How good was Voldemort at reading minds?

Question

From Ch - 1 of GoF, Voldemort is quoted as:

"You have no wife", said the cold voice, very quietly. "Nobody knows you are here. You told nobody that you were coming. Do not lie to Lord Voldemort, muggle, for he knows.. he always knows.."

As Dumbledore says in the third book that Divination is a very difficult art, and he also considers a raise for Prof. Trealawney just for her second correct prediction in years.

So, how good was Voldemort at that art? Or is it just due to a background check on the Riddle House, or just a speech of grandeur?

Related discussion: How good was Lord Voldemort at Divination?

What does Divination have to do with anything in that chapter?!? — Janus Bahs Jacquet, Feb 08 '16 at 05:29
@JanusBahsJacquet for he knows.. he always knows.. sounded more like the art of Divination to me :) — Dawny33, Feb 08 '16 at 05:30
Divination is about seeing the future. Knowing when someone is lying to you is an entirely different set of skills, more along the lines of mind reading (which is what Legilimency is to minds that “lack subtlety”, as Snape describes Harry). — Janus Bahs Jacquet, Feb 08 '16 at 05:34
Unrelated to this question, but I wonder, how good was Voldemort at Divination? Are there any canonical examples? — ibid, Feb 08 '16 at 06:34
Something tells me you haven't got to book 5 yet, @Dawny33...this is why I warned you last time these questions lead to spoilers :P — DavidS, Feb 08 '16 at 09:37
@DavidS haha I have a horde of doubts in a notepad for asking after finishing the books. This however, couldn't wait :D — Dawny33, Feb 08 '16 at 09:39
@Mithrandir no one is going to give any answers to this question not focused on the OP's quote. — ibid, Feb 08 '16 at 11:59
@ibid Even I was interested in the same. However, my perception of the quote was wrong. Anyways, I have asked a separate qn abt the same here :) — Dawny33, Feb 08 '16 at 12:06
I daresay Dumbledore may not be 100% serious when thinking aloud about the pay rise for Trelawney. — chirlu, Feb 08 '16 at 15:39
@chirlu Even I thought he was being sarcastic. But, if you read the chapter properly, he was fairly impressed by Professor Trelawney. And he explains how difficult divination is, too. — Dawny33, Feb 08 '16 at 15:42
So wait - Trelawny had been working there for years as the professor of Divination, despite only having successfully done it once before in her entire career? I get that it's difficult, but if teaching it is someone's entire job, you'd hope they'd had at least a little more experience than that? Firing her might've actually been the right move - she should never have been hired in the first place... — Darrel Hoffman, Feb 08 '16 at 18:14
@JanusBahsJacquet - Divination can be about gathering information generally, in its historical guise. The future is very popular, of course, but usually scrying, farseeing, dowsing, reading palms or auras, or other means of viewing the present or past are also included under its wide banners. in HP, there is an emphasis on seeing the future, yet it doesn't exclude the other meanings - crystal balls might equally show present or past, and palm reading is personality, not really future. Some definitions might include Harry's visions, or even Legilimancy as forms of divination. — Megha, Feb 08 '16 at 18:53
Well, clearly he could be deceived. Severus Snape hid the fact that he was not the master of the Elder Wand, and Harry Potter hid the fact that he WAS the master of the Elder Wand - although both might well have been well-skilled in Occlumency. Narcissa Malfoy lied to him about Harry's death. So it's obviously do-able...although it's probably not one could fail at and get a second chance. — Bob Jarvis - Слава Україні, Feb 08 '16 at 20:22
As Himarm said, Voldemort was a great Legilimens; however it's likely that he didn't need that skill in the particular occasion, but simply knew beforehand that Frank Bryce wasn't married. He surely wasn't so dumb not to let Wormtail do some reconaissance work before putting up tents in Little Hangleton. — leftaroundabout, Feb 08 '16 at 21:32

score 31 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

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It's actually Voldemorts impressive skill at Legilimency, according to Snape in OotP:

“The Dark Lord is highly skilled at Legilimency —”

“What’s that? Sir?”

“It is the ability to extract feelings and memories from another person’s mind —” He smirked. “It is true, however, that those who have mastered Legilimency are able, under certain conditions, to delve into the minds of their victims and to interpret their findings correctly. The Dark Lord, for instance, almost always knows when somebody is lying to him. Only those skilled at Occlumency are able to shut down those feelings and memories that contradict the lie, and so utter falsehoods in his presence without detection.”

edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

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answered Feb 08 '16 at 05:19

Himarm

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Might be worth adding where that quote is from and who is talking - that's a conversation between Snape and Harry in the Order of the Phoenix. – Luna Feb 08 '16 at 14:20
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In his conversation with Bellatrix at the beginning of Half-Blood Prince, Snape calls Voldemort the most accomplished Legilimens the world has ever seen. While this is in favour of his argument at the time, Bellatrix doesn’t seem to disagree. – chirlu Feb 08 '16 at 15:03
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The young Tom Riddle was already very advanced in this art, and actually shocked when it didn’t work on Albus Dumbledore: ‘Tell the truth!’ He spoke the last three words with a ringing force that was almost shocking. It was a command, and it sounded as though he had given it many times before. His eyes had widened and he was glaring at Dumbledore, who made no response except to continue smiling pleasantly. After a few seconds Riddle stopped glaring, though he looked, if anything, warier stil. ‘Who are you?’ – chirlu Feb 08 '16 at 15:05

How good was Voldemort at reading minds?

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