him as a baby, and was part of why Harry could see into his mind and can use Parselmouth. Following this is a temporary Horcrux when he takes form in Quirrell, which is also often contested as not being a true Horcrux, but rather the embodiment of the remaining piece of Voldemort’s soul that he himself was in direct control of. The final one in the time of his return is the one he creates in his snake-familiar Nagini. Each choice is significant in its own way and offers further insight into the character of Voldemort. He could have chosen every-day meaningless objects, but instead chose to privilege certain artefacts, especially those related to Hogwarts, thus reinforcing both his god-complex and his obsessive nature that allowed emotion tooverwhelm intellect.

The Problem with Prophecy

Although the flaws present within Riddle are at the heart of Voldemort’s downfall, the path was rapidly increased by his interpretation of the prophecy that underlies the narrative of the Harry Potter series. The prophecy that drew Harry into the narrative was delivered by Sybill Trelawney during an interview with Dumbledore and made its way to Voldemort who interpreted it as concerning the threat of the new born child of James and Lily Potter. He had also only heard half the prophecy. Interestingly it is later discussed that the prophecy could easily have also referred to Neville Longbottom. The prophecy was:

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches/ Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month