Hey guys,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be
discussing Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and the Chamber of Secrets.
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.
When Harry enters the chamber, he’s met with Riddle:
Harry : You. You're the Heir of Slytherin. You're Voldemort.
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, The Chamber of Secrets seems to suggest that the Tom Riddle in the chamber IS able
to return to some kind of independent form. Additionally, he seems to have no issue casting
spells, as shown when he casts ‘flagrante’ to spell out ‘Tom Marvolo Riddle’, which
is then unscrambled in to ‘I am Lord Voldemort’. This made me wonder - if Voldemort can cast
spells in this form- couldn’t he have just killed Harry right then and there? Wouldn’t
this have saved Voldemort A LOT of grief? Why would he sit there while Harry destroys
the diary?
Even while Fawkes was healing Harry after he got poisoned by the Basilisk he's just
watching and shouting.
“Get away, bird. Get away from him — I said, get away.”
This passive approach is so..un-Voldemort, so, why didn’t he take more action to ensure
that ‘the boy who lived’ became ‘the boy who’s dead’.
The answer to this question goes back to Harry and Voldemort’s history. The Tom Riddle
that we see in the chamber is a much younger version of Voldemort-one that does not possess
all of the memories that the modern day Voldemort has. This means that he doesn’t actually
know the details of HOW his present day self was defeated by Harry. He knows that Harry
is the boy who lived, and the reason for his initial downfall, but he doesn’t know HOW
any of it happened.For this reason, it seems fair to assume that he would be quite apprehensive
in his approach to attacking Harry- as he would not want the same thing to happen twice.
"I have many questions for you, Harry Potter". "Like what?" Harry spat, fists still clenched.
"Well," said Riddle smiling pleasantly, "how is it that you -- a skinny boy with no extraordinary
magical talent -- managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with
nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?" There was an odd gleam
in his hungry eyes now. "Why do you care how I escaped?" said Harry slowly. "Voldemort"
said Riddle softly, "is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter..."
"To business, Harry," said Riddle, still smiling broadly. "Twice -- in your past, in my future
-- we have met. And twice I failed to kill you. How did you survive? Tell me everything.
The longer you talk," he added softly," the longer you stay alive."
So, for this reason sicking the Basilisk on Harry seems like the easiest and most logical
choice. If something went awry, then it would be the Basilisk that was defeated, and not
Tom Riddle himself. However, after Harry kills the Basilisk, he’s poisoned and weak- why
wouldn’t Tom Riddle have recognized Harry’s mortality at THIS point and jumped in to finish
him off? The answer is of course that Riddle knew that Harry was poisoned, and what Basilisks
venom was capable of.
“You’re dead, Harry Potter,” said Riddle’s voice above him. “Dead. Even Dumbledore’s
bird knows it. Do you see what he’s doing, Potter? He’s crying.” “I’m going to
sit here and watch you die, Harry Potter. Take your time. I’m in no hurry.”
“So ends the famous Harry Potter,” said Riddle’s distant voice. “Alone in the
Chamber of Secrets, forsaken by his friends, defeated at last by the Dark Lord he so unwisely
challenged. You’ll be back with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Harry… She bought
you twelve years of borrowed time… but Lord Voldemort got you in the end, as you knew
he must…”
Riddle knew that Harry was doomed, and didn’t feel the need to exert any additional effort
to ensure that Harry would die. Once again, Tom Riddle aka Voldemort’s arrogance and
overinflated ego got the better of him. And when he finally realized what was happening,
it was too late for him.
And that’s it for this video! If you enjoy the content, please like the video and subscribe
to the channel.
Until next time
YER A WIZARD ARRY