Lets see, in first year, I wouldn't bother with asking/telling Harry to give me the Stone. Kill him on the spot and loot his corpse. If he does not have the stone, oh well, now I can take the mirror.

Fourth Year, if I had bothered with waiting for Harry's blood for my resurrection, I would not be foolish and fight him one on one without testing my brand new body. My first orders would be 'He is of no further use to me. Kill him.'

Fifth Year, if I could get into my nemesis' head and trick him into doing something, screw getting the prophecy, I'll lead the runt into a trap where he can be killed. The prophecy is moot if it is already fulfilled, neh?

I can't think of anything for the other two, probably because I don't care enough.

 

To everyone who says Voldemort should have used someone else to kill Harry you are forgetting the prophecy it states:

either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...

Which means that none of the DE's would have been able to kill Harry nor any assassins so Voldemort would have to the job himself.

What I would have done about Harry

End Of 4th Year- I wouldn't give Harry the chance to duel simply killing him would be what I would have done. I don't care how bad I look in front of the other Death Eaters I have removed the only one who could defeat me.

5th Year-I would not underestimate the boy again. I wouldn't try to kill him for a while. Upon learning of the connection I would research the bond more so I could be sure of what it was(I'm sure Voldemort could have figured out that Harry was a horcrux). At this point learning the ultimate irony that the one who was destined to kill me has to kill himself I would try to get Potter to join me after all the kid was talented. First I would point out the obvious manipulations that Dumbledore has done(Remember at this point Harry's opinion of Dumbledore is at it's lowest)

Then I would point out the fickle opinion of the people he fights for and ask him does he really want to fight for them. I would promise the kid power my second-in-command(all the perks that come with the job women,money,comfort) and teach him myself. I would give him his Godfather's freedom to further have him trust me. Then when I'm sure that he only needs one step more to join me I bring up the fact that he is a horcrux. Then I give him the whole plan how Dumbledore wants him to be a martyr and his weapon. The kid realises that he was being manipulated all along and he doesn't want to die and he wants revenge so he joins me. Wizarding world's savior no more

As soons as I discover my diary is gone I bring all my horcruxes back to me so they don't get destroyed. Of course I have to punish Lucius but Crucio just won't cut it.

End of story I win.

 

Like Dumbledore emphasized in HBP, prophecies are self-fulfilling to an extent. Voldemort attacked Harry because of the prophecy- if he had not known of the prophecy, he wouldn't have attacked Harry, and the prophecy would have been made null. Since Voldemort instructed all of his followers to not kill Harry, they didn't.

Besides, the prophecy didn't really come true, as Voldemort, for all intents and purposes, killed himself.

 

The prophecy does matter everything happened the same way the prophecy had it. Voldemort attacked Harry he fulfilled the prophecy by marking him as his equal. Harry does have a power the Dark Lord knows not. Either must die at the hand of the other eventually Voldemort dies by Harry's wand. So the prophecy mattered and anyone else wouldn't be able to kill Harry.

 

But why did Voldemort attack Harry? Because of the prophecy. If Snape hadn't overheard the prophecy, Voldemort wouldn't have attacked Harry or Neville, and the prophecy, while still existing, wouldn't have come true.

Though we obviously have no way of knowing whether or not the Death Eaters could have killed Harry, Voldemort did say in Chapter 1 of DH that he "must be the one to kill Harry Potter" (7). I assume that this was his policy since his resurrection, and that this deterred the Death Eaters from trying to kill him on their own. He decided this because he believed the prophecy- that he would be the one to kill Harry Potter, and no one else. Thus the prophecy is self-fulfilling.

 

The most imortant thing I would do if I were LV is that I would use the imperio more often.

Think about the chaos and the carnage one could spread with enough imperios...

Its seriously the most over the top spell ever.

 

If Snape hadn't have overheard the Prophecy, it wouldn't have been made, or it would have been different. Predicting the future means it's going to happen, no matter what.

If he hadn't heard the prophecy and fulfilled it, it never could have existed.

 

Here's a quote from Accio Quote! about the prophecy only being significant because Harry and Voldemort make it so.

• Dumbledore’s line “the prophecy is significant only because you and Voldemort choose to make it so” is a key point in Book 6. [Read the entire quote from the Leaky Cauldron, 2005]

Dumbledore also said something about prophecies in Book 6, but I can't find it. I'll edit it in if I do.

 

I'm immortal right? I don't see the rush in taking over the world. I'd do it slowly. I'd do it in a way that didn't require followers of any kind. I'd probably spend a century researching spells. I'd summon/make Godzilla or some equivalent and throw him into magical britain and see what happens.

Oh, and I would reveal magic to the world at the most crucial moment. It would create such instability for the ministry that it would be perfect to strike then.

If I had heard the prophecy, I wouldn't have broadcasted my intentions to my supposed "equal". I would have made his life easy and made himself think that I was not going to return. Harry would not feel at all obliged to study, work hard, or seek me out, effectively no longer becoming a threat.

 

I suppose it depends on his real motivation. Was it to rule the world or wipe all the mudbloods and muggles out? Either way, revealing the magical world to the muggle population would go a long way to making that possible. Start attacking muggles randomly so they distrust wizards, and let them fight each other. The purebloods will have more spells protecting their homes and families, while the halfbloods and muggleborns will be most vulnerable. You keep covertly attacking muggles, making it seem like it was a random halfblood or muggleborn (polyjuice is very underused, as is the imperio) and you could escalate it until both sides wipe each other out, or at least weaken each other so much that you can take over both sides at the end.

 

First things first, hide any horcruxes I may or may not make in a completely random place. Second, obliviate myself of the memory of said location(s) and leave only a cryptic message in a language I made up in a safety deposit box in a backwater village in Spain. That's them safely secured.

If I happen to be deformed by said horcrux rituals, I then go on to glamour myself to look like a normal human being. I gather some devoted followers, whom I will allow any pleasure they want in return for service. I won't mark them in an obvious way. Maybe a small scar on a random part of the body for each person, just to show them as mine.

Now that my immortality is secured, as well as my followers, I'll go out and find any prophecy about me that I can and completely disregard it. In fact, I'll do the exact opposite and invite the child in question's family to be part of a 'non-participation treaty'. They stay out of it and I go on killing people, its a win-win situation. It'll serve the duel purpose of getting rid of any chance of being defeated, and it'll also set a standard for people wanting out. All I ask is that none of their family (not including anyone further than cousins) try to kill me or my followers, and I'll let them live their lives happily. Hell, I'll even give them a free holiday to Aruba if it makes them happy.

Once that's done I go on my path of destruction against my chosen enemy... Dunno who, but it'll probably end up as everyone. Bar werewolves, cause they're handy.

Aekiel

 

Primarily, I'd not connect everything regarding my super-secret-soul-containers back to myself. The worst thing someone can do (and this is how serial killers get caught) is to fall into a pattern. Harry got outed by falling into his pattern of disarming rather than going for the kill-shot in DH. Had he broken with what he had done before and sent at least a stunner at Stan, he wouldn't have been found out (at least, until the next time he did something stupid).

Following this logic, if Voldemort had deviated from his pattern of "founder's relic in a place connected to my past" just once more, the Battle of Hogwarts would not have been his end, since canon-Harry would not have found all of the Horcruces.

This being said, I wouldn't simply cast my Horcrux into the sea as a pebble, since I might have some future need of it. I'd go for a happy medium, such as a favorite quill of mine in an unknown cave in Siberia. And this is all assuming a Fidelius Charm is unable to hide a Horcrux.

Secondly, I wouldn't go looking for a magical version of the Spear of Destiny, since bad things seem to have a habit of happening to its owners (for both the Wand and Spear). Just ask Antioch Peverell or Adolf Hitler how well they're satisfied with their mystical artifacts.

And thirdly....

Ok, I shot an AK at Harry Potter when he was one, and it failed.
Say I was stupid and shot it again at him when he was 14, and it failed again.
The very definition of insanity is to do the same thing again and again and to expect different results each time. Of course, Voldemort then proceeds to do so not once, but twice more, and that fourth time costs him his life.

At the very least, I'd set a Nundu on him. It was not be as efficient as shooting him, but at least I wouldn't have to sully my hands with muggle weapons.

 

This is what I never understood. Voldemort is supposedly the most evil of evil dark evil wizards evil. Surely there must be more than one curse that kills people instantly and isn't AK. After thousands of years of practicing magic, there just has to be.

JKR might've been afraid to get too many spells into play as it would overly complicate things, but, a little more variety would've been nice.

 

I doubt that there is another curse that causes instant death, because then it would be Unforgivable as well. And even if there was, it probably wouldn't have mattered much, since Lily's protection is not exclusively against the AK (see Harry killing Quirrell).

 

The Spear of Destiny is an interesting artifact, really. It's not that you die because you have it; instead, you die because you lose it. In fact, that was probably the case with Voldemort and the Elder Wand.

Remember, Voldemort cast the killing curse upon Harry, and it was reflected upon him specifically by Expelliarmus; I'm sure that I don't need to explain what that spell does. Now, while I understand that the actual reason Voldemort's spell was reflected upon him because of Wand Ownership rights (Harry disarms Malfoy, gets the ownership of the Elder Wand, and Voldemort tries to kill Harry with his own wand, things don't work out so well, etc.), it could be stated that Rowling was trying to draw a connection here.

By having Harry cast Expelliarmus, Harry "disarms" Voldemort, and in effect makes him lose the wand, makes him lose "ownership" of the Wizarding world's Spear of Destiny. The legend of the spear takes effect, and Voldemort is killed.

Almost makes me wonder if it was intentional or not; I'd like to think it isn't, but after thinking about it (in the process of typing this), I have to say that it's a possibility.

Now, what would I do if I was Voldemort? Well, I would have my Death Eaters tell me a very, very basic idea of what sorts of information they have. Prophecies have a way of making themselves work out if the subjects hear it, so if there's a prophecy involving me in some way...Well, I don't want to hear it.

Also, I would do as other people have suggested; that is, take at least one object that could never be traced to me, and make that my Horcrux. Also, I would hide the Horcruxes in places that either can't be found for some reason, or, again, have no connection to me. I'd, say, make a deck of cards a Horcrux, then promptly charm it with a Notice-Me-Not and hide it in the nose of one of the presidents on Mt. Rushmore.

 

After the creation of my horcruxes in whatever location they were created in, I would glamor myself and take a trip to a muggle bank and place all my nifty antiques in a low security safety deposit box, placing it under a name that does not have any connection to Voldemort or Tom Riddle. Once that is done, I would have a magical painting made with the image of my glamor and have it duplicated and place a painting in everyone of my followers' homes/mansions in case I ever forget what I looked like or if I order one of my followers to go and get a horcrux for me.

As for the Dark Mark, it won't be something obvious like a big gaping, moving tattoo that will force them to always wear something with long sleeves.

When I discover of the tidbit of the prophecy from Snape, I'll take a visit to the DoM and accidentally toss a rock in the direction of said prophecy and listen to the little ghost image that will whisper it.

When the graveyard scene comes up, I'll just kill Harry straight up once I get my body back instead of following villain tradition, taunting and giving the good guy a chance to fight back.

Once all that is done with, I'll continue on as I have before since the only person who could kill me was dead and no one else would have the power to stop me. Not fool proof, but will get the job done.

 

Indeed, this is true, but the similarities are striking:

Spear of Destiny - Immensely powerful artifact made from an ordinary object (a spear) by a mythic being (Jesus, by having the spear pierce his side, though it wasn't intentional) that confers victory so long as it is possessed but death upon loosing it (Hitler shot himself within a short time of the Spear being captured, Charlemagne was killed after dropping it, I believe).

Wand of Destiny - Immensely powerful artifact made from an ordinary object (an elder branch) by a mythic being (Death, who may or may not be real, just like Jesus really being the Son of God, but this is not the place for that) that confers victory so long as it is possessed but death upon loosing it (Voldemort unintentionally shot himself with a rebounded AK as soon as the Wand was captured).

I tempted to say you're right, and they are the same thing, in a different context.

 

I'm pretty sure the Lance of Longinus stabbing Jesus in the side wasn't an accident. If I remember correctly, the soldier stabbed Jesus to make sure he was dead; the fact that the wound bled water, and the lance became enchanted (according to legend) is what wasn't accounted for.

Now, I'm not entirely positive that it was the case. The fact is, it's equally likely that the connections between the Lance of Longinus and the Wand of Death are purely coincidental. Unfortunately, it can't really be proven one way or another short of asking JKR herself, and even though we may want to do so, the chance of actually being able to (without traveling to Edinburgh and bothering her at that Cafe she's been writing at lately) is agonizingly minimal.

 

He meant Jesus didn't intentionally make the spear magical.

 

What would I do differently? Are you, perhaps, suggesting that there is something wrong with my judgment? You dare to suggest that there is some fault in my plans that requires a deviation from my grand design?

CRUCIO!​