While he was born Tom Riddle , the most herculean Dark Wizard in the story of trick is better known by the name of Lord Voldemort , although he was so dread that he was mostly known as He Who Must Not Be call . Trained at Hogwarts under the alert centre of Albus Dumbledore , he   learned much about the Dark Arts   and soon fix off on his own   to work up his own ground forces of following . Soon , he amassed more and more power until he became a threat to not only the wizarding world but to all of mankind - wizards and Muggles alike .

However , as his ability grew , his body take on a captivating transformation , both in appearance and exponent ,   making Voldemort one of the most horrifically recognisable   villains in modern pop culture chronicle . While fan were in the first place acquaint to him   in J.K. Rowling’sHarry Potterbook series , the rest of the world meet him through the movie adaptation , with Ralph   Fiennes portray the Dark Wizard . However , there are many things about the baddie and his body that even the biggestHarry Potterfans do n’t fuck .

Updated Nov 8th , 2021 by Rose Graceling - Moore : Voldemort has lost his status as the current big bad of the Harry Potter universe , now that the Fantastic Beasts serial publication is focusing on Gellert Grindelwald ( and of course of action , his chronicle with Dumbledore ) . For original fans , though , The Dark Lord is the one true baddie of the wizarding world - even if his story ( and his strong-arm appearance ) do n’t always make complete sense .

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley looking at a crystal ball in Harry Potter.

The Dark Arts Changed His Handsome Appearance

When Tom Riddle begin to dabble in the Dark Arts , his appearance   get down to commute over clip . The good seem that define him shortly faded , and it all started with his eye .   Though they were at first dark and spectacular , they shortly became sink and always had the appearance of being blood - shot . In the books , they finally become all red , although this was a detail leave out of the movies .

The alteration in his appearance pass off before his ' death ' and resurrection , and   was due to his dealing with the Dark Arts and   the fact that he had start to try out with   this bod of thaumaturgy - something that vary him psychologically and physically .

He Is Half-Blood

If anyone ever wondered why Voldemort   hated Muggles as much as he does , it is because   he is actually half - Muggle himself and hates that   side of his line . He was born to a Muggle name Tom Riddle and the witch named Merope Gaunt , who used a honey potion to ensnare the loaded Riddle .

However , when   she decided to screen their love by no longer   using the potion ,   Riddle is assumed to have decline to rest with her and left while she was significant with their only child . After the baby was bear - and list after his father - Merope passed away and untested Tom Riddle was transport to orphanages . By the time he end up at Hogwarts , he had evolve an intense hate of Muggles based on the perfidy by his own Padre .

He Doesn’t Need A Wand

As theHarry Pottermovies show , most wizards require a wand so as to cast their spells . When a sceptre break , as has encounter on numerous juncture   throughout the movies and Good Book ,   the thaumaturge or Wiccan   becomes incompetent of casting spells ( or only casts ace that do n’t ferment ! ) . Of of course , many magical children find that they have magical outbursts at a young old age , without the use of a wand , but these are uncontrolled - and the baton is used to mastermind and control their abilities .

However , a young   Tom Riddle   had figured out that he had exceptional abilities - and he had a shocking amount of control over them . He could move thing with his creative thinker   and he could mouth to and occasionally control   animals , among other thing . As an adult , he was accomplished at non - verbal and wandless magic , using it to move and contain people with a manus gesture alone on many function .

He Was Able To Possess Others

Once Voldemort was defeated   after failing to eliminate Harry Potter as an infant , he no longer had a consistence to deliver to . However , he was still alive - mostly .   As sports fan know , he   had create Horcruxes , which   held portion of his psyche on Earth so that he could n’t truly drop dead . Outside of that , Voldemort remained in creation in a apparitional signifier . Harry saw him in the forest as a spiritual form , what Voldemort himself call ' mere phantom and vapour ' .

While he could not return in his own consistency , he was able-bodied to possess living creatures and did so with animals on juncture - although he could make slight conjuration as an animate being . It was n’t until Voldemort found and possessed Professor Quirinus Quirrell that he found his way back to the Wizarding World and start up to regain power .

His Body Became More Snake-Like Over Time

Tom Riddle was an attractive young man as a son , but over time became more and more snake - ilk in appearance , as his work with the Dark Arts changed him .   He stop up improbable but skeletally slender . His face was wan white   and his eyes were large and crimson . His olfactory organ   became as monotone as a snake ’s , and he developed cunt for his nostrils . His hands also transform . He now had foresightful , spider - like fingers with sharp gamey fingernail .

His appearance   looked very similar to a snake ’s , and the symbolism of this is fairly obvious . In this cosmos , Snake River and ' evil ' are strongly connect , with the ' risky ' House lay out by a ophidian , the most terrifying monster of the Basilisk being a snake , Nagini as a snake … Voldemort ’s snake - similar appearance is representative of his inner evil .

He Could Fly Without A Broom

As shown throughout theHarry Potterseries , wizards ca n’t fell without bread and butter . Most use broom ,   which is the classical fashion for magic drug user to fly . However , there are other magical physical object and creatures that permit wizards and enchantress to fly . Hagrid has his flying motorbike , and other character mention magic carpeting , and use everything from the Flying Ford Anglia to Thestrals .

Unlike other wizards , Voldemort can actually fly without the function of any backing . He trained himself to fly just by using magic and thus he does n’t need the help of a heather . He also taught this skill to a numeral of Death Eaters , which is how they were able to swoop in for attacks without using anything to support themselves .

He Could Modify Memories

Voldemort has two major magical ability that aid him see other mass . These are Occlumency   and Legilimency . Occlumency is the ability to harbour   one ’s own nous , while Legilimency refers to the power to get across the mind of others . By the time Voldemort was an adult , he was arguably the most powerful   Legilimens in the integral Wizarding World .

Snape said that Voldemort could not only read minds , but that he could   also control them .   He did this to Harry Potter in the movies when he range realistic visions in   Harry ’s psyche to judge to lure him to observe his prophecy . Very few people are strong enough in Occlumency to harbour their minds from Voldemort - Snape is one of the only wizards   who is able to do this .

His Child-Form When Resurrected

InHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , two of Voldemort ’s followers worked together to help him find his body . These were the wizard Peter Pettigrew and the snake Nagini . Pettigrew integrate up a potion for Voldemort using unicorn blood and the spite of Nagini . With this potion , they were able to create a young body for Lord Voldemort to finally recall to .

However , this body was not what Voldemort require to retort to his awful leadership shape . Instead , it was that of a scaly , hairless baby . He was still cunning and overbold and have sex what needed to be accumulate to land his body back to its full form - a osseous tissue from his Father of the Church , the flesh from one of his servant , and the bloodline from an enemy ( Harry Potter , of course ) .

His Mind Was Extremely Sharp

While advert Hogwarts , Tom Riddle used his striking appearance to succeed over many of his teacher , as   he was very convincing in his handling . He became one of the top students at the school , and was named both a Prefect and the Head Boy   during his time there . He used his leadership skills and charisma to win over followers , both in school and later as the Dark Lord .

When necessitate about Tom Riddle , Dumbledore said that he was likely the most brilliant student to ever pass through the room access of Hogwarts , and was possibly only surpassed by Dumbledore himself . When Riddle entrust the schooltime and became Voldemort , he prove that to be a fact when he was capable to organize two of the most devastating war in Britain ’s Wizarding World .

He Was The Most Powerful Dark Wizard In The World

Before Voldemort , the two greatest wiz in theHarry Potteruniverse were easily Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald . As a matter of fact , the greatest wizarding fight in chronicle was reportedly one between the good Dumbledore and the sour Grindelwald . When Voldemort rise to power , he soon outdo even the might of Grindelwald - who was spending the rest of his life in prison house after his gaining control .

Voldemort has mastered   innumerable Dark Arts spells and is strong enough when draw them to overpower even the most powerful wizards . For example , he ’s even capable to control Bartemius Crouch Senior for almost half a year . He   also curse   all of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers at Hogwarts after he was rejected the line , which involved a spell so powerful that not even Dumbledore could lift it .

He Was A Master Duellist

While Tom Riddle could use conjuring trick without a wand ,   he was able-bodied to acquire even more tycoon when he did choose to apply his wand . Voldemort became maybe one of the most nice duelists in the entire Wizarding World , proving his mastery of the verge time and time again against the best wizards and hag in the earth .

Voldemort was able-bodied to make headway duels against Horace Slughorn , Kingsley Shacklebolt , and Minerva McGonagall - all three of these sorcerer and beldam are considered overlord duelists . Voldemort also overpowered Alastor Moody and Amelia Bones in fight . The intellect   why Voldemort was capable to defeat so many wizards and witches was that he was unpredictable   and aggressive , which allowed him to change contend styles without warning . He also used the Dark Arts , of class , which create an unfair vantage .

His Own Spell Destroyed him

When Voldemort take from Snape that there was a divination that would vanquish the Dark Lord , he immediately sought to find out more . eff that a child would be born that could flap him , he set out to eliminate the child - not knowing if it was the half - blooded Harry or the full - full-blooded Neville , who were both born on the same Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . He went after Harry due to the fact that   he and the kid had something in common : they were both half - parentage .

When Voldemort showed up and assail , he took out both James Potter and Lily Potter - however ,   Lily ’s love cast a protective patch on Harry and therefore Voldemort ’s Avada Kedavra spell backfired . When he was ' ruin ' ( or when his body was , in any case ) it was the resolution of his own spell , and this protection of a female parent ’s love .

He Lived On Unicorn Blood

When Voldemort possessed   Professor Quirinus Quirrell , he ordered the prof to drink the lineage of unicorn . These unicorn were found in the Forbidden Forest and there was a specific reasonableness for this demand . Unicorns possess healing ability - and since Voldemort was picture almost powerless after   his Avada Kedavra spell backfired , he needed   to cure for start regaining his intensity level .

This was also take to help keep Quirrell from expiring the longer   Voldemort have him . Even after Voldemort take back to full strength in his own physical structure , he was still forced to drink unicorn stemma so as to stay on live and strong . To do so , he was able to create a specific potion using unicorn blood and venom from the snake in the grass Nagini .

He Couldn’t Touch Harry Potter

When Lily Potter upchuck the protective spell on Harry when he was an infant , the   Avada Kedavra spell out that backfired had another impression . Voldemort learned that he could not equal Harry without feeling intense pain . This was a major patch point   inHarry Potter and the Philosopher ’s Stonewhen Professor Quirrell- who was still possess by Voldemort - battled Harry for the Philosopher ’s Stone . When   Quirrel essay to touch Harry , he felt immeasurable pain .

InHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , Voldemort constitute a means around this . He was capable to conduce Harry , and   along with him Cedric Diggory , to a graveyard where he immediately eliminate Cedric and then turned to Harry . With the info that he gain from Bertha Jorkins , he made a potion and was able-bodied to at last revivify his dead body using Harry ’s blood . This   also rule out one layer of Lily ’s aegis , as Voldemort could finally touch   Harry without feel hurting .

His Wand Had A Weakness

After Voldemortregained his body inHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fireand used the origin of Harry Potter to make a potion that finally allowed him to physically assault the male child Who Lived , the two had a duel . While Voldemort was a original dueller who had defeated some of the best wizards and witches in the cosmos , he was unable to beat Harry Potter .

This   was because there was another protection set up to save Harry ’s life story . Voldemort ’s wand was ineffectual to overpower Harry ’s sceptre , which came as quite the surprisal to Voldemort . This was due to the fact that the two wands   had the same core - that of Fawkes ' capital of Arizona   feathers - which meant that they share a connection . This helped Harry survive , as the shades of his mommy , dad , and Voldemort ’s other dupe showed up to aid him get by from Voldemort .

He Could Speak Parseltongue

Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter apportion a special acquirement : they are   both capable to speak and read Parseltongue . Harry used this early on on when he utter to a boa constrictor and help it bunk the zoo . Voldemort used it for more nefarious design ,   though he mostly used it to pass on with his snake servant Nagini . This power   allow virtuoso and Wiccan to speak to and influence serpents , and is very uncommon .

Almost all Parselmouths are descendants   of Salazar Slytherin , and there are only very rarefied exceptions - with Harry Potter as the most obvious model ,   as he gained the power when Voldemort attacked him when he was a baby - part of Voldemort became a part of Harry . Speaking Parseltongue is often look as the sign of a dingy star or beldame - although Dumbledore has refer that there are a few good mortal   who can speak it as well .

He Couldn’t Control Harry’s Mind (Without Risk To Himself)

While Voldemort could overrun the minds of others , implant memories , and contain them , he was ineffective to do so with Harry Potter after   a   few   first attempts - or take not to . At first , Voldemort did n’t realize that when he was using his abilities on Harry , the connection went both manner . However , in time he figured it out , and then decided to sever this connexion himself , because he was afraid that it would allow Harry to know what he was doing .

This may have   been a usual hazard of Occulumency , with powerful wizard able to create a two - way connectedness between nous , but it seems that this was only seen in the series with Harry - there is no mention of Voldemort make this topic with any of the other witches or wizards that he influenced over the years .

He Was A Master Of Transfiguration

Another magical acquisition that Voldemort own is Transfiguration , which is   a   type of magic   that is used to alter the visual aspect of a body or an aim . This is something that can be done to almost any objective , but it can be   a very difficult spell to cast , depending on what is being Transfigured .

Voldemort prove that he could not only   master Transfiguration , but he could also use it for farsighted period of time . InHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Voldemort used the spell to transform the serpent Nagini into Bathilda Bagshot in gild to eliminate Harry if he ever try out to pay her a visit , and he kept Nagini in this shape for a foresighted time . He was also able-bodied to turn over Dumbledore ’s flame - rope into a serpent and gave Peter Pettigrew a silver forearm to supersede the one he lost .

He Was Originally Conventionally Attractive

When it do to Lord Voldemort , most   masses got to live him after his first defeat , when his soundbox was essentially destroyed . However , as is shown inHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , he was not always the   noseless   and frightening   Dark Wizard we recognize today .

As a subject of fact , before modify his name toVoldemort , Tom Riddle was an attractive untried man . J.K. Rowling described him in her books as marvellous and handsome with pale pelt , dark middle , and jet - black hair . Rowling explain that he looked like his father and had no trace of the Gaunt family in his appearance . This , of course , all changed when Tom Riddle begin to experiment with Dark Magic , which gave him immense mogul but took a toll on his strong-arm visual aspect . And this shift may be representative of the ugliness within him get over his outside appearance .

Hs Final Horcrux At King’s Cross

At the end ofHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , Voldemort thought that he had the perfect weapon to at last overcome Harry and win the war - and that by kill Harry , he would fulfill the prophecy . However , he did n’t realise that he had made Harry a horcrux , and killing Harry would ruin part of himself ( and fail , chip in Harry ’s possession of the Resurrection of Christ stone ) .

When Harry was in ' limbo ' in the form of King ’s Cross , he fill Dumbledore for a wisdom - fill conversation , but his former Headmaster was n’t the only other thing on the platform . Harry also get a line what looked like a flayed child - a representation of the part of Voldemort ’s psyche that had live inside him . When he left , he go out this behind to expire , and was no longer a Horcrux , allowing Voldemort to be overcome .

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