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harry potter - Is Voldemort a liar?



From a comment in another question:


One should never assume that any given statement by Voldemort is truthful. Indeed, because he deliberately spews lies and distortions all the time, one should be ready to assume that the exact opposite of what Voldemort is saying may be the truth.


Seems obvious right? He certainly seems to be a sociopath, and lying is a component of that diagnosis, however, in thinking about when we actually see Voldemort communicate, does he in fact, ever lie - especially to Harry?


The only time I can think that we see an actual lie is in Chamber of Secrets, but that is technically Tom Riddle, not the fully realized Voldemort (even though, yes, he had taken on the name)



Answer



From Chapter 33 of HP7, "The Flaw in the Plan":


Voldemort and company, with Hagrid carrying supposedly-dead Harry, approach Hogwarts in full victory mode. After the defenders come out of the castle and line up facing the Death Eaters, Voldemort announces to the defenders that



"He [Harry] was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds," said Voldemort, and there was relish in his voice for the lie, "killed while trying to save himself."




Obviously, JKR wants to make sure that readers note that Voldemort is lying. In this instance, the purpose of the lie appears to be to deceive and further demoralize the defenders of Hogwarts.


Two more examples of significant lies, revealed in HBP:



  1. An act of deception following Voldemort's murders of his own father and paternal grandparents, viz., placing a memory charm on Morfin Gaunt (Voldemort's maternal uncle) so that Morfin would "confess" to having committed the murders of the three Riddles.

  2. Another act of deception following Voldemort's murder of Hepzibah Smith and the thefts of Helga Hufflepuff's cup and Salazar Slytherin's locket, viz., disguising the murder as an accidental poisoning committed by Hepzibah's aging house elf Hokey.


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