Now that I think of it, Quirrel watched over Harry as he felled a bunch of trees in Precautionary Measures pt.2. And that involved partial Transfiguration.
So was Voldemort really unaware that Harry could Partially Transfigure Things? Or did he only underestimate what could be done with that?
Quirrel had seen Harry use /Diffendo/ on some trees, and later that the trees have been cut. He was unconscious (and in an extradimensional bag) when Harry had cut through the wall in Azkaban, and only saw a cut circle of wall. He may not have known that Harry had anything up his sleeve more complicated than a Cutting Charm; he certainly had no reason to believe that Harry could wordlessly transfigure the tip of his wand into well over a hundred feet of braided carbon nanotubes. Quirrelmort has never seen—only Dumbledore, Hermoine, and Professor McGonagall have.
But that’s really not the part that got him.
Quirrelmort had accepted the risk that Harry could have escaped, or killed everyone present, just as he accepted the possibility that the Unbreakable Vow wouldn’t have been enough to stop Harry from destroying the world. If he were absolutely certain, he’d not have bothered with backup plans. He did not care about the deaths of the present Death Eaters, and losing his own body was merely a minor setback. It’s Harry’s ability to instantly and permanently incapacitate without letting Quirrelmort’s spirit loose that made the threat serious. That’s a problem Dumbledore was relying on an ancient and frighteningly powerful artifact to implement, and Quirrelmort’s mode of thinking doesn’t exactly encourage thinking of these matters..
Indeed. Harry saying that he has the capability to kill everyone present did not frighten Voldemort. Had Harry said he has the capability to incapacitate everyone present, then Voldemort (even if he were almost sure Harry was wrong) would have shot him with his gun instantly.
Has the parallel with the way Harry’s list of resources in his first DADA lesson (Hufflepuff bones, etc.) was entirely concerned with things that could be used to kill been remarked upon? I don’t think it’s coincidence. (I also don’t think it has any deep significance beyond the fact that Harry and Voldemort think rather alike in some ways.)
Now that I think of it, Quirrel watched over Harry as he felled a bunch of trees in Precautionary Measures pt.2. And that involved partial Transfiguration.
So was Voldemort really unaware that Harry could Partially Transfigure Things? Or did he only underestimate what could be done with that?
From our perspective, yes, I agree that it is obvious, but from Voldemort’s perspective at the time, Partial Transfiguration just isn’t something that exists; there’s no reason to have it as a prominent hypothesis to explain Harry’s cutting down trees. It’s much simpler to assume that Harry had just figured out a more efficient variant of the Severing Charm, or something similar. As Voldemort himself said in chapter 108:
...experience has taught me that such puzzles are far harder to solve when you do not already know the solution...
He wouldn’t have had enough information to conclude that Harry had invented a new type of Transfiguration—he would probably think it was a particularly powerful cutting hex for a first year, or something. Still stupid of him not to have made inquiries after two times witnessing its effects (cutting through the wall of Azkaban, felling the trees).
Especially knowing that Harry almost offered to explain it to him (after Azkaban).
Quirrel’s answer :
it is too rare that I find a person whom I cannot see through immediately, be they friend or foe. I shall unravel the puzzles about you for myself, in due time.
Quirrel’s main problem was that his idea of muggle weapons technology was a machine gun. If that was the best Harry could do, he would have lost.
His other problem was giving Harry access to his wand for more time than strictly necessary. Had Harry figured out what to do earlier, he wouldn’t have even needed partial transfiguration, since his wand was touching someone else’s during the Vow. But Quirrell knew better than to rely on his plan being perfect. He should have known to minimize the time during which Harry could act.
Now that I think of it, Quirrel watched over Harry as he felled a bunch of trees in Precautionary Measures pt.2. And that involved partial Transfiguration.
So was Voldemort really unaware that Harry could Partially Transfigure Things? Or did he only underestimate what could be done with that?
Quirrel had seen Harry use /Diffendo/ on some trees, and later that the trees have been cut. He was unconscious (and in an extradimensional bag) when Harry had cut through the wall in Azkaban, and only saw a cut circle of wall. He may not have known that Harry had anything up his sleeve more complicated than a Cutting Charm; he certainly had no reason to believe that Harry could wordlessly transfigure the tip of his wand into well over a hundred feet of braided carbon nanotubes. Quirrelmort has never seen—only Dumbledore, Hermoine, and Professor McGonagall have.
But that’s really not the part that got him.
Quirrelmort had accepted the risk that Harry could have escaped, or killed everyone present, just as he accepted the possibility that the Unbreakable Vow wouldn’t have been enough to stop Harry from destroying the world. If he were absolutely certain, he’d not have bothered with backup plans. He did not care about the deaths of the present Death Eaters, and losing his own body was merely a minor setback. It’s Harry’s ability to instantly and permanently incapacitate without letting Quirrelmort’s spirit loose that made the threat serious. That’s a problem Dumbledore was relying on an ancient and frighteningly powerful artifact to implement, and Quirrelmort’s mode of thinking doesn’t exactly encourage thinking of these matters..
Indeed. Harry saying that he has the capability to kill everyone present did not frighten Voldemort. Had Harry said he has the capability to incapacitate everyone present, then Voldemort (even if he were almost sure Harry was wrong) would have shot him with his gun instantly.
Has the parallel with the way Harry’s list of resources in his first DADA lesson (Hufflepuff bones, etc.) was entirely concerned with things that could be used to kill been remarked upon? I don’t think it’s coincidence. (I also don’t think it has any deep significance beyond the fact that Harry and Voldemort think rather alike in some ways.)
From our perspective, yes, I agree that it is obvious, but from Voldemort’s perspective at the time, Partial Transfiguration just isn’t something that exists; there’s no reason to have it as a prominent hypothesis to explain Harry’s cutting down trees. It’s much simpler to assume that Harry had just figured out a more efficient variant of the Severing Charm, or something similar. As Voldemort himself said in chapter 108:
[edited]
He wouldn’t have had enough information to conclude that Harry had invented a new type of Transfiguration—he would probably think it was a particularly powerful cutting hex for a first year, or something. Still stupid of him not to have made inquiries after two times witnessing its effects (cutting through the wall of Azkaban, felling the trees).
Especially knowing that Harry almost offered to explain it to him (after Azkaban). Quirrel’s answer :
Quirrel’s main problem was that his idea of muggle weapons technology was a machine gun. If that was the best Harry could do, he would have lost.
His other problem was giving Harry access to his wand for more time than strictly necessary. Had Harry figured out what to do earlier, he wouldn’t have even needed partial transfiguration, since his wand was touching someone else’s during the Vow. But Quirrell knew better than to rely on his plan being perfect. He should have known to minimize the time during which Harry could act.