This theory makes sense, but I’m not sure how it could be done in a narratively satisfying way. “Harry defeats Voldemort” is a lot better than “Voldemort wins, only Harry is Voldemort, so in a way Harry wins, but really there was no battle in the first place, and...”
A narratively satisfying ending could be Harry defeating Voldermort without getting Riddle’s memories back. (But reader would be clearly told about the original Riddle’s plan.)
Dumbledore probably expected this, so maybe he separated Riddle’s memories into two separate heaps: the technical skills, and the values. Harry will take the first part, but refuse to take the second part. (Okay, this feels dumb: why would Dumbledore even provide the opportunity to take the second part?) Or Harry may use the Philosopher Stone to somehow protect his “self” from being overwritten by Riddle.
This theory makes sense, but I’m not sure how it could be done in a narratively satisfying way. “Harry defeats Voldemort” is a lot better than “Voldemort wins, only Harry is Voldemort, so in a way Harry wins, but really there was no battle in the first place, and...”
A narratively satisfying ending could be Harry defeating Voldermort without getting Riddle’s memories back. (But reader would be clearly told about the original Riddle’s plan.)
Dumbledore probably expected this, so maybe he separated Riddle’s memories into two separate heaps: the technical skills, and the values. Harry will take the first part, but refuse to take the second part. (Okay, this feels dumb: why would Dumbledore even provide the opportunity to take the second part?) Or Harry may use the Philosopher Stone to somehow protect his “self” from being overwritten by Riddle.
Dumbledore will provide the opportunity to take the second part iff he predicts that Harry wouldn’t take it.