Was Voldemort really searching for the Hallows?

Question

According to the new Timeline from the updated Cursed Child, Voldemort actually searched for the Hallows:

"Voldemort murders Snape to obtain the Elder Wand in his quest to unite the Deathly Hallows."

Now, it seems to me that this is contradicted by the books:

“And Voldemort never knew about the Hallows?”

“I do not think so, because he did not recognize the Resurrection Stone he turned into a Horcrux. But even if he had known about them, Harry, I doubt that he would have been interested in any except the first. He would not think that he needed the Cloak, and as for the stone, whom would he want to bring back from the dead? He fears the dead. He does not love.”

^{Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 35: King's Cross}

Also, even assuming Dumbledore could be wrong, you have to answer the question why Voldemort would make the Stone a Horcrux if he knew what is was. And we never see Voldemort wanting the cloak.

So did Voldemort search for the Hallows?

.

TBH I don't consider Cursed Child a cannon and I would go with Dumbledore explanation — Vanja Vasiljevic, Nov 27 '17 at 16:44
Another incidence of the Cursed Child writers not having read or understood the books. — The Dark Lord, Nov 27 '17 at 16:44
Dumbledore is talking about the period when the Resurrection Stone was transformed into a Horcrux, but that was long before the Battle of Hogwarts. It's a bit of a stretch IMHO but they could both be true. — Kevin, Nov 27 '17 at 16:45
@TheAsh Yes, but there is no strict definition of canonicity with Harry Potter. Most would say that books 1-7 trump CC when there are contradictions. In this case because it is a supplementary edition this timeline probably wasn't written either by Rowling or Thorne but by some publishing assistant in New York, who may or may not know what they're talking about. Since they think that Voldemort killed Snape to "obtain the Elder Wand" rather than gain the allegiance of a wand he already had I'd suggest they haven't got a Scooby. — The Dark Lord, Nov 27 '17 at 16:57
@TheDarkLord I agree with you. But many on this site take CC as canon almost biblically. Perhaps this question will disabuse them of this notion. — TheAsh, Nov 27 '17 at 16:58
@VanjaVasiljevic - I don't consider it a cannon either. But it's worthy of being loaded into a cannon and shot far away, never to be considered canon again ;) — Mithical, Nov 27 '17 at 17:04
@TheDarkLord see comments here: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/11447/why-couldnt-harry-or-anybody-else-see-peter-pettigrew-aka-scabbers-on-the-marau/169613#169613 Where I argue strongly just because JKR says something its not automamtically canon, bringing proof from CC. — TheAsh, Nov 27 '17 at 17:22
Voldemort didn't bother to steal Harry's cloak after killing him in the Forbidden Forest. If he was trying to collect Hallows he was doing a damned poor job of it. — Harry Johnston, Nov 27 '17 at 20:18
Also, just because a published work is considered canon doesn't mean that every little detail in it is necessarily canon - you have to allow for the possibility of something being printed by mistake. There are probably various typographical errors in at least a few editions of the original books, but that doesn't mean we have to become Seventh Day Advent Hoppists. :-) — Harry Johnston, Nov 27 '17 at 20:22

score 3 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

The Dark Lord sought only the Elder Wand.

When we see directly into the Dark Lord’s mind through Harry, he only thinks of his quest for the Elder Wand, not of any quest to find the Hallows, when thinking of what else he must do alone in addition to checking on and securing his Horcruxes.

“But to be sure, to be utterly sure, he must return to each of his hiding places, he must redouble protection around each of his Horcruxes … a job, like the quest for the Elder Wand, that he must undertake alone …”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 27 (The Final Hiding Place)}}

This shows he was only searching for the Elder Wand, not the Hallows, since if he was, he’d then have thought of his quest to find the Hallows instead. It’s directly from the Dark Lord’s own mind, so it wouldn’t be incorrect about what his true plan was. This glimpse into the Dark Lord’s mind was only one day before his death, so it’s highly unlikely he’d have decided to search for the Hallows after that. Therefore, this proves he only sought the Elder Wand, not the Hallows.

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 03 '17 at 02:57

No.

Voldemort wasn't searching for the Hallows. He just knew it was a very powerful object because Garrick Ollivander, who didn't know about the Hallows either, told him about its power and history. As for the timeline in Cursed Child, I'm not completely sure why it says that.

P.S This is from what I know about Harry Potter and what I think. It might be wrong.

Was Voldemort really searching for the Hallows?

2 Answers2

The Dark Lord sought only the Elder Wand.