Another Strange and Difficult Plot Bunny

[kerravonsen]

In this post drinkingcocoa said (amongst other things): He [Harry] defeated Voldemort with his own "twin cores" wand plus his greater power because he had all the power of an intact soul and Voldemort had only a fraction of his own left.

I quote this because it set me thinking. Or possibly my subconcious thinking... Voldemort had only a fraction of his own soul left.

Before his first fall, Tom Riddle was, by all accounts, charming, charismatic, clever - an inspiring leader. But on his return, with only a fraction of his soul left, he was none of these. Indeed, it's likely that he was already deteriorating and going mad before he attacked the Potters. If one thinks about it, the fragment of Tom Riddle in the diary was cleverer and more charming than the Voldemort that Pettigrew resurrected.

What if you were a Death Eater who really believed and admired Tom Riddle? Possibly even loved him? What if you noticed your beloved Lord's deterioration? What if you decided to do something about it?

What if Bellatrix LeStrange decided to put the fragments of Tom Riddle's soul back together again? A Bellatrix who never went to Azkaban, who never went insane? What would happen then?

There. I leave you with this plot-bunny, and wish you well.

Comments

[dozmuffinxc.livejournal.com]

*drools* WHAT a plot bunny!

However, I'm not entirely certain that Bellatrix would have thought it a good idea to put together the pieces of Voldemort's soul. I rather think she would have (at least originally) revelled in the cleverness of her master to come up with and execute a way to ensure his survival. She herself was mad, if not at all as bat-sh*t crazy as she was after Azkaban, and she certainly never had any problems with killing for killing's sake, let alone for the near-divine purpose of preserving the Dark Lord. And if he came off as being a bit "touched" in the process, she may just have seen it as a refusal to let anyone or anything get in the way of his goals.

We certainly see Bellatrix beginning to doubt, if only slightly, Voldemort's judgment at the beginning of HBP (when she admits to The Bellatrix we see on trial before the Ministry at her sentencing, however, had no such doubts.

I shall think on this, however...

[kerravonsen]

She herself was mad, if not at all as bat-sh*t crazy as she was after Azkaban

Do we know that for sure?

let alone for the near-divine purpose of preserving the Dark Lord

Yet that could be the key to making this idea work; if somehow she realizes that the Dark Lord is not well, is, indeed not himself... if she gets convinced of that, she would do anything she could to restore him to his full glory.

One of the things that sparked this idea was the horror of observing someone you love losing his mind in the process of losing his soul.

The other question I wonder about is... if someone managed to heal Tom Riddle's soul, would they end up making him a better (more whole) man than he ever was before?

[dozmuffinxc.livejournal.com]

For sure? No, I suppose we don't know for sure. The problem there is, of course, that JKR left so much to the imagination when it comes to her adult characters. I believe Sirius refers to Bellatrix as his "mad cousin" or something like that in PoA, but he's biased. Her fierce devotion and her penchant for violence make me think that she was rather "off," but whether we call that mad - that is, whether her faculties were completely intact - is, perhaps, up for debate.

As for your question: I don't know. Tom Riddle was already a sociopath before he began the process of dividing his soul. Would reuniting those pieces make him a better person, or would it just make him slightly more stable?

A question I've had for a while (which may have been answered by wiser minds than mine) is what happens to those witches and wizards who kill without making a horcrux? Dumbledore said that killing splits the soul, so I assume that happens whether or not there is intent to make a horcrux. Does that piece of soul simply mend itself back in time; does it float off into the ether; does it vanish altogether? I suppose I've wondered whether one of the reasons Bellatrix seemed to have taken a spiralling descent into madness could be because of the murders she's commited; perhaps her soul didn't mend itself, causing her to gradually (or not-so-gradually) lose her mind.

Thoughts?

[kerravonsen]

Dumbledore said that killing splits the soul, so I assume that happens whether or not there is intent to make a horcrux. Does that piece of soul simply mend itself back in time; does it float off into the ether; does it vanish altogether?

* Killing or murder? There's a difference.
* I think murder splits the soul at the moment of the murder; at that moment it is possible to capture that split piece of soul in an object, and make a horcrux. After that, I think the most likely thing is that the split piece of soul does come back, but there is a huge crack in the soul at that point, a wound.
* I think the soul mends if one feels remorse for the killing. Such mending is painful and leaves a scar.
* Otherwise, one becomes deadened to the killing and it becomes easier and easier to do. The conscience is dead. Quite possibly the bits of soul start breaking off and not coming back.
* I think that killing with Avada Kedavra affects the soul more than other forms of killing, because it is pure magic, much more tied in with the self of the one who does it.

(Some of these opinions are illustrated with fic written by other people, but I can't remember which ones, so I can't cite them for you)

I suppose I've wondered whether one of the reasons Bellatrix seemed to have taken a spiralling descent into madness could be because of the murders she's commited; perhaps her soul didn't mend itself, causing her to gradually (or not-so-gradually) lose her mind.

With Bellatrix, I don't think its her murders so much as her penchant for the Cruciatus.