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voldemort - Why are Harry's GoF dreams in the third-person?


In Goblet of Fire, when Harry dreams about Voldemort, it's always in the third-person. For the first dream, when Frank Bryce is being murdered, the text makes it clear that Harry is not dreaming from Voldemort's perspective.



He closed his eyes tightly and tried to remember what Voldemort had looked like, but it was impossible...All Harry knew was that at the moment when Voldemort's chair had swung around, and he, Harry, had seen what was sitting in it, he had felt a spasm of horror, which had awoken him...or had that been the pain in his scar? (GoF, "The Scar")




Later he has a second dream. Again, Harry sees the dream in third-person perspective, from behind Voldemort's chair:



"Harry - did you see Voldemort?"


"No," said Harry. "Just the back of his chair. But - there wouldn't have been anything to see, would there? I mean, he hasn't got a body, has he? But...but then how could he have held the wand?" Harry said slowly. (GoF, "The Pensieve")



However, every other time in the series, Harry dreams of Voldemort from Voldemort's perspective, or the perspective of whoever he's possessing. The only other time he sees Voldemort is when he looks in a mirror.


So what gives? Are Harry's Goblet of Fire dreams different than his other dreams in some important way?



Answer



No canon answer, but I think it’s probably because Voldemort didn’t have a proper body.


We don’t see any dreams from Voldemort’s point of view until Order of the Phoenix.1 He also doesn’t have a body until this time. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.



Dumbledore later explains that the connection between Harry and Voldemort strengthened after Voldemort regained his body:



“And this ability of yours — to detect Voldemort’s presence, even when he is disguised, and to know what he is feeling when his emotions are roused — has become more and more pronounced since Voldemort returned to his own body and his full powers.


Order of the Phoenix, chapter 37 (The Lost Prophecy)



Although Voldemort has a temporary home in the baby-like form, it’s not really a proper body. I’m guessing that something strange was happening with the connection between them, and Harry was getting this third-person perspective. But I don’t know why it would misbehave like this.


It’s a lousy theory, but it’s the best I can think of.


1 I don’t recall any specific visions like this, connected to Voldemort, prior to Goblet of Fire: presumably because Voldemort was too weak.


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