Tom Riddle = Harry Potter

By Bounty

"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die."

Truth be told, my feeling towards Voldemort mostly goes towards the feeling of hate. Although now that we know more about him, I must admit that I feel a stab of pity for him or more specifically Tom Riddle for I have come to realize that they are two different people. Tom Riddle hadn't been completely evil as Voldemort is now, having broken his soul into so many pieces but he had been completely misguided and dark.

"He disappeared after leaving the school ... travelled far and wide ... sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable."

When we think of Voldemort, I sure that most of us, if not all, will think of the most vile and disgusting things possible in recognition of him. We will probably think the same things when we think of Death Eaters although not quiet as horrible. But when I think of Tom Riddle I think of a misguided, misused and slightly power hungry boy that later turned into the monstrosity that is Voldemort. Keeping all these things in mind I don't think we realized how similar our enemy is to our hero.

"I can see now ... there is nothing special about you, after all. I wondered, you see. There are strange likenesses between us, after all. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the Great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike ... but after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That's all I wanted to know."

Tom Riddle had been conceived under false circumstances, from a woman who was madly in love with a man who had not loved her in return. She bended his will as long as she could and when he left her, she only lived long enough to give birth to a child before giving up all hope, leaving the child defenseless and ignorant.

Tom Riddle at the time had come from a long line of cruelty and blackness. His grandfather had repeated beat his mother and his uncle found intense pleasure in torturing muggles. So the beginnings of 'madness' had already been planted within his DNA.

He grew up in a muggle orphanage with no knowledge of his family or heritage and powerful magic going unrestraint. The other children didn't like him and it might have just been because he was 'weird'. Maybe that is the reason that he stole from them, to get a little of his own back, to get revenge. Which, amazingly enough is exactly what. Harry Potter is and has been doing.

Harry Potter had found satisfaction in watching his aunt blow up like a balloon and had found it amusing every time something scared his guardians witless. It must have felt like getting a little of him own back, right?

Now he wants to destroy Voldemort and while this is a noble cause, there must be some hint of revenge in there some where.

Also, Voldemort wants to execute all muggles and muggle loving people, believing only pure-blood should have to right to live. Harry Potter believe it or not, wants to get rid of all loyal Death Eaters and especially Voldemort. They are similar in so many ways but the one thing that separates them is Harry's humanity and Voldemort lack of it.

But it does make me wonder, if Harry's and Voldemort's souls had been switched would everything be different or would Harry become something similar to what Voldemort is today? We'll never know but we do know that although Harry can relate to Tom Riddle, Voldemort is not Tom Riddle anymore and I can't help but pity the boy that was lost and perhaps even pity the boy that might become lost.

Harry closed his eyes. If he had not gone to save Sirius, Sirius would not have died.... More to stave off the moment when he would have to think of Sirius again, Harry asked, without caring much about the answer, "The end of the prophecy ... it was something about ... 'neither one can live...'" "'...while the other survives,'" said Dumbledore. "So," said Harry, dredging up the words from what he felt like a deep well of despair inside him, "so does that mean that ... that one of us has got to kill the other one ... in the end?" "Yes," said Dumbledore.