…I admit, I was persuaded that the HBP was none other than Tom Marvolo Riddle, and though I still think that my arguments are quite good, they were based on two main faulty assumptions: 1) that the HBP storyline was connected to CoS (i.e. that it remained inexplicitly in that book and hadn’t been removed altogether) and 2) that the duality of the character Tom/Voldemort was such (in JKR’s mind) that Tom and Voldemort could be considered separate characters of sorts (which would tally with Dobby’s use of “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” in CoS and the Changeling Hypothesis). Clearly I was wrong. It happens.
Today, I’ll look deeper into the mysteries of blood and princes, try to create some sort of base for future analysis, and maybe reach some new conclusions on who the prince might be.