Snake Eyes

[Alz]

They were not as snake like, the eyes were not yet scarlet, the face not yet masklike, and yet he was no longer handsome Tom Riddle. It was as though his features had been burned and blurred; they were waxy and oddly distorted, and the whites of the eyes now had a permenant bloody look, though the pupils were not yet the slits that Harry knew they would become.

OK, this interested me ...
This was when Voldemort returned to Dumbledore for the job.
He had left Hogwarts around 10 years before and was undergoing his transformations from good looking Tom Riddle to what we read above.

Now the eyes ... why would his eyes go like a snakes?
We assume maybe this is to do with his link with Nagini - but why would he get the eyes of a snake?
Is it because he made Nagini a Horcux - if so, does that mean a side effect of placing your Horcrux in a living object is that you become tied to them - even mimic them in some respects?
If so - would this support more that Harry is a Horcrux - based on his obvious connections to Voldemort - including 'looking like Riddle' which was observed a few times - even by Riddle himself in CoS ...
The of course we had the 'In essence divided' comment from Dumbledore as a single snake splits apart and reveals two ...

On a broader scale - why would Voldemort develope Snake eyes?

[The Frozen North]

I just assumed it had something to do with the regeneration process, that when he regenerated he became the physical embodiment of his true inner self. I don't think we have any referance to how Voldermort's eyes looked after this point until he regenerated but I could be wrong on this. (But then again, they do say that owners start to look klike theier pets after a while. lol)

[Snuffles]

You know, Blaise? From the moment I read that little section, I thought it was because Voldemort had made Nagini one of his Horcruxes. In the "essence divided," we are, as you say, a snake splitting into two snakes. So the first snake must signify Nagini, and the two following snakes Nagini AND a part of Voldemort. What else can explain those creepy eyes? He hasn't suddenly turned into a snakeboy or something ;)

[Alz]

I suppose I would like to re-call another point and maybe a thread where I asked if another Horcrux had been used ..
There is no doubts that Voldemort was physically re-generated from Nagini's milk and a few other bits and pieces - that inital physical form .. prior to full re-birth latter part of GoF.
I suppose what I was trying to say was - why?
Why would he take the features of a Snake?
If it was a side effect of the milk used to give him a new form, why did it retain the snake attributes and what does that actually mean in context of the books?
It would seem he is already attached to Nagini - would he still have placed a Horcrux part in her?
What is the implications of placing a piece of him in something that already had given him something - form?

[Tonks]

If so - would this support more that Harry is a Horcrux - based on his obvious connections to Voldemort - including 'looking like Riddle' which was observed a few times - even by Riddle himself in CoS ...
If it weren't for the fact that Harry also looks so much like James at the same time, I'd say there definitely might be something there.. the argument would be a whole lot stronger if Harry didn't happen to look so much like his dead parents.

Back to the snake eyes though..
Obviously Voldemort has a connection to Nagini, from the milk that helped him be reborn and also if she is indeed a Horcrux.
Also, we know his Slytherin roots have a great tie to snakes, and Parseltongue - could it be possible that maybe Voldemort chose to make his eyes snakelike? He's definitely a weirdo and it would be a pretty frightening feature - i wouldn't put it past him..

[Sirius Potter Fan]

The way i saw this when i read it, was when Riddle showed up to apply for the job, he was only partialy transformed into what he would physicaly become in later years. I think Nagini didn't come into the picture untill GoF? I had just assumed that each time Riddle/Voldemort split his soul to make yet another horcrux, the act of doing that altered his physical appearance as well. It would also fit, in that what probably most motivated Riddle to apply for the job was to find more treasures to use as his final Horcruxes. In PS/SS at the end when Voldemort shows himself out of the back of Quirrel's head, he is still described as a serpent like apearance. In most cultures snakes are considered the embodiment of evil, therefore it seemed to me to make sense that every time Voldemort killed and split his soul, it made him just that much more evil and it came out in a physical manifestation by each time, altering his face to be more like that of a snake.

[Alz]

If it weren't for the fact that Harry also looks so much like James at the same time, I'd say there definitely might be something there.. the argument would be a whole lot stronger if Harry didn't happen to look so much like his dead parents.

Umm - you know I think you might have missed my point on that - but all the same Riddle himself drew a great deal of parallels between him and Harry - and not forgetting he chose Harry because he was most like him.
I wonder if both the snake eyes and also Harry looking like Riddle could be a side effect when a person places his soul into another living thing - they start to take the physical form to complement the soul fragment they placed in the host?
Could explain the snake like eyes and the fact Harry looks a little like Riddle no? ;)

[Sirius Potter Fan]

Thing is there Blaise, young Riddle looked like he did well Before Harry came along, and we don't know exactly when Nagini came into the picture. But it can't work both ways; if placing your soul in another living thing makes you look like them, that could possibly explain Tom looking more like a snake, but as it was a gradual transformation over many years, does that mean each time he placed some of his soul in a diferent snake? And then, if it works that way, how would it make Harry look like young Riddle? If what you are saying with Nagini is true then it should make Riddle look more like Harry from that point on, no make Harry look like Riddle right? :confused: I can see why it possibly might work one way or the other, but not both. . . Nagini never seems to have changed to look like Riddle, so why would Harry (and that is if he is a Horcrux) And then on the other hand if you take on the appearance of what you place your soul in, as in Riddle looking more snakelike after he makes Nagini a Horcrux, then why didn't Voldemort start to resemble Harry after he did it? Am I making any sense? :confused:

[Alz]

Thing is there Blaise, young Riddle looked like he did well Before Harry came along, and we don't know exactly when Nagini came into the picture. But it can't work both ways; if placing your soul in another living thing makes you look like them, that could possibly explain Tom looking more like a snake, but as it was a gradual transformation over many years, does that mean each time he placed some of his soul in a diferent snake? And then, if it works that way, how would it make Harry look like young Riddle? If what you are saying with Nagini is true then it should make Riddle look more like Harry from that point on, no make Harry look like Riddle right? :confused: I can see why it possibly might work one way or the other, but not both. . . Nagini never seems to have changed to look like Riddle, so why would Harry (and that is if he is a Horcrux) And then on the other hand if you take on the appearance of what you place your soul in, as in Riddle looking more snakelike after he makes Nagini a Horcrux, then why didn't Voldemort start to resemble Harry after he did it? Am I making any sense? :confused:
Somewhat disagreed here ...
Riddle underwent some strange transformations - I think this was reference to him becoming less human each time he removed a piece of his soul - not with him becoming like a snake.
I propose that he started to take the features of a snake after he placed a piece of his soul in another living object - the snake.
A side effect of this was that he developed some of the characteristics of the holder - because the soul inside Nagini is still passing back his life force and sustaining him in the genre of exist ;)
I extended this and a little wild byt saying the reason Harry is compared to look a lot like Riddle BEFORE his transformations is based on the same deal ... Harry has some Voldemort in him - sorting hat saw it and Dumbledore said the night of the attack some of Voldemorts powers were transferred - what if it wasn't just skills ;)

[Sirius Potter Fan]

OK, I kind of see your point. :eek: and if your theory is right, and the resemblance proves that Harry is a Horcrux, then this could take us back to "in essence divided" couldn't it? Could that be something that Dumbledore knew all along, or guessed at that point? that Harry was a Horcrux. Was he asking the device if their souls were merged or seperate? Could he have been pondering if it were possible to remove the horcrux without harming Harry?

[Alz]

That takes us nicely back to in essence divided ...
Because you can see one snake become 2 snakes - and Dumbledore questions that in as much as to say - and my guess BTW!
'hey look - one snake became 2 - I wonder if Voldemort's soul is in essence divided - he was whole and how there is 2 parts - yah, in fact his essence (soul) is divided.'
Perhaps this was another dawning point on Dumbledore that helped him put together other small clues and conclude that maybe he should look more into the Horcruxes thing?
Dumbledore was in possesion of some really strange information, clues and snippits - comes a time when things start to make sense and i just wonder if that at least lead him on the avenue of looking at Horcruxes?

[twista9988]

heres an idea
maybe his eyes looking snakelike has to do with his frequent dealings with snakes. obviously voldemort wasnt killed or petrified from looking at the Basilisk, other side affects maybe from constant exposure? of course, he was in shcool when this happened and his eyes are described 10 years later. Perhaps it is a long term affect. He also has other connections with snakes, his continuous use of parsletongue. His control of snakes, like when mr weasely was attacked. Maybe all these factors and many others contributed to giving him snake like features- basilisk, frequent parseltongue, frequent control of snakes, and of course a descendant of Slytherin himself
maybe because his soul has/had been split, his body was more vounerable to change as he split more and more. as if loosing one's soul is connected to losing one's identity

[Alz]

Dumbledore said it was ill-advised to use another creature to seal your Horcruxes - would it be logically to assume there could be some side effect of this?

Let's assume - just for the record - that Voldemort used both Harry and Nagini.

Side effects for Nagini is that as much as she now has him inside her - he also might have a 'link' to her that means she can effect his physical appearance and thoughts.
It could be that the soul piece injected into Nagini also occupies part of her thought processes and visa versa.
Example - Frank in GoF - he saw there was a Muggle listening in - because he saw via Nagini ...
Could also explain his appearance and also why her milk was used to get his a form.

Now extend that to Harry - we have this link between the two that manifests physically via Harry's scar hurting - but the mental link doesn't have to come from the same means - it's just how Harry feels him.
Also as said above - it has been observed how Harry looks like Tom Riddle - well if he grew up with a piece of Voldemort inside him - it could have the same effect as with Nagini and Voldemort.
What I find a little worrying is that given the share aspect - what is Voldemort feeling from Harry?
I wonder if Voldemort has trouble sleeping at night for images and flashes of things he doesn't understand ... namely the mental influence of Harry.
Difference is - Voldemort found this out and was able to close his mind ...
Point I am making - what of Harry is inside Voldemort?