Who Wants a Horcrux?

(Okay, ignoring the whole "but that would end the story too soon" argument...Am I the only one who thought that the "cure" for the whole "Voldemort problem" was a sniper rifle from the second story window? He doesn't know about Muggle weapons so he wouldn't think to defend himself against it. He thinks himself superior to Muggles, but if he tried to mess with us 'Muricans he'd have one hell of a shock from the Good Ol' Boys. A bullet through the brain pan would end him faster than he could realize that he's under attack and summon a curse. And once the bullet did its job the Horcrux hunt would be a bit more leisurely...[/Muggle Rant])

Comments

[SusannahJoy]

That actually totally occurred to me too. I think we're supposed to think that no one would think of that though, because they don't know anything about the muggle world, but um, a good percentage (including the two main characters) grew up in it, and surely they know what a gun is. I still have fun reading those though. :)

[Renee]

I think that there wasn't a whole lot of proof that he was killing people as a young man, and when it was well-known then he was basically immortal because of the horcruxes. But the time-turner could have fixed anything...

[The Last Archimedean]

Once he created the Horcruxes, killing his physical body wouldn't have helped. Because in the first four books he didn't have a physical body unless he occupied someone else's [like Professor Quirrell, for instance.]

[reeface]

i think you still have to kill all the other horcruxes before you kill voldy himself

[Techdeath]

The horcruxes were his key to staying alive no matter what. That being said having the muggles in on helping track them down and then having a small army in place to start sniping/blowing the hell out of Voldemort would've made more sense. They were going to die in greater numbers than the wizards so had more stock in making sure he stayed down.

[SCS]

Does the diary write back, too?

[Jami]

Um, Tom grew up in a muggle orphanage. He would've known about muggle weapons.

[CoG]

Renee, he killed his father and Muggle grandparents at 16...

[The Last Archimedean]

CoG, didn't he frame his uncle for that though? So people still didn't know...

[Chicajojobe]

With TechDeath on this one. They should have gotten more technology involved. Even if guns or missiles couldn't kill Voldemort, they might have helped cut down his army of followers.

[AmigaTech]

I'm disappointed that nobody has yet mentioned the ending of the animated movie, "Wizards" yet. I won't spoil it for the rest of you, but those who've seen it know what I'm talking about.

--AT

[Kristina]

@Amiga - 100 points for Ravenclaw(because only the uber nerd house would make a Wizards reference). And I completely agree, that would have made for a rather interesting ending. Not really a "chosen one" move, but hey whatever gets the job done.

And yes if muggle tech had come into play more for either side really would have changed the game. If Moldybutt had put his hitler-esque ideals aside in that regard the war would have been done and over rather quickly.

Once D.A was formed if Harry and Hermonie had brought in muggle tech and maybe some basic military tactics they would have steamrolled the death eaters.

See what I would have wanted to see is stuff such as shock tactics like blaring music(annoying 90s pop music anyone?) before attacking. Hate to say it but spice girls would have been perfect.

[Hellbound Alleee]

Sure, they could have brought in guns.

But the actual subtext of the story was too deep for that. You have to understand that the wizarding world was undergoing a revolution. A violent coup overthrew the wizard government in a really interesting way: by appealing to some really dark values held by those in power. This was not about magic. This was a real adult theme disguised in a kids' book. The Ministry pretended to be against Voldemort, yet many in really powerful positions agreed with the Deatheaters' racist views.

So sure, one rifle shot to the head. But you'd need more than one muggle gun to solve the real problem.

[CoG]

TLA - he did frame Morfin. But Renee's complaint was that there was little proof he had killed at a young age. He was killing at 16 (not only his Muggle family, but he was responsible for the death of Myrtle later that year as well). It just didn't surface until almost 50 years later.

[Jami]

Okay, people seem to have forgotten -

1: As I pointed out earlier, Tom grew up in a muggle orphanage. When he wasn't at Hogwarts he was living as a muggle in the muggle world. Which means, once again, he knew all about muggle weapons.

2: Muggle tech doesn't work well for wizards and witches. Something about their magic messes it up. (Think of the way Jubilee of the X-Men was always making technology explode on the original X-Men cartoon. It's like that.) Yes, the Weasley's had a car - powered by magic. A rifle, unless magically retrofited, would not have worked against Moldy Voldy. You'd either have to get the help of a muggle or a squib and make sure no witches or warlocks were near them when they took the shot.

Basically - no, a bullet to the head wouldn't work. Now maybe an old fashion arrow to the throat from an old fashion bow, nothing too fancy, could've done it.

[Chicajojobe]

@Jami,

Is that true? I don't know all the details about Harry Potter. I'm only a passing fan, but I've got say that explanation is lame! I know it isn't your explanation but boo on JK Rowling if the explanation was just "the magic messes technology up."
Oh okay, that makes perfect sense. How dumb of me to suggest otherwise!

[Jami]

@CJ - Yes. In fact that's one of the reasons why Arthur was so obsessed with muggles. Because of their technology and how they survived without magic. He had all sorts of broken bits of things like toasters and stuff around because he was trying to make them work. But the magic made them fizzle out.

The Dresden Files works a bit the same way. That's why Dresden doesn't use a computer often or drive a modern car.

[Jason Thorn]

Besides, notice how all the mages wanted to handle their problems "in-house." No reaching out to Muggle sources for solutions. "We'll handle things ourselves."

One of the failings of their system that I found in the books is the inherent prejudice against Muggles. Sad, but true. But then again, like many stories, the books would be a lot shorter if the characters weren't trapped by their own perceptions (just like the rest of us).