Barty Crouch Jr., while impersonating Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, had Moody's Foe-Glass in his office during Harry Potter's fourth year at Hogwarts. Near the end of the book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the Foe-Glass shows Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, and Severus Snape just before they burst into the room to arrest Barty Crouch Jr.
Barty Jr. had an entire year to learn about the Foe-Glass. He could have told Voldemort on any day that year about the Foe-Glass. If he did tell his master, I am sure Voldemort would have insisted on keeping the device for himself.
Voldemort could use the device to find out if any Death Eaters near him are really enemies.
Although the harrypotter.wikia.com page says the Foe-Glass is a dark detector, we know from this question and from the book itself that it shows the foes of whomever physically possesses it.
There is no indication he ever told Voldemort about it. Why not?
Answer
Probably because it was not unique
When Crouch first mentions the Foe-Glass, he refers to it as "my Foe-Glass":
“Oh that’s my Foe-Glass. See them out there, skulking around? I’m not really in trouble until I see the whites of their eyes. That’s when I open my trunk.”
—Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Later, when Harry sees it in the Room of Requirement, he refers to it as "a" Foe-Glass":
The walls were lined with wooden bookcases and instead of chairs there were large silk cushions on the floor. A set of shelves at the far end of the room carried a range of instruments such as Sneakoscopes, Secrecy Sensors and a large, cracked Foe-Glass that Harry was sure had hung, the previous year, in the fake Moody's office.
—Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
This isn't definitive, but it suggests that the Foe-Glass is not unique: that there may be other Foe-Glasses. As such, Voldemort could probably have procured one himself, and there would be no need for Crouch to tell Voldemort about a device he already knew existed.
As to why Voldemort never procured one, remember his arrogance. He believes that he knows who his friends are. He certainly believes he knows who his enemies are. He also prefers to rely only on himself, for example rejecting the Elixir of Life as a path to immortality. He would have sufficient faith in his considerable powers of Legilimancy that he would disdain the use of artifacts to determine who had lost faith in him.
As an addendum, I am not aware of any indication that the Foe-Glass indicates the precise (or indeed general) location of its user's enemies, merely a vague sense of how close they are. Indeed, it seems likely that it does not even show physical closeness at all, else Crouch would be taking a serious risk letting Harry enter his office without knowing where (at least) Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape were. More likely it shows how much danger one is in from one's enemies.
"I’m not really in trouble until I see the whites of their eyes. That’s when I open my trunk.”
—Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Comments
Post a Comment