Why didn't Tom Riddle kill Harry in Chamber of Secrets?
I remember from 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' that in the climax, Harry was shocked after finding Ginny Weasley on floor and drops the wand which is then picked up by Tom Riddle (his memory).
Also we saw that he commanded the Basilisk to attack Harry.
So why couldn't he just kill him with a curse by wand?
Best Answer
In-Universe Reasons
Riddle is not fully formed yet. He's a memory almost made flesh, so he can grab Harry's wand and even create some shiny letters with it, but it's possible that's the extent of his powers.
Riddle also knows that the Killing Curse didn't work on Harry once and rebounded on Voldemort, so he might be wary of trying this powerful spell again on Harry, especially in his state.
Riddle wants to humiliate Harry first, to show him that his powers are no match to his. As he says:
So this is what Dumbledore sends his great defender. A songbird and an old hat. Let's match the power of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Harry Potter.
And in the book, this is preceded by:
I’m going to teach you a little lesson.
Just like in the graveyard duel in Goblet of Fire, Riddle\Voldemort favors a spectacle, a feat of strength, to show Harry that he's not the great Gryffindor hero everyone says he is. Because...
Out of Universe Reason
...Voldemort is the very epitome of a supervillain, and as such, is prone to gloating, monologuing, explaining his evil plan to the hero and then putting him in some death trap that always fails to work. When you simply kill the hero, you are just a killer... But when you mock him first and plan his demise in some fiendishly clever way, you're truly a villain. ;)
Pictures about "Why didn't Tom Riddle kill Harry in Chamber of Secrets?"
Why was Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets?
The diary of Tom Riddle was a horcrux, so the Tom Riddle we see at the end is the fragment of Voldemort's soul from that horcrux. He uses a spell of some kind of trade Ginny's life for his own, allowing him to return to a solid body.Why was Harry not petrified by the Basilisk?
So why wasn't the Horcrux residing in Harry's head destroyed when he was bitten by the Basilisk? Rowling's answer is simple enough. Harry wasn't destroyed by the Basilisk or its venom. He came very close, but Fawkes' tears healed him, and apparently that helped preserve the Horcrux.What did Tom Riddle make Ginny do in the Chamber of Secrets?
Through this dialogue, Tom grew stronger and ultimately poured a little of his soul into Ginny, manipulating her to kill Hagrid's roosters and open the Chamber of Secrets.Why Didn't You Stop Me?
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