A couple of scenarios I considered would suggest that Voldemort’s death was not an accident, but suicide. I can think of reasons he might have done it, but I don’t put a lot of stock in them, first because it doesn’t seem like the most practical course of action, it’s not what I would have done in the same circumstances, and second because even with every expectation that he would actually survive, considering how much he fears dying, I don’t know if Voldemort would commit an act of suicide if he could possibly avoid it.
But then what wand did Voldemort use to duel James and Lily and to cast Avada Kedavra?
It’s not really clear whether Bella knows how Voldemort died. She recognizes Harry from his scar, and it’s improbable that she could have been captured so soon after Voldemort’s death that she didn’t have time to read the newspapers. But she also says:
“My… Lord… I went where you said to await you, but you did not come… I looked for you but I could not find you...”
Which would be an odd thing to say if she knew his body had been found on the floor of Potter’s house. Maybe she knew about the horcruxes and other dark magic, and figured Voldemort losing his body would be only an inconvenience?
So either Voldy gave Bella his wand and used a different wand to duel the Potters (which meant he knew something was up and probably planned to die), or she just took the wand from the corpse or stole it from the authorities or something.
As his most faithful servant, Bella likely dismissed the possibility of Voldemort’s (permanent) death out of hand, burned corpse or not. Several people do so in canon, with her group’s torture of the Longbottoms occurring specifically because the former thought the latter had information regarding Voldemort’s location.
That wasn’t one of my ideas, actually. To know if that was viable, I would need a much more precise understanding of how prophesy actually works in this setting. My guess is that suicide would not allow him to circumvent the prophesy unless it killed him off for real, and if it was a true prophesy, then he wouldn’t kill himself off for real, because that’s not how he’s prophesied to die (not that he’d be likely to kill himself if there weren’t a prophesy.)
It’s not the prophesy I imagined Voldemort might be trying to throw off by suicide, but his enemies. If you check the rot 13 text in my earlier post, you’ll find an explanation of why the prophesy might not be trustworthy at all, but whether it is or not, note that Voldemort is now in the close circles of his most prominent enemies, none of whom seem to be aware of his true identity.
A couple of scenarios I considered would suggest that Voldemort’s death was not an accident, but suicide. I can think of reasons he might have done it, but I don’t put a lot of stock in them, first because it doesn’t seem like the most practical course of action, it’s not what I would have done in the same circumstances, and second because even with every expectation that he would actually survive, considering how much he fears dying, I don’t know if Voldemort would commit an act of suicide if he could possibly avoid it.
Chapter 53 strongly indicates that Voldemort had left his wand with Bellatrix at the graveyard; where she hid it before she left.
This strongly implies that he knew there was atleast a high chance of being incapacitated in some way; and he didn’t want his wand taken by aurors.
But then what wand did Voldemort use to duel James and Lily and to cast Avada Kedavra?
It’s not really clear whether Bella knows how Voldemort died. She recognizes Harry from his scar, and it’s improbable that she could have been captured so soon after Voldemort’s death that she didn’t have time to read the newspapers. But she also says:
“My… Lord… I went where you said to await you, but you did not come… I looked for you but I could not find you...”
Which would be an odd thing to say if she knew his body had been found on the floor of Potter’s house. Maybe she knew about the horcruxes and other dark magic, and figured Voldemort losing his body would be only an inconvenience?
So either Voldy gave Bella his wand and used a different wand to duel the Potters (which meant he knew something was up and probably planned to die), or she just took the wand from the corpse or stole it from the authorities or something.
As his most faithful servant, Bella likely dismissed the possibility of Voldemort’s (permanent) death out of hand, burned corpse or not. Several people do so in canon, with her group’s torture of the Longbottoms occurring specifically because the former thought the latter had information regarding Voldemort’s location.
Any reasoning from Bella’s apparent knowledge should take into account the Dementor-induced censoring of good memories, (e.g., sun, clouds).
Perhaps she can still remember parts of the plans that went wrong without remembering the successful parts.
Pettigrew’s?
Oh my! That’s an interesting point. What if his suicide was a way of short-circuiting the Prophecy?
I’m assuming that’s what your scenario is, and it’s brilliant.
That wasn’t one of my ideas, actually. To know if that was viable, I would need a much more precise understanding of how prophesy actually works in this setting. My guess is that suicide would not allow him to circumvent the prophesy unless it killed him off for real, and if it was a true prophesy, then he wouldn’t kill himself off for real, because that’s not how he’s prophesied to die (not that he’d be likely to kill himself if there weren’t a prophesy.)
It’s not the prophesy I imagined Voldemort might be trying to throw off by suicide, but his enemies. If you check the rot 13 text in my earlier post, you’ll find an explanation of why the prophesy might not be trustworthy at all, but whether it is or not, note that Voldemort is now in the close circles of his most prominent enemies, none of whom seem to be aware of his true identity.