Harry Potter: 10 Dumbest Things Voldemort Did

9. The Idiotic Prophecy Plot

Over the course of the books, it becomes painfully clear that Voldemort has a thing about doing things the hard way. This is very much the case when it comes to his attempts to retrieve the Prophecy from the Department of Mysteries.

In the end, after being foiled in several attempts to have someone else retrieve it for him, Voldemort eventually manipulates Harry with an implanted false vision of Sirius' torture, which of course leads to the Battle Of The Department of Mysteries. Now, the whole point of that plan, convoluted though it was, was so Voldemort didn't have to go to the Ministry himself. Lest he risk his exposure.

However, by implanting a vision in Harry's head that put him on guard and had him expecting to fight, Voldemort made it inevitable he'd have to turn up. Why not just implant the idea of Harry needing the Prophecy himself? Inception would have worked far more and the plan might not have ended with the Prophecy broken and Voldemort exposed.