I don’t really have much to say after reading that. My thought process is pretty much summed up like this:
“But Dumbledore can’t beat Voldemort!”
“Maybe he can. In canon he can (kinda), and even in the last few chapters QQ has given him some grudging respect,”
“Seriously? Voldemort was winning the Wizarding War, whilst holding back!”
“Dumbledore might have been as well. Anyway, we’ve only got Voldemort’s word on this. Also, check to see what parts of ch 108 were in Parseltongue. Maybe there’s a better reason for why Voldemort didn’t win in three days.”
So, I guess I’m going to go check this now. Otherwise, bye-bye Albus. EDIT: there is no Parseltongue used in that particular dialogue. Quirrell claims that he didn’t want to go back to Solitaire, but it is possible that he just ran up against Dumbledore in earnest.
He’s standing in a indestructible oracle. That he knows how to use, and Tom doesn’t. That is the most awesomely rigged battleground possible.
Re: The words on the mirror. In-universe, “CEV” is likely a translation from the atlanean—any reader will get a mirrored phrase which is the closest mapping to what it does which exists in their language or something like it.
I find the assumption that Dumbledore is in the mirror and can use it suspect. I fully expect him to either (a) not be in the mirror, but actually behind it/other side of room. or (b) to simply walk out at the start of the next chapter.
So no, I don’t expect an epic battle next chapter. However, I don’t see a way out of one… I notice that I am confused.
(Prediction: Dumbledore comes out of the mirror, followed by several more Dumbledore’s. Or maybe multiple ancient Dark Wizards and Light Lords… would explain the Map’s confusion. This actually could lead to an epic battle.)
“Baba Yaga and her 52 apprentices”? That’s possible, but I’m not actually sure how this can become a battle because the obvious move is for Riddle to “bombarda” his own skull.
I’m thinking we are going to get some more talking. And it is pretty likely we are about to have explained to us how he already lost...
Wait. Are we at all sure the Tom’s are still outside the mirror? If the plan was to trap Voldemort in the mirror, how do we know that didn’t already happen, and this is years later when they finally finished tracking down the horcruxes? Because the best mirror-plane prison would be one with no passage of time in it.
This also fits the prophecy, because in this case, Harry did defeat him, by being willing to go down with him. Which is a power he knows not.
Hmm, “Both Toms are trapped in the mirror, Myst-style” would explain a bit of my confusion, to wit: how is it that the first invocation of the mirror was only visible to Voldemort, but the trap-invocation seems visible to both Riddles, even though Harry is under the True Cloak and thus not visible to the mirror? (On the other hand, if that’s true, how did the trap get sprung on him?)
It might have inverted the whole room, with Harry being caught up in it. The Cloak allegedly only evades the Mirror, not challenging its perfect reflection.
It might have been possible for Quirrellmort to win the war in a few days, but I think the implication is supposed to be that he could do so by superior inventiveness and planning ability, rather than by superior dueling power. Indeed, going by his demonstrated methods, he might have been able to defeat Dumbledore in the war in spite of dramatically less dueling power.
Minerva has apparently survived skirmishes with Voldemort where Moody or Dumbledore were at her side on different occasions, and if Voldemort could have overcome his opponents in those encounters with no risk to himself, I think he’d have had a hard time rationalizing passing up the chance.
It was also to Voldemort’s advantage to keep the battle ratcheting slowly up as long as possible, to get Flamel to give Dumbledore ever more lore, which David Munroe could get access to.
“Dumbledore can’t beat Voldemort” to me means that he can’t beat the horcrux network, not that he can’t win against Voldemort in a duel. But that would be winning a duel, not winning the war.
I don’t really have much to say after reading that. My thought process is pretty much summed up like this: “But Dumbledore can’t beat Voldemort!” “Maybe he can. In canon he can (kinda), and even in the last few chapters QQ has given him some grudging respect,” “Seriously? Voldemort was winning the Wizarding War, whilst holding back!” “Dumbledore might have been as well. Anyway, we’ve only got Voldemort’s word on this. Also, check to see what parts of ch 108 were in Parseltongue. Maybe there’s a better reason for why Voldemort didn’t win in three days.”
So, I guess I’m going to go check this now. Otherwise, bye-bye Albus. EDIT: there is no Parseltongue used in that particular dialogue. Quirrell claims that he didn’t want to go back to Solitaire, but it is possible that he just ran up against Dumbledore in earnest.
He’s standing in a indestructible oracle. That he knows how to use, and Tom doesn’t. That is the most awesomely rigged battleground possible.
Re: The words on the mirror. In-universe, “CEV” is likely a translation from the atlanean—any reader will get a mirrored phrase which is the closest mapping to what it does which exists in their language or something like it.
I find the assumption that Dumbledore is in the mirror and can use it suspect. I fully expect him to either (a) not be in the mirror, but actually behind it/other side of room. or (b) to simply walk out at the start of the next chapter.
So no, I don’t expect an epic battle next chapter. However, I don’t see a way out of one… I notice that I am confused.
(Prediction: Dumbledore comes out of the mirror, followed by several more Dumbledore’s. Or maybe multiple ancient Dark Wizards and Light Lords… would explain the Map’s confusion. This actually could lead to an epic battle.)
I expect that Dumbledore and Quirrrell cannot affect each other whilst Dumbledore is in the mirror, and so they will negotiate.
“Baba Yaga and her 52 apprentices”? That’s possible, but I’m not actually sure how this can become a battle because the obvious move is for Riddle to “bombarda” his own skull.
I’m thinking we are going to get some more talking. And it is pretty likely we are about to have explained to us how he already lost...
Wait. Are we at all sure the Tom’s are still outside the mirror? If the plan was to trap Voldemort in the mirror, how do we know that didn’t already happen, and this is years later when they finally finished tracking down the horcruxes? Because the best mirror-plane prison would be one with no passage of time in it.
This also fits the prophecy, because in this case, Harry did defeat him, by being willing to go down with him. Which is a power he knows not.
Hmm, “Both Toms are trapped in the mirror, Myst-style” would explain a bit of my confusion, to wit: how is it that the first invocation of the mirror was only visible to Voldemort, but the trap-invocation seems visible to both Riddles, even though Harry is under the True Cloak and thus not visible to the mirror? (On the other hand, if that’s true, how did the trap get sprung on him?)
The trap-invocation is visible to both because they are in Dumbledore’s invocation of the mirror now, and Dumbledore is the one looking in.
Right, but the Mirror (in theory) has no power over anything not reflected in it, and Harry’s still invisible.
It might have inverted the whole room, with Harry being caught up in it. The Cloak allegedly only evades the Mirror, not challenging its perfect reflection.
It might have been possible for Quirrellmort to win the war in a few days, but I think the implication is supposed to be that he could do so by superior inventiveness and planning ability, rather than by superior dueling power. Indeed, going by his demonstrated methods, he might have been able to defeat Dumbledore in the war in spite of dramatically less dueling power.
Minerva has apparently survived skirmishes with Voldemort where Moody or Dumbledore were at her side on different occasions, and if Voldemort could have overcome his opponents in those encounters with no risk to himself, I think he’d have had a hard time rationalizing passing up the chance.
It was also to Voldemort’s advantage to keep the battle ratcheting slowly up as long as possible, to get Flamel to give Dumbledore ever more lore, which David Munroe could get access to.
“Dumbledore can’t beat Voldemort” to me means that he can’t beat the horcrux network, not that he can’t win against Voldemort in a duel. But that would be winning a duel, not winning the war.