“And before you ask, it must be the original grave, the place of first burial, the bone removed during the ritual and not before. Thus he cannot have retrieved it earlier; and also there is no point in substituting the skeleton of a weaker ancestor. He would notice it had lost all potency.”
I wonder how long a ritual can last. If it was started ten years ago but never finished, would that be a loophole?
There’s a potion too, right? (Whatever’s in the cauldron before Wormtail’s hand is added, although that might have only been in the movie.) If that has to be made before the grave is robbed and goes bad after a few hours, then you have a time limit.
Still, I don’t think he would have bothered breaking Bellatrix out if he didn’t expect to use her in the ritual. I also can’t think of a reason to have her hide his wand next to his father’s grave unless that connection was enough to keep the bone potent.
I wonder how long a ritual can last. If it was started ten years ago but never finished, would that be a loophole?
There’s a potion too, right? (Whatever’s in the cauldron before Wormtail’s hand is added, although that might have only been in the movie.) If that has to be made before the grave is robbed and goes bad after a few hours, then you have a time limit.
I had forgotten about the potion.
Still, I don’t think he would have bothered breaking Bellatrix out if he didn’t expect to use her in the ritual. I also can’t think of a reason to have her hide his wand next to his father’s grave unless that connection was enough to keep the bone potent.