The Body

by Clement Garrity

As the books progress, we learn more and more about the life of the feared He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but there is still so much more to learn about Tom Marvolo Riddle.

I am not going to list what we already know as people reading this will have read all books at least three times; therefore, I will spend my time trying to uncover the things we don’t know.

We were told by none other than Voldemort himself in Book 4 that he was “ripped” from his body. This quote got me thinking – if he was ripped from his body, then the body will have been left behind – if little baby Harry could be found in the rubble, then I’m pretty sure that James, Lily, and Tom could’ve too.

But where are the three bodies? We can almost certainly assume that Lily and James are buried in the Hogwarts graveyard Alfonso Cuarón leaked from his source: none other than J.K Rowling.

But then what about Tom – buried under his true name – in the Hogwarts graveyard? Or perhaps the one in Little Hangleton, the very one his father was buried in? This theory would make sense – Voldemort is restored to his body in that very graveyard, and maybe Dark Magic is used to reawaken the body. We have not been told this, but it would make sense. Voldemort hid out in his father’s house for about nine months; during that time he was VERY close to his old body.

But then who? Who would bury the infamous Voldemort? One would assume Dumbledore would step in and perform some kind of magic on the body to stop its reawakening in years to come. But Voldemort has not aged. He is in his 60s and still has dark hair, so we can assume that he now walks in the body he had on the night of the Potters’ deaths. But who? Wormtail? He seems too cowardly to bury his master – what if he was caught? But we do know he must have retrieved Voldemort’s wand as he is given it back after his rebirth in Book 4.

If buried at the castle, who would have put him there? I think it would have been Dumbledore so that he could complete the ritual he performed. I can imagine that after a certain someone’s death in Book 5, Harry would not be pleased to hear this information. He would not want the body of the murderer of his parents and others sleeping soundly virtually next door.

I think that after Mr. Cuarón’s little slipup, we will all welcome the arrival of the Hogwarts graveyard in Book 6 and hope that it answers many questions left hanging: could Sirius’ memorial be planted there? Could the next character to get the chop get buried there? Are the house founders and past teachers there? We will only know when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released and we spend the early-morning hours turning the precious pages.

Until then, I hope you all enjoy wondering endlessly about the possibilities that lie silent and untouched within the Hogwarts graveyard.