As to the second: the whole point of having it at Hogwarts to begin with was as bait for a trap, right? If everyone believes it’s real, it serves just as well for that purpose as if it actually were real. Even if Dumbledore knew it was a fake, he would still have every reason to guard it to the best of his ability.
Well, if HPMoR is consistent with canon, it would circumvent the need for him to conduct the ritual to get his old body back at all. Dumbledore also suggested it as an alternative route that Voldemort could take to return to power.
And the point of having it at Hogwarts wasn’t just as bait for a trap; Voldemort and his minions, even in the original canon, were capable of stealing from even the more secure vaults at Gringotts. In HPMoR, it could just be a trap, but if it’s so obvious as to not serve that purpose, and there’s nothing to protect, then what’s the point?
(Just to save everyone some time, here are the relevant quotes.)
HPMoR Chapter 61, Dumbledore to McGonagall and Snape:
His strongest road to life is the Philosopher’s Stone, which Flamel assures me that not even Voldemort could create on his own; by that road he would rise greater and more terrible than ever before. I would not have thought Voldemort able to resist the temptation of the Stone, still less because such an obvious trap is a challenge to his wit. But his second avenue is nearly as strong: The flesh of his servant, willingly given; the blood of his foe, forcibly taken; and the bone of his ancestor, unknowingly bequeathed. Voldemort [...] would certainly seek the most powerful combination: the flesh of Bellatrix Black, the blood of Harry Potter, and the bone of his father. Voldemort’s final avenue is to seduce a victim and drain the life from them over a long period; in which case Voldemort would be weak compared to his former power.
Dumbledore, at least, thinks the obviousness of the trap won’t preclude its success.
HPMoR Chapter 76, Quirrell to Snape:
A single glance would tell any competent wizard that the Headmaster has laced that corridor with a ridiculous quantity of wards and webs, triggers and tripsigns. And more: there are Charms laid there of ancient power, magical constructs of which I have heard not even rumors, techniques that must have been disgorged from the hoarded lore of Flamel himself. Even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would have had trouble passing those without notice.
That second bit is particularly interesting. It seems to suggest that Flamel would have been capable of protecting the Stone himself just as well as it’s being protected now, in which case why have it at Gringotts in the first place?
The question in my mind is: how could Voldemort know if the Stone in Hogwarts is fake or not? I mean, the situation seems to be that Dumbledore went to visit his old teacher Nicholas and came back with a “Philosopher’s Stone” in a small leather bag, which he deposited at Gringotts, and later took to Hogwarts. If you assume he actually is trying to protect the Stone, it would pretty much have to be a fake, wouldn’t it? (It’d be pretty funny if the real one was teleported into the Marianas Trench or something.)
And I think it’s something of a mistake to assume the only reason for breaking Bellatrix out of Azkaban is the resurrection ritual. Suppose that he does already have the Stone—maybe he replaced it with a fake months ago, maybe he invented it on his own, whatever—wouldn’t it still be useful to him to retrieve his most powerful and loyal servant?
Bellatrix isn’t remotely his most powerful servant anymore after her stay in Azkaban, and he could probably do to someone else what he did to her in the first place. Plus, in canon, once he returned to his former power, he was able to break everyone out of Azkaban. It might not be a great idea to sacrifice the element of surprise by doing so, but still, if he already had a route to power even greater than he possessed before, I don’t see why he’d stall on using it.
Plus, in canon, once he returned to his former power, he was able to break everyone out of Azkaban.
I would be rather surprised if, after all the characterization and buildup we’ve been given so far, MoR!Voldemort turned out to be capable of this as well.
It might not be a great idea to sacrifice the element of surprise by doing so, but still, if he already had a route to power even greater than he possessed before, I don’t see why he’d stall on using it.
As a suggestion: he may have decided that his goals are better served by remaining in his current guise (which he presumably could not do if he regained his body) than by sheer magical power, at least for now.
Personally I’m assuming that Quirrelmort rescued Bellatrix to influence Harry. He now has first-hand evidence that Harry was engaged in a major crime, has shown Harry a part of the Wizarding world which he could never accept which was enabled by democracy, has shown Harry that Dumbledore isn’t as proactive as Harry would want him to be, almost convinced Harry that a revolution is necessary, convinced Harry to lie to protect him, and has made Harry feel sorry for Bellatrix. Generating a ‘false alarm’ of Voldemort’s return is a nice side effect as well if he doesn’t plan on acting immediately, Dumbledore may well have just expended significant political capital too early. If he was planning on going through with the ritual, then he had Harry right there with him. (Although he could have just taken some blood while Harry was asleep, of course.)
The only motivation I can see for him to retrieve her otherwise is that he couldn’t remember what happened at Godric’s Hollow or to the Longbottoms, so he wanted to retrieve Bellatrix to find out, he regretted what he did to her (seems unlikely), or he’s not Quirrelmort, and is really just a powerful but neutral wizard who wants to try and retrieve some of Slytherin’s magics.
The most obvious motivation given what we know about Quirrelmort and what he needs to regain his old power is that he retrieved her for use in the spell that will restore his body. For his motive to be anything else would constitute a twist.
As to the second: the whole point of having it at Hogwarts to begin with was as bait for a trap, right? If everyone believes it’s real, it serves just as well for that purpose as if it actually were real. Even if Dumbledore knew it was a fake, he would still have every reason to guard it to the best of his ability.
As to the first… what makes you think he hasn’t?
Well, if HPMoR is consistent with canon, it would circumvent the need for him to conduct the ritual to get his old body back at all. Dumbledore also suggested it as an alternative route that Voldemort could take to return to power.
And the point of having it at Hogwarts wasn’t just as bait for a trap; Voldemort and his minions, even in the original canon, were capable of stealing from even the more secure vaults at Gringotts. In HPMoR, it could just be a trap, but if it’s so obvious as to not serve that purpose, and there’s nothing to protect, then what’s the point?
(Just to save everyone some time, here are the relevant quotes.)
HPMoR Chapter 61, Dumbledore to McGonagall and Snape:
Dumbledore, at least, thinks the obviousness of the trap won’t preclude its success.
HPMoR Chapter 76, Quirrell to Snape:
That second bit is particularly interesting. It seems to suggest that Flamel would have been capable of protecting the Stone himself just as well as it’s being protected now, in which case why have it at Gringotts in the first place?
The question in my mind is: how could Voldemort know if the Stone in Hogwarts is fake or not? I mean, the situation seems to be that Dumbledore went to visit his old teacher Nicholas and came back with a “Philosopher’s Stone” in a small leather bag, which he deposited at Gringotts, and later took to Hogwarts. If you assume he actually is trying to protect the Stone, it would pretty much have to be a fake, wouldn’t it? (It’d be pretty funny if the real one was teleported into the Marianas Trench or something.)
And I think it’s something of a mistake to assume the only reason for breaking Bellatrix out of Azkaban is the resurrection ritual. Suppose that he does already have the Stone—maybe he replaced it with a fake months ago, maybe he invented it on his own, whatever—wouldn’t it still be useful to him to retrieve his most powerful and loyal servant?
Bellatrix isn’t remotely his most powerful servant anymore after her stay in Azkaban, and he could probably do to someone else what he did to her in the first place. Plus, in canon, once he returned to his former power, he was able to break everyone out of Azkaban. It might not be a great idea to sacrifice the element of surprise by doing so, but still, if he already had a route to power even greater than he possessed before, I don’t see why he’d stall on using it.
Interesting. I hadn’t even considered the possibility that the story about brainwashing Bellatrix might actually be true.
I would be rather surprised if, after all the characterization and buildup we’ve been given so far, MoR!Voldemort turned out to be capable of this as well.
As a suggestion: he may have decided that his goals are better served by remaining in his current guise (which he presumably could not do if he regained his body) than by sheer magical power, at least for now.
Personally I’m assuming that Quirrelmort rescued Bellatrix to influence Harry. He now has first-hand evidence that Harry was engaged in a major crime, has shown Harry a part of the Wizarding world which he could never accept which was enabled by democracy, has shown Harry that Dumbledore isn’t as proactive as Harry would want him to be, almost convinced Harry that a revolution is necessary, convinced Harry to lie to protect him, and has made Harry feel sorry for Bellatrix. Generating a ‘false alarm’ of Voldemort’s return is a nice side effect as well if he doesn’t plan on acting immediately, Dumbledore may well have just expended significant political capital too early. If he was planning on going through with the ritual, then he had Harry right there with him. (Although he could have just taken some blood while Harry was asleep, of course.)
The only motivation I can see for him to retrieve her otherwise is that he couldn’t remember what happened at Godric’s Hollow or to the Longbottoms, so he wanted to retrieve Bellatrix to find out, he regretted what he did to her (seems unlikely), or he’s not Quirrelmort, and is really just a powerful but neutral wizard who wants to try and retrieve some of Slytherin’s magics.
The most obvious motivation given what we know about Quirrelmort and what he needs to regain his old power is that he retrieved her for use in the spell that will restore his body. For his motive to be anything else would constitute a twist.