RiMarkka

Now I'm thinking about how taxes work in the wizarding world.

Okay, so one of the interesting things about HP is that pure-blood wizards are sort of stuck in the 1700s. There are a few aesthetic/fashion details from the 1800s, but in terms of tech level and the way the world is set up, we're still pre-industrial revolution. Which makes sense! The wizards never had an industrial revolution, and split away from the muggle world in the late 1600s.

(Phillip Pullman was also doing a psuedo 1700s-1800s thing for his children's fantasy series at around the same time. Cannot prove that JKR has any knowledge of His Dark Materials, but another English author writing a similar kind of book? Stealth-setting a book in the 1700s isn't such an out-there choice.)

That means a lot of the issues people have with the HP world building are really just issues with... life in the 1700s. Why is there no mental health care? 1700s. Why is the Hogwarts curriculum so weird? 1700s. Why is slavery okay? 1700s. Why is there no drinking age, and you can just purchase drugs (love potion) over the counter? 1700s.

In a similarly 1700s way, the Wizarding World seems to be composed of semi-autonomous fiefdoms, which report back to the Ministry of Magic. On paper, the Ministry has has control over Hogwarts, St. Mungos, the various pure-blood estates. Whether or not that's that's totally true... I mean the Ministry tries and fails to take over Hogwarts in Book 5, and in Book 2 they clearly *try* to prosecute the Malfoys for holding dark contraband, but never get very far.

Here's what I would do, if I were writing something political based in the Harry Potter universe. The Wizengamot seems to be the oldest ruling body (its name is a pun on the Wittengamot, which is from the 7th century.) So probably those seats are inherited (House of Lords style) possibly with a magical component involved. New members can be added, but only by existing members voting them in. The Wizengamot serves as the High Court (as we see - more normal cases are processed by the Council of Magical Law, and Arthur is really wrong-footed when he hears Harry is getting a *Wizengamot* trial.)

They also probably have some sort of pass/veto power, and the power to elect/replace a Minister of Magic. (the position was "offered" to Dumbledore multiple times, but he turned it down. So he's definitely not campaigning in a general election.) I doubt they actually *write* laws - that seems to be handled by the more bureaucratic-flavored Ministry members like Arthur and Percy, who do *not* sit on the Wizengamot.

I'd also have it so that taxes were handled in a more 1700s style. There'd be a lot of sales tax, which the Ministry would be able to enforce because I'm pretty sure they they oversee food production. There would also be a fee for the various Ministry-run procedures like booking overseas portkeys (and legal-social functions? the officiant at Dumbledore's funeral and Fleur's wedding is pretty Ministry coded.) "Pay a fine" seems to be a pretty common punishment in this world - which isn't a tax, but definitely a way for the Ministry to make money. I wonder if people like Ludo Bagman *bought* his position. It would be very 1700s of him.

Then there's property tax, and this is where the the old pure-blood families on the Wizangamot come in. I think the Ministry presents a budget to the Wizangamot, and *they* make up the difference, among themselves. At which point yes of course Lucius finds ways to weasel out of paying if he doesn't like the current minister, if he doesn't like the deal he's getting, if he's just feeling pissy that day, whatever. But at the end of the day, they collect their own taxes from the various spheres they control.

Now we're getting into headcanons, but I think the Malfoy money comes from primarily being landlords. At *very least,* Malfoy Manor has a magical satellite village (a la Hogsmeade or Ottery St. Catchpole) that they just own and probably low-key police. (they probably also just own a chunk of Wiltshire.) I also highly, highly doubt that the Malfoys gave up all their ties to the muggle world post Statue of Secrecy. If every new Muggle Prime Minister has a meeting with the Minister of Magic, then... I bet every time Lloyds of London gets a new CEO, Lucius Malfoy shows up to say, "We get 1.5% off the top. My bankers will be in touch." Goblins don't care about the Ministry's laws even slightly, and there's got to be an exchange rate if Hermione's parents can show up to Diagon Alley and buy her books.

All of the old pureblood families are going to have their own *thing,* their own under-the table agreements and sweetheart deals. The Blacks strike me as being big into shipping, probably because they're so based in *London.* But yeah, at least to me, this is the sort of thing that gels with the universe that we see.

“The Minister was just telling me about your lucky escape, Potter,” drawled Mr. Malfoy. “Quite astonishing, the way you continue to wriggle out of very tight holes. . . . Snakelike, in fact . . .”

(OotP)

I think it’s weird the Dumbledore assumes Merope used a love potion.

She had no money to buy it or to buy the ingredients. The only thing she had of value was the locket and we know she didn’t sell that till much later. She didn’t even know much about the outside world so she would have had trouble finding where to go to acquire it or the ingredients needed to brew it herself. Plus making love potion herself would be very difficult when she’s had no access to education.

Out of universe JKR is using Dumbledore to info dump what happened. But in universe he has no evidence that she used a love potion and using a magical compulsion spell of some type like the Imperius Curse makes much more sense given the resources she had at her disposal. (Even though I really love the symbolism of the love potion for thematic reasons).

As per usual, Dumbledore does a lot of guessing about what Merope did:

“Can you not think of any measure Merope could have taken to make Tom Riddle forget his Muggle companion and fall in love with her instead?” “The Imperius Curse?” Harry suggested. “Or a love potion?” “Very good. Personally, I am inclined to think that she used a love potion. I am sure it would have seemed more romantic to her, and I do not think it would have been very difficult, some hot day, when Riddle was riding alone, to persuade him to take a drink of water. In any case, within a few months of the scene, we have just witnessed, the village of Little Hangleton enjoyed a tremendous scandal. You can imagine the gossip it caused when the squire’s son ran off with the tramp’s daughter, Merope...

(HBP, 213)

Harry thinks the Imperius is definitely on the table as a means by which it could've happened. Dumbledore is just making assumptions about Merope's character that he has no real basis for. With how hard some ingredients are to come by, I agree that Merope using a spell (be it a compulsion, a confundus, some kind of glamour, or a memory charm) is far more likely.

(I'm leaning towards a confundus or a compulsion and not a full-on imperius curse or memory charm because these are more complex kinds of magic. And we know Merope wasn't a very powerful or skilled witch. So, she's likely to lean on spells that require less skill and precision.)

As for what you said about Voldemort, that's a great catch. I hadn't considered it until you mentioned it. It's actually possible he knows something Dumbledore doesn't. We know Voldemort is an incredible Legilimence, and he went to kill his father when he was 16. Considering he planted false memories in his uncle's mind, he was already an accomplished Legilimence by then. It's possible he took the memories of exactly what happened with Merope and Tom Snr out of his father's mind before killing him. Dumbledore would have no way of knowing that.

From Tom's words though:

“You see that house upon the hillside, Potter? My father lived there. My mother, a witch who lived here in this village, fell in love with him. But he abandoned her when she told him what she was. . . . He didn’t like magic, my father . . . “He left her and returned to his Muggle parents before I was even born, Potter, and she died giving birth to me, leaving me to be raised in a Muggle orphanage . . . but I vowed to find him . . . I revenged myself upon him, that fool who gave me his name . . . Tom Riddle. . . .”

(GoF, 646)

It sounds like he determined he was abandoned before he found his father, as he's likely to feel as someone raised as an orphan who discovered they actually have a living parent. And a parent who lives very well.

The cost of potions ingredients is a complete mess too, as mentioned in the OP. Even if you presume Dumbledore is correct and she stopped drugging him right away after getting pregnant...well, according to the timeline Tom and Merope got hitched sometime in the latter half of 1925, and Voldemort wasn't born until December 1926. That's still some five months at minimum that she would have had to brew/obtain the love potion for, and there's potential for it to be up to nine months or so even with Dumbledore's timeline. That's an extremely good reason to question where she got the funds. Did she consistently use his muggle money to exchange it at Gringotts so she could buy the ingredients, or even the potion itself? That would only help after he was already snagged though, and he would have had to have had continued access to his own money the whole time.

She was supposed to be completely ignorant of the world, according to Dumbledore. But she can't have been both ignorant and destitute if you take the rest of Dumbledore's words as fact. She had to have had a considerable sum of money to not only pull off a love potion for that long but then also survive by herself for half a year at minimum.

I think there's a couple of possible scenarios here actually. I think Tom's murder of his father and grandparents was a crime of passion, not something that he planned. He likely didn't kill them right away as they are all described as looking terrified when they are found so he probably did use magic to hurt/frighten them before killing them. He may have also read their minds and/or verbally questioned them. Or he maybe have been too angry to get information from them and may have simply murdered them in a rage.

If the last option is true then he may never have gotten his father's side of the story and may be basing the idea that Tom Sr. abandoned Merope on what Morfin said, and possibly on other information he gleaned from Morfin's mind (i.e. what Morfin believed happened) and/or from making assumptions based on his own experiences. So even if he's not entirely right about the story he still probably genuinely believes it.

If he verbally questioned Tom Sr. then he may have gotten the truth or a skewed version. Tom Sr. may well not have wanted to admit to being magically coerced or influenced or to having been a victim of rape - and may not even have really known how to explain what happened to him, especially given attitudes of the time around masculinity (not to mention that he wouldn't have even really understood what Merope's magic was).

Thus out of anger or fear or shame he may have presented a version of events that gave himself more agency - perhaps the agency he wished he had. Or he may have told the truth and it may have differed a lot from Dumbledore's version. It's certainly possible that Merope did not force him but rather tricked him with some sort of magic that she performed on herself.

If Tom read his father's mind then it's even more likely he gleaned information Dumbledore didn't have. Although again, whatever he saw would be subject to interpretation and also might not have been reliable if Merope used magic to modify Tom Senior's memories or perceptions. After all, what Tom Sr. believes happened may not be what actually happened. So he may not even have realized exactly what she did to him and thus could not accurately pass on that information to his son.

I mean Merope might have temporarily Confunded him to get him to sleep with and marry her and then he might have been horrified by his inexplicable "madness" but decided to stay with her until she revealed she was a witch at which point he abandoned her. Thus he might believe that he married her of his own free will even if a little magic was involved.

As far as Tom having determined he was abandoned before he found his father, I feel like that's not too big of a leap to make. After all, many of the children at the orphanage probably came from situations where women got pregnant and then were abandoned by the baby's father, thus forcing them into desperate circumstances where they had to give up their child or where, like Merope, they had nowhere to turn to and died in childbirth with no family to look after the baby.

Thus he probably presumed that's what happened in his own case and probably already felt deep anger and resentment towards his father from a young age. I can see him vowing in the orphanage to find him one day. (Especially since he assumed his father might also hold the answers to his questions about what his powers were). After all, he immediately asks Dumbledore about his father when they first meet so it's clearly a topic he thinks about a lot.

(Another possibility also just occurred to me as I wrote this. What if Tom didn't go to the Riddle House already intending to kill his father? What if he went, already angry, but still perhaps curious and waiting to see what Tom Sr. had to say for himself and maybe even vaguely considering a possibility where he would be accepted back and might finally have a home? And then Tom Sr. reacted with horror and disgust due to his trauma at Merope's hands - just as all the people who hated and feared and rejected Tom at the orphanage did - at which point all his rage and resentment boiled over and he flew into a rage and murdered his father and grandparents?)

But I agree that Tom's story about his father's dislike of magic seems really specific and probably is based on something. After all he was very interested in understanding his past and heritage and probably devoted a lot of time to figuring out who he was and how he ended up where he did. And he was doing it long before Dumbledore was, when there were many more people around from whom he could extract memories. The way he talks about his father not liking magic is interesting. I can see that being something that he would really react to given the fact that he grew up being shunned because of his magic. (This doesn't mean that Tom Sr. didn't have good reason to dislike magic of course).

A last possibility is that Merope told him her version of what happened. He did take the resurrection stone from Morfin. And you'd think that someone as clever as Tom would've noticed the powerful magic it contained...or just happened to turn it over 3 times. I doubt he'd have much interest in talking to the dead but I can see him maybe using it to get some answers. (Assuming it actually lets you talk to the dead and doesn't just create projections of your memories of them...which honestly is an interpretation I kind of like better).

But yeah. Whatever happened - whether magical trickery or compulsion or the world's most unlikely love affair - I doubt love potion was involved.

Also @perilousraven don't you dare leave this in the tags because it perfectly sums it up:

I love the idea that Tom didn't go to his father initially with the intent to kill him. I actually think it's highly likely. I mean, he's an orphan, during World War II, he's poor and so so alone, of course he'd want a family if he could have one. I think he hoped his father just didn't know he existed and would take him in. He probably knew it'd be more complicated than that, but I think he hoped his father or any other family honestly, just didn't know about him.

I went to check the conversation Tom had with Morfin about it, and it suggests Tom didn't actually know about Tom Riddle Sr:

“You speak it?” “Yes, I speak it,” said Riddle. He moved forward into the room, allowing the door to swing shut behind him. Harry could not help but feel a resentful admiration for Voldemort’s complete lack of fear. His face merely expressed disgust and, perhaps, disappointment. “Where is Marvolo?” he asked. “Dead,” said the other. “Died years ago, didn’t he?” Riddle frowned. “Who are you, then?” “I’m Morfin, ain’t I?” “Marvolo’s son?” “ ’Course I am, then . . .” [...] “I thought you was that Muggle,” whispered Morfin. “You look mighty like that Muggle.” “What Muggle?” said Riddle sharply. “That Muggle what my sister took a fancy to, that Muggle what lives in the big house over the way,” said Morfin, and he spat unexpectedly upon the floor between them. “You look right like him. Riddle. But he’s older now, in ’e? He’s older’n you, now I think on it. . . .” Morfin looked slightly dazed and swayed a little, still clutching the edge of the table for support. “He come back, see,” he added stupidly. Voldemort was gazing at Morfin as though appraising his possibilities. Now he moved a little closer and said, “Riddle came back?” “Ar, he left her, and serve her right, marrying filth!” said Morfin, spitting on the floor again. “Robbed us, mind, before she ran off! Where’s the locket, eh, where’s Slytherin’s locket?”

(HBP, 364-365)

From this it seems to me Tom tracked down the name Marvolo Gaunt when he went to Little Hangleton and hoped to find his family, he didn't know Marvolo was dead, but he knew he had a son named Morfin and he possibly knew about Merope.

I especially like the detail about Tom being disappointed. He probably did hope for a family to take him in, someone he could connect to, but all he found was a disappointment.

And Morfin clearly states Riddle Sr left Merope, if not for magic (but this is an easy-to-reach conclusion for Tom who was rejected for his magic at the orphanage). But, I think Tom was more hopeful when he approached his father at first. Tom is someone who I believe does want a connection, so I like the idea he tracked his father already angry from Morfin's words, disappointed from what he saw from the magical side of his family but still keeping a sliver of hope for his muggle family. Then I assume Riddle Sr reacted to Tom negatively (as you mentioned) and killing Tom killed them in passion. I honestly don't think he set off to kill the Riddles when he went to meet them.

(As an aside, contrary to what Dumbledore suggests, I don't think it's so unreasonable for him to have originally assumed his mother couldn't have been a witch because she died. He grew up in an orphanage rife with disease and it's implied that his powers gave him resistance to that. In fact, when Dumbledore meets him there's an outbreak going around but he's unaffected. He also sees how powerful Dumbledore - an adult wizard with a wand - is and thus makes assumptions that aren't that unreasonable.)

He probably imagined that he would be able to find the Gaunts and show that despite his Muggle blood he had inherited their powers and that they then might accept him into a home similar to the homes that his wealthy pureblood classmates like the Malfoys and the Blacks had. And that he might also gain more of a place in magical society. Because surely being Slytherin's Heir must mean something right? But no.

He is disgusted by Morfin. He has no secret great heritage to claim. Morfin lives in squalor. And he's not clever or powerful or special. Quite the opposite. If Tom went to school with the name Gaunt it would do nothing for him - it might even get him sneered at more by some since wizards don't know much about the Muggle world but the Gaunts are from their world, something they can know and understand and deride.

I totally agree that Tom is someone who seeks connections. He never fit in or belonged in the Muggle world - he was hated and feared at the orphanage. And as an impoverished presumed Muggleborn in Slytherin House he would have been looked down on and had to fight for his classmates' respect. And he would have had nothing in common with them in terms of life experiences. The way he initially seems to want to connect with Dumbledore when they first meet is very telling. And I think some part of him probably retained that desire for connection and belonging, even if on a more conscious level he decided such feelings were beneath him and signs of weakness that he was better off without.

At the Gaunt house, his hope of finally having a place in the world, of security, of some great hidden heritage are finally taken away from him. (Indeed, depending on how much he knows about the Gaunts and whether he was already reading the surface of Morfin's mind he may momentarily have started wondering if he was about to find out that he was the product of incest.)

And then. Right when his hopes of some grand wizarding heritage that means something are dashed - yes, he's Slytherin's Heir but it doesn't really matter, it doesn't mean anything (until as an adult he makes it mean something), there is no great household for him to join, no seat for him to claim - he finds out that his father was one of the Muggles he has already grown to despise due to his treatment in Muggle society. So any hopes of being secretly pureblood are taken away too. He's the bastard child of a blood traitor possible squib from a family that is about as far from respectable as any in the wizarding world could hope to imagine, no matter how pure their blood may be.

The father he has long wondered about and imagined (and resented and hated) turns out to live not far away in luxury and safety with everything Tom could ever have wanted (and never have imagined). But still. For all that he's already brimming with anger and bitterness and disappointment he must still wonder if maybe, just maybe he might have something in the Muggle world to claim. He does need somewhere to stay after all.

And the Riddle House must seem like a too good to be true paradise compared to the rough living with little shelter and less food that he's been enduring. And so he goes over to the Riddle House and announces himself - probably conflicted and half enraged and half hopeful. And obviously his father and grandparents don't react well. And Tom snaps.

As for what Tom Sr. thinks, it probably depends on exactly what happened to him. If Merope used some sort of magical compulsion she may not have been very good at it and Tom Sr. may have been aware of what was happening to him the whole time but unable to resist until she freed him. Or maybe the locket helped her - we know it had some kind of powers even before it was turned into a Horcrux but just what they are was never elaborated upon. Perhaps it allowed her to control or entrance him in some way. Or to make herself more appealing.

I thought these tags by @lucasthecoffeshopguy raised excellent points:

#this is something abt canon i never bothered to question until participating in fandom and reading meta and theories#and honestly? yeah. how the fuck did merope get a love potion#like again even an imperius makes more sense#also if voldemort himself is incredibly powerful it makes sense that his mum could hold such a curse for extended periods of time#i like the idea that all she did was make herself look prettier though#and riddle didn't see her as worth it when she revealed how she actually looked#and was also put off by her being magical#and it's much easier to rationalize!#like of course if she wasn't drugging him or otherwise compelling him then her actions make more sense#and it makes much more sense for her to think he loved her only for him to reject her if she just magically beautified herself#and he left her because of the combining factors; her not being naturally beautiful‚ her being a witch‚ and her being pregnant#this is honestly my favorite interpretation of what happened#and Dumbledore might have honestly thought that she had used a love potion on Riddle Sr. because of what he did know#she was not beautiful nor did she have status‚ he was a muggle‚ and he seemed enthralled by her only to suddenly leave#for a man like Dumbledore he might not have thought it odd to assume she was using a love potion#since she may have been poor but of course she would just find a way if she really wanted something‚ right? #anyways.

If she did something to herself that could track well with Tom Sr. returning and claiming to have been "tricked" in some way. (Though we can't put too much weight on it because what could he really say?). And as you say it would explain why she thought he loved her (if indeed she did think that - it's also possible whatever enchantment she was using on him simply failed). And it would also explain Tom's comments in book 4 in the graveyard about his father and how he didn't like magic - it's notable that he implicitly accuses Tom Sr. of prejudice against magic rather than fear. It's only his perspective of course, influenced by his own experiences, but it sure is interesting, and it implies that he, at least, doesn't seem to think his father was actively forced into the relationship by magic.

So many fascinating possibilities. But whether Merope used trickery or force or some combination thereof I think love potion is the least likely. I mean Dumbledore says he thinks she dosed Tom Sr. by offering him water on a hot day. But like. Why would he take water from her to begin with?

It is also very interesting and specific that it's Slytherin's Locket, and not a pendant or necklace. Lockets open, and they're associated with love and romance. What would have happened if, say, Merope put a lock of Tom's hair in that locket, and then wore the locket around her neck?

It also explains why the magic *stopped* at some point. Merope didn't stop, Tom just learned how to fight the Locket's compulsion and left, terrified of magic.

Also. I think the "distrust, paranoia" mental effect of the Locket is unique to the locket (also, it's also the exact opposite of something like "infatuation," which could easily be the original magical effect Voldemort is corrupting.) The Diary is in Harry's possession for a while, but it seems to make him obsessed, not paranoid and distrustful. The Ring seems to have compelled Dumbledore to put it on, but again, that's a different effect. (and then Harry is of course a Horcrux, and doesn't seem to adversely affect the people around him.)

What do mages wear? Robes! What do robes look like? Not bath robes!

The semi-formal everyday robes as well as the traditional cloak with lapels are inspired by graduation gowns.

Traditional robes are worn by higher ups at the Ministry of Magic and also the most important and wealthy magical families who take pride in their status (the Malfoys, the Blacks excluding Sirius)

A “beloved boy” to Fleamont and Euphemia Potter

A friend who risked his life every month for Remus Lupin’s safety and comfort

A brother who took Sirius Black in and was “the best friend he ever had”

An adored friend of half-giant Rubeus Hagrid, in an age when all “half-breeds” were looked upon with suspicion during the war

A side of the double act which brought laughter to Madam Rosmerta

An “all-time favourite student” of Minerva McGonagall, so much so that she waited all day at his son’s future home and wept at his death

A saviour of his enemies even when they were trying to expose his friends’ secrets

A Head Boy who was capable enough to be entrusted with the school

A man so against Dark Magic that at his name being invoked, his loved ones changed their mind about vengeance 

An activist protecting the right of existence for Muggles and Muggle-borns right out of school

A soldier who faced Voldemort three times and lived to tell about it

A caring father who went into hiding to protect his son 

A loving husband who sacrificed his life for his family

A faded trace of magic still trying to guide his son when the man that killed him returned to life 

Tarot Fest Art Claim: Union

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