Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. For today’s video, I wanted to discuss
a moment from the Prisoner of Azkaban film that I’m sure a lot of you never noticed.
It’s a creepy observation that will make you want to rewatch the scene, and may even
force you to watch the films in an entirely new way- taking note of every little detail
in an effort to find more strange and similar occurrences.
What if I told you that in the films, as early as the Prisoner of Azkaban, Lord Voldemort-
the Dark lord resided within the walls of Hogwarts. Not only that, but he was there
in plain sight- and entirely undetected. This would have given him direct intel in to the
life of Harry, and allowed him to observe the staff and students of Hogwarts without
fear of repercussion.
How could that be possible? You might ask.. Well, let’s take a look.
Approximately 25 minutes in to the Prisoner of Azkaban film, students are making their
way up the stairs towards the portrait of the Fat Lady. However, it’s important to
note that the portrait of the fat lady isn’t the only portrait in the frame, as there are
also portraits hanging on either side of the staircase. Harry, along with his fellow Gryffindors,
are preoccupied with sharing their common room password with the Fat Lady, but if you
look to the lower right hand side of the screen- you will see something that you can never
unsee- Lord Voldemort. Or at least, a figure that VERY closely resembles him. While the
fat lady sings, terrorizing the other portraits in the castle, one portrait in particular
is enjoying it- smiling and dancing along, and of course it’s this same portrait that
appears to depict Voldemort.
Hogwarts portraits depict dead witches and wizards that have, before dying, contacted
a ‘wizarding painter’- a witch or wizard that is able to immortalize them in portrait
form. According to Pottermore:
“The subject of a magical portrait is sentient due to enchantments placed on the portrait
by the painter. The portrait will be able to use some of the subject's favourite phrases
and imitate their general demeanour based on how the subject appears to the painter;
however, they are limited in what they can say or do”
If we take a closer look at this portrait- it resembles Voldemort in every way. It has
the same black cloak, the same colour skin, what appears to be no nose, and even the same
head shape. Whether this is actually Voldemort or not is entirely up to viewer interpretation,
and sure, I guess the portrait could POSSIBLY just be vampire (which Voldemort closely resembles),
but it really does look like him to me. The PRIMARY issue with this is of course that
Portraits depict DEAD people- and at this point in time Voldemort is certainly not dead.
However, Voldemort is famously known to create what? That’s right- Horcruxes.
Just like with the diary of Tom Riddle, where Voldemort is able to preserve a ‘memory’
of himself that appears to be just like him in every way- there is always the possibility
that Voldemort always had a secret Horcrux right inside of Hogwarts- a horcrux that takes
the form of a painting. Voldemort began experimenting with Horcruxes at a very young age, and so
it would sort of make sense,in a way, that he would immortalize himself in the finest
school of witchcraft and wizardry to grace the wizarding world - the same place that
his powerful pure-blood ancestor Salazar Slytherin had founded. When he would have created this
portrait is untelling, as it depicts his later, physically-altered form, and not his original
boyish form. However, the nature of the portrait depicting his LATER form would likely provide
greater anonymity- as many did not actually know what he looked like until the second
wizarding war. This would of course mean that, after Voldemort’s ‘defeat’ - he was
still alive, spying on the students of Hogwarts for generations- always plotting and waiting
to make his proper return.
What do you guys think? Was this portrait just the portrait of a vampire? Or does it
somehow have a connection to Voldemort? If so, what is that connection?
Let me know in the comment section below
Until next time
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.