rowling responds: I can’t answer that fully until all seven books are finished,
but it would have strengthened the present-day Voldemort considerably.
I think that from this we can assume a couple of things:
First: That the ‘wraith’ or original Voldemort was the ‘master’, and still held a certain
amount of control over the new Voldemort.
And Second: I think that it’s likely that, had Riddle succeeded in achieving a second
physical form, the ‘master’ or ‘wraith’ voldemort would have combined his soul with
the new Voldemort. They would once again share a physical form.
"Voldemort likes to operate alone, remember. I believe he would have found the thought
of being dependent, even on the Elixir [of Life] intolerable [ . . . ] Therefore, I am
convinced, he intended to continue to rely on his Horcruxes: He would need nothing more,
if only he could regain a human form. He was already immortal, you see . . . or as close
to immortal as any man can be."
And that’s it for this video! If you enjoy the content, please be sure to like the video
and subscribe to the channel. Until next time, YER A WIZARD ARRY