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Forums: Index > Help Desk archive > Who did Voldemort kill?



At the begginning of Goblet of Fire, when Frank is listening in on Voldemort and Wormtail, Voldemort keeps saying things like "just one more death and the path to Harry Potter will be clear." Frank is obviously shocked to hear Voldemort plotting murder, but, as far as I can tell, we never find out who else Voldemort needs to kill to get to Harry. Bertha was already dead, so he didn't mean her, he couldn't kill Moody if he wanted Barty Jr. to keep drinking Polyjuice, Barty Sr. was originally supposssed to remain alive under the imperius curse to avoid suspicion and was only killed because he was starting to resist it, and Voldemort couldn't possible have known that Cedric was going to come with Harry. So, did I miss something, was this an oversight on Rowling's part, or was this a reference to a subplot that didn't make it to the final version of the book?Icecreamdif 20:40, February 9, 2012 (UTC)

Wow. Very good question and not one I can recall ever being brought up before. And I certainly don't recall it ever being mentioned in association with any sort of ghost plot. I think it may very be an oversight. ProfessorTofty 05:34, February 10, 2012 (UTC)
It may very well be an oversight, but it just seems like a very weird thing for Voldemort to mention if it wasn't part of the larger plot. I guess Rowling might have put that dialogue in because it works well for that scene to establish to Frank that he's a murderer and then forgot to follow up on it later, but she's usually better about continuity than that.Icecreamdif 15:35, February 10, 2012 (UTC)
True, but there have been similar mistakes before. Even later in that same book, there was the infamous "wand order" error regarding which of Harry's parents came out during the Priori Incantatem first. Though, of course, that one was spotted and corrected in later editions. ProfessorTofty 17:38, February 10, 2012 (UTC)
Did they finally correct that one. The difference is that that one was clearly just a continuity error (I think the story is that she got the order right originally, her editor thought that she was wrong, and she didn't feel like overthinking it and assumed her editor was right, or something like that), while this one is more of setting up a plot point that doesn't happen. Having Voldemort talking about a murder that never happens or is implied to have been planned to have happenned is a much bigger error than just getting confused about which ghost should come out of the wand first if everyone's coming out in reverse order.Icecreamdif 18:29, February 10, 2012 (UTC)
Yeah, that particular mistake was corrected in later editions. But when you put it that way, you're right, this is relatively big compared to something like that. I suppose it really could be either - an oversight or a plot that for some reason got abandoned. It'd be great if there were a chance to ask Rowling about this sort of thing, but I can't even recall the last time that she sat down for any sort of interview where fans had a chance to submit questions like that. ProfessorTofty 21:39, February 10, 2012 (UTC)
Well, if it's a plot that got abandoned for some reason, then its always possible that it will end up on Pottermore or that encyclopedia that she says she's going to eventually write.Icecreamdif 22:43, February 10, 2012 (UTC)
Actually, Voldemort first says "one more obstacle removed" and then "one more curse", and that is a reference either to freeing Barty Crouch Jr. or (possibly and) the capture of Alastor Moody. I think that he means he must do it himself, that Wormtail is not strong enough for the task, so it is most likely the overpowering of Barty Crouch Sr. by use of the Imperius Curse, which would need someone really powerful to make it lasting. Frank gets the impression of Voldemort being a killer by his talk about Bertha Jorkins.178.190.152.137 18:31, March 27, 2012 (UTC)
"Come, Wormtail, one more death and our path to Harry Potter is clear. I am not asking you to do it alone. By that time, my faithful servant will have rejoined us--" That seems pretty clear to me. In order to kill Harry, Voldemort has to kill somebody us, and he doesn't plan to kill this person until after Barty Jr. has rejoined him. I don't think that that quote can really be interpreted to be referring to the imperius curse that he placed on Barty Sr.Icecreamdif 06:25, March 29, 2012 (UTC)
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