Couldn't bother to read through all the posts.

GoF. Yule Ball chapter. Don't know if Rowling has given away contradictory information in interviews later though, but this is canon enough for me. Though this's always confused me, was this a human-lookalike doll with rudimentary AI, or actually a friend - and if the latter, is there a voluntary acceptance clause in there somewhere? I'd settled on the former option after some thuoght, myself.

 

... it's a common metaphorical turn of phrase.

Not sure if serious.

 

... Don't spoil my fun.

 

Look at the steps that Voldemort went through to obtain a new body.

 

You know I wonder If you could use the same ritual to create mindles bodies?

 

The ritual, with it's emphasis on 'father, servant and enemy' seemed to me very focused on who the person was before, so it read more like a resurrection than a simple creation of a body which Voldemort proceeded to possess. I dunno, just the importance given to ties of blood and mind implies that more is going on than just creation of a body.