Before I read other comments, allow me to give mine. I think there is a combination of nurture and nature involved. History, not to mention fiction, is full of cases where circumstances helped make the man as it were. Without getting into cosmology too deeply, the debate can be looked at as free will or predestination.
I think had Tom Riddle grown up more like Harry, he may not have done some of the things he had. To separate out Harry's nurture from nature regarding his choices is an almost impossible task. He didn't know about his magical abilities, nor had the wherewithall to control them before the Trace was put on him. He had no chance to become what Tom did.
Certainly, Harry wouldn't have become Voldemort. Voldemort was the culmination of a unique set of circumstances not only in nurture, but also time and space.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-02-20 03:12 pm (UTC)I think had Tom Riddle grown up more like Harry, he may not have done some of the things he had. To separate out Harry's nurture from nature regarding his choices is an almost impossible task. He didn't know about his magical abilities, nor had the wherewithall to control them before the Trace was put on him. He had no chance to become what Tom did.
Certainly, Harry wouldn't have become Voldemort. Voldemort was the culmination of a unique set of circumstances not only in nurture, but also time and space.
Kimberly / Slytherin