Lord Voldemort

Lord Voldemort is the main antagonist from the Harry Potter franchise. His wand is 13 and 1/2 inches long, made of yew and with a phoenix feather core. His signature spell was the Avada Kedavra killing curse. He later acquired the legendary Elder Wand, although he was not its true master, Harry was. As a result, when he used it to try to kill Harry, it backfired and killed him instead. He had a group of minions known as the Death Eaters. He briefly took over the wizarding world in the final book before he was killed.

He came remarkably close to accomplishing his goal, actually accomplishing all of it save killing Harry in the final book. This is something few other villains can claim, as most meet their demise before they can come close to their goals.

Early Life
Tom Marvolo Riddle was born on New Year's Eve, 1926 in an orphanage in London. His pure-blood mother, Merope Gaunt, a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, died shortly after his birth. Before she died, she named him Tom after his father, Tom Riddle Sr., and Marvolo Gaunt, her father. Tom Riddle Sr. was a wealthy Muggle living in the village of Little Hangleton. Merope tricked Tom Sr. into marrying her by giving him a love potion or controlling him by the Imperius Curse. She kept this mind control up for some time, but finally let him go, hoping he would have fallen in love with her on his own after all that time together. To Merope's great dismay, he abandoned her and her unborn child. J.K. Rowling explained that due to the fact he was born because of a love potion, it made him unable to feel love and made him the monster he was, though it would have been different if Merope survived and loved him.

As he had no parents to rear him, Tom Riddle grew up in a dingy orphanage, completely unaware of his Wizarding heritage, though he did have a lot of grasp on his abilities beyond that of normal magical children. Tom could move things with his mind, command animals to do his bidding, speak Parseltongue, and use magic do harm people he did not like. He was a child prodigy, as stated by many who knew him at Hogwarts. After getting into a fight with one boy, he used his powers to hang the boy's bunny on the rafters. On occasion, he took two orphans, Dennis Bishop and Amy Benson, into a cave, where he performed an act so horrifying that the two orphans were traumatized into silence. It is also a speculation that Tom wiped their memories, so that they would not tell on him. He was never caught for any of his acts, but was suspected nonetheless. The orphanage matron labeled him a "bully", although Tom acted more as a tyrant who used fear and manipulation to control his fellow orphans. He scared them so much that they refused to share a room with him. This could have been what Tom was aiming for all along, as he was far more intelligent and ingenious than all of his peers. Another of his amusements was stealing from his fellow orphans, and then hiding their possessions inside a container which he kept safely in his cupboard, as trophies. This tendency is something serial killers do as well, marking Tom as an unstable person even as a child. This cupboard was the same upon which Dumbledore used a Flame-Freezing Charm to demonstrate his magic.

When Tom was 11, Dumbledore visited the orphanage and invited Tom to attend Hogwarts. Not much else is known of his childhood.

Hogwarts Years
Tom Riddle was educated at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1938 to 1945, and was placed in Slytherin, an obvious choice considering he was a Parselmouth, was a master manipulative and power-hungry, and was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself. During summer breaks, he would return to the Muggle orphanage, which he despised and dreaded more than any other place on earth.

Tom described himself as "poor, but brilliant, parentless, but so brave, a school prefect, a model student." This opinion was also shared by the Professors, including Horace Slughorn who taught him about Horcruxes. The sole exception to this was Albus Dumbledore, who was the Transfiguration professor at the time, although Dumbledore did admit that Tom was the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen.

Tom became obsessed with his past and began researching it with an insatiable hunger. During his research, he realized his shared heritage with Salazar Slytherin, discovered the Chamber of Secrets under Hogwarts, and tamed the beast within. He figured out how Slytherin managed to hide the Chamber from the other school founders, so that only Salazar's true heir could open it and "purge the school of all those who are unworthy to study magic."

During this time, Tom began going by the name "Voldemort," so he did not have to be called by the name of his "filthy Muggle father." His new name was an anagram of his given name:

"TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE" once rearranged, became: "I AM LORD VOLDEMORT"

The name Voldemort has a further special meaning. Voldemort separated in to three French words, vol de mort, means "flight of death". (In correct French pronunciation, the T at the end is silent; however, it is generally pronounced by English-speaking wizards.) It was a name he hoped every wizard would some day fear to speak when he became the greatest sorcerer in the world.

In his fifth year, Tom located the secret entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, and was able to control the Basilisk (the snake-like monster inside) because he was a Parselmouth. Tom turned the beast loose on the school, injuring many. The last victim was a student named Myrtle, who was killed in the girls' bathroom when the Basilisk looked her in the eye. (Any who see its glowing yellow eyes will die instantly.) Hogwarts was to be closed, but Tom did not want to return home. To keep the school from shutting down, he framed fellow student Rubeus Hagrid. Armando Dippet, the current headmaster, was convinced that Aragog was the monster that had terrorized the school. Hagrid was expelled, and Tom received an engraved trophy for Special Services to the School.

Dumbledore, distrusting Riddle, kept a close watch on him after that. Because it was no longer safe to open the Chamber of Secrets, Tom created a diary to preserve a part of his soul, hoping it would one day lead someone to finish Salazar Slytherin's "noble" work. This diary was one of his seven Horcruxes.

Little Hangleton
At Tom's last year at Hogwarts, he was prefect, Head Boy, and he had received a medal for magical merit. He was regarded as the most brilliant students to attend Hogwarts. During the summer of 1943, Tom Riddle fulfilled his vow of revenge against his Muggle father. Tom went to the small hut where his mother once lived. There he gained information about his mother and father, and then stunned his uncle Morfin Gaunt (the last remaining inhabitant) and implanted a false memory of him killing the Riddle family inside his head. Later that morning, all three Riddles were found dead in the drawing room of their home. Investigating wizards learned Morfin's wand was used to commit the murders. Because of the alterations to his memory, Morfin confessed to the Ministry that he had committed the crimes. The Muggle's were thinking that Frank Bryce was behind the crime.

After Hogwarts
Shortly before graduating, Tom used his charisma to charm the spirit of Helena Ravenclaw (more commonly known as the Grey Lady, the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower) into revealing the location of Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem. Then when he finished his education, he asked Armando Dippet for a chance to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, but was deemed too young. After leaving Hogwarts, he presumably traveled to the far-flung forest in Albania about which Helena had told him and retrieved the Diadem. He murdered an Albanian and turned the Diadem into a Horcrux. Upon his return to Britain, he was offered several positions in the Ministry of Magic, but ended up working at Borgin and Burkes for Caractacus Burke, which disappointed and surprised many. His job was to "persuade" people to part with their valuable magical items — a job at which he was very good.

During his time with Borgin and Burkes, Tom befriended a wealthy, elderly lady named Hepzibah Smith. After several visits, Mrs. Smith was infatuated with Tom, and showed him her two most valuable treasures: Salazar Slytherin's Locket and Helga Hufflepuff's Cup. Tom killed her and stole the objects, vanishing without a trace. He covered his tracks well by implanting another false memory into an innocent person—or in this case, Hokey, Hepzibah's house elf. Hokey admitted to accidentally putting poison into Hepzibah's cocoa. Meanwhile, Tom ran away with the cup and locket and turned them into two more Horcruxes, and again he was never suspected.

Transformation
Tom disappeared for many years. It was during this time that he slipped deeper into the Dark Arts. He travelled extensively, consorted with disreputable people, and underwent many dangerous magical transformations. During this time, Lord Voldemort, as he was now exclusively called, gathered objects for his Horcruxes and implanted his soul fragments into them. Tom appealed once more to the Headmaster of Hogwarts, who by now was Albus Dumbledore, for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, in an attempt to learn Hogwarts' secrets and recruit followers. Dumbledore denied him, knowing of his plan. The position has since been jinxed; teachers only held the position for a year until Riddle's death ended the spell.

Riddle's visit to request the position was not fruitless, however; he hid Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem in the Room of Requirement, where he believed it would never be found. It is curious to note that Voldemort did not hide his Horcruxes immediately after creating them, as it was decades later when he used Kreacher to help him hide the locket and an equally long time before Bellatrix joined the Death Eaters and he gave her Helga Hufflepuff's Cup. He even held onto the Diadem until he got the chance to hide it inside of Hogwarts a decade after finding it, as well as the Diary until Lucius Malfoy joined up. It begs the question of what he did with his Horcruxes for all that time until the time came for them to be hidden.

The Rise of the Dark Lord
In the 1970s, Lord Voldemort had gathered a following of witches and wizards. Some were supportive of his cause to rid the world of Muggles, others were greedy for power, and yet others joined the Dark Lord out of fear. His followers named themselves the Death Eaters. Voldemort considered them more like servants than friends or family. They freely used the Unforgivable Curses and killed mercilessly, often for fun.

Lord Voldemort began taking advantage of the Wizarding World's greatest weakness: the beings and creatures that they had outcast. The Dark Lord recruited Giants, who left the mountains, and Werewolves, who were persecuted by most witches and wizards. Many feared the Goblins would also join him, seeing as they were restricted from wand use, but it never happened. Aurors were authorized to use Unforgivable Curses on Death Eaters without warning, and suspects were sometimes handed over to the Dementors without trial. Many innocents were locked away. Eventually, even the Dementors joined Voldemort, meaning no more security at Azkaban. At the height of Voldemort's reign (and for many years after), people were even afraid to speak his name, and he was referred to as "You-Know-Who" or "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

One of the Wizarding World's few remaining safe places was Hogwarts, which was under the staunch protection of Albus Dumbledore, the only person Lord Voldemort feared. Dumbledore created the Order of the Phoenix to fight against Voldemort, but they were outnumbered and suffered many casualties.

At the height of his power in 1979, word came from an informant, Severus Snape, of a Prophecy that predicted Voldemort's downfall:

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…. ~Sybill Trelawney

The Prophecy was made by Sybill Trelawney in the Hog's Head, during a job interview with Albus Dumbledore for the position of Divination.

According to Dumbledore, Snape only heard half of the Prophecy, the part about Voldemort's downfall and to whom it may relate. After that, however, he was thrown out by the barman, (Aberforth Dumbledore). He hurried to tell Lord Voldemort what he had heard, not realizing that he missed the most important part of the message. Trelawney's description of the night's events was a bit different however, as she stated that after feeling "ill" (her "illness" actually being the Prophecy), Aberforth burst into the room with Severus Snape. This is in contrast with Dumbledore's description of events and casts doubt upon his account. In any case, Voldemort was frightened, so he sprang into action to prevent the fulfillment of the Prophecy.

Lord Voldemort realized he must kill the child the Prophecy mentioned, though there were two babies to whom it could refer — Harry Potter, a Half-Blood, and Neville Longbottom, a Pure-Blood family. Both children's parents (Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Mrs. and Mr. Longbottom) had defied him three times, and both children were born at the end of July. For reasons known only to Voldemort himself, he chose to kill Harry instead of Neville. (Dumbledore suspected this was because Harry shared his Half-Blood heritage with Voldemort.) Thanks to Peter Pettigrew, James's-best-friend-turned-Death-Eater, Lord Voldemort learned the Potter family's secret location. Voldemort murdered James and Lily Potter, but when he used the Killing Curse on Harry, it rebounded upon himself, ripping his soul from his body and destroying his powers. Lord Voldemort had been defeated by the one-year-old boy because Lily's love for her son created an invisible powerful defense in Harry's skin when she died for him.

The Death Eaters were lost. Many claimed they had been under the Imperius Curse, while others stayed true to their master and continued his work, most notably the Lestranges; Bellatrix and her husband, Rodolphus. Eventually, they were all captured and locked away in Azkaban.

Missing Years
Lord Voldemort was not dead, however. He had lost his physical form, but he was alive, although weak and powerless. His Horcruxes helped him escape death. He retreated to the forests of Albania (the same Albanian forest he had traveled to so many years previously to find Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem), expecting one of his faithful Death Eaters to find him and help him. But those still faithful to him were either dead or in Azkaban. He gained a form by inhabiting snakes, which never lived long.

Second Defeat
Fortunately for Lord Voldemort, Professor Quirrel wandered into the forest while on a vacation. Quirrell was young, foolish and gullible, and Voldemort was able to enter Quirrell's weak mind.

In 1991 - 1992, Voldemort hatched a plan to regain his body. Quirrell would steal Nicolas Flamel's Philosopher's Stone from a vault in Gringotts Bank so he could make the Elixir of Life. However, it had been removed by Hagrid right before Quirrell could steal it. Lord Voldemort took form on the back of Quirell's head, which was concealed by a turban. Quirrell drank Unicorn blood to sustain his master.

Quirrell tricked Hagrid into telling him about Fluffy, the three headed Hound-Dog that was the first guard of the Philosopher's stone at Hogwarts, and that playing music would put it to sleep. Now all they needed was a way to get into the Forbidden corridor. Severus Snape was suspicious, however, and when Quirrell let loose a Troll in the dungeons as a distraction, Snape blocked him off. Voldemort had Quirrell send a fake letter to Dumbledore, asking him to go to the Ministry of Magic, then moved on with their plan. They beat their way through the security enchantments and reached the Mirror of Erised. Quirrell saw himself presenting the stone to his master, but could not get it. It was only when Harry arrived that they could retrieve the stone. "Only those who wanted the stone, but not use it, could get it from the mirror." Voldemort figured this out, and Quirrell attacked Harry, but when he touched Harry his hands blistered. Harry placed his hands on Quirrell 's face, severely injuring him. Lord Voldemort's soul fled, once more without a body.

Second Exile and the Diary
Lord Voldemort returned to the Albanian forest, weaker than ever. He had to wait for another to help him.

In 1992, Lucius Malfoy placed a diary containing the soul fragments Voldemort embedded in it into Ginny Weasley's cauldron who brought it to Hogwarts. She had been writing in it, and a 16 year-old Tom Riddle was answering. She found comfort in him, not knowing she was being manipulated. Riddle's memory learned all he could about his future self's defeat and Harry Potter. He slowly drained the life away from Ginny Weasley, and put it in himself. He was able to possess her. Under his control, she opened the Chamber of Secrets and released the Basilisk, killed Hagrid's roosters, and wrote threatening messages on the wall in rooster blood. Gradually, Ginny became suspicious. She knew the Diary was doing something to her, so she threw it away in Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom. Harry and Ron accidentally stumbled upon it, and Harry began communicating with Tom.

Tom misled Harry about who opened the Chamber of Secrets, convincing him it was Hagrid, although Harry eventually learned this is untrue. When Ginny saw that Harry had the Diary, she stole it back for she did not want Harry to find out all the things she had written in the diary and done while under its influence. When Tom was ready to take his physical form from Ginny's life, he lured her into the Chamber of Secrets. The switch was almost complete when Harry found them. Tom summoned the Basilisk to kill Harry, but Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes arrived and blinded the monster. Fawkes also brought the Sorting Hat, from which Harry withdrew Godric Gryffindor's sword. He killed the Basilisk, then used the Basilisk's fang to stab the Diary, unknowingly destroying one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Rebirth and Second Rise to Power
Peter Pettigrew, who had been supposedly blown to pieces along with twelve Muggles by Sirius Black, had in fact killed the Muggles himself, cut off his finger to fake his death, and fled into the sewers. He had been in his Animagi form of Scabbers, Ron's rat, ever since his Master's defeat. When he was revealed, he returned to his Master, now helping him regain a body and his power.

In 1994, Peter Pettigrew milked venom from Nagini the snake to sustain his master. Together, they built a rudimentary body that he could travel and perform magic with. When Pettigrew returned to his master, he did not arrive alone. He brought Bertha Jorkins, a Ministry Official. Peter overheard her talking about a Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts, and Voldemort used a Memory charm to retrieve the information from her. He was surprised to find that someone else had put a memory charm on her. He overpowered it to find out about the whereabouts of a loyal Death Eater, Bartemius Crouch Jr., who Crouch Sr. was forcefully hiding in his home, after freeing him from Azkaban. Bertha had stumbled upon Crouch Jr. while at his home, and Crouch Sr. placed the memory charm on her so that she would not report this.

Voldemort had Wormtail carry him to the old Riddle manor house, where they killed the groundskeeper Frank Bryce for overhearing their plan, and then to the Crouch home where they placed Crouch Sr. under the Imperius Curse, and freed Crouch Jr. They returned to the Riddle home, where Voldemort instructed Wormtail and Crouch Jr. to capture Alastor Moody, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts. Crouch Jr. drank Polyjuice potion with a few hairs of Alastor Moody, and went to Hogwarts to help Harry with the Triwizard Challenge. The fake Moody helped Harry through all the challenges, and when Cedric and Harry grabbed the Triwizard Cup (which, unbeknownst to them, was a Portkey), they were transported to outside the Riddle mansion, where Peter and Voldemort were waiting. Pettigrew killed Cedric, and used Harry's blood in a ritual for his master's rebirth. They made a very powerful potion;

''Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son. Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master. Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe.'' ~Peter Pettigrew

Voldemort regained his body, and called his Death Eaters. Those who were perhaps most loyal to him, save for those who willingly went to Azkaban in his name, appeared.

He then tried to kill Harry, but Priori Incantatem took place. The core wands connected, and those who were killed by Voldemort's wand came out as spectral beings. First Cedric Diggory, then Frank Bryce, followed by Bertha Jorkins, then Harry's parents Lily and James Potter, and many others. They encouraged Harry, while distracting Voldemort. Harry pulled away, and the beings gave him enough time to grab Cedric's body and the Triwizard Cup to return to the Hogwarts grounds. Voldemort now had some of his followers, but Barty Crouch Jr. had been discovered, and was given the Dementors' kiss before he could stand trial, thus leaving the only knowledge of Voldemort's return as Harry's word, which was not taken seriously by most. Due to this, Voldemort was able to operate in secret.

Prophecy Search
Lord Voldemort kept quiet about his return, and only few believed he was back. Dumbledore started the Order of the Phoenix again, this time with a head start.

In 1995, Voldemort was now after the Prophecy in the Department of Mysteries, to hear the whole of it. Voldemort's first attempt at securing the Prophecy was to use the Imperius curse on an Unspeakable: Broderick Bode, and sent him in to get it. Bode was seriously injured, and put into a permanent ward at St. Mungo's, where he was eventually murdered by a Devil's Snare plant delivered to his bedside. Voldemort then learned that only the people the Prophecy is about are able to touch it, although understandably he could not risk going into the Ministry for fear of exposure. During this period of time, many of Voldemort's most loyal followers, such as Bellatrix Lestrange, escaped from Azkaban and returned to his side. Eventually he became aware of Harry seeing through his eyes, so he set up a false vision, one of Sirius at the Ministry, being tortured. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna Lovegood, Ginny and Neville went to rescue him, as Voldemort predicted, and that is where they had Harry take the Prophecy off the shelf. Now all they needed was to get it from him, but they put up a fight; during the course of this, the prophecy was smashed before Voldemort was able to hear it. In the end, Voldemort appeared and duelled Dumbledore. Then, Voldemort possessed Harry, telling Dumbledore to kill him now, but he fled when Cornelius Fudge and other Ministry officials arrived, who were now convinced of his return. Many of Voldemort's Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy, were incarcerated and sent to Azkaban, though by this time the Dementors had left.

Harry: "You're the weak one. And you'll never know love, or friendship. And I feel sorry for you."

Voldemort: "You're a fool, Harry Potter. And you will lose...everything." ~Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort

Second Wizarding War
The Second Wizarding War had begun now, and Voldemort no longer needed to keep his actions silent. The Dementors left Azkaban to side with the Dark Lord, who could offer them more scope for their powers; as a result, there were many attacks by the monsters. Mass Muggle killings, as well as the destruction of bridges, were rampant; what was claimed to be a hurricane to the Muggle world was in fact a rampage by the giants, whom Voldemort had sent envoys to earlier.

In 1996, he made Draco Malfoy a Death Eater, requiring a loyal follower within the school. He instructed Draco to kill Dumbledore, for he wished to punish Lucius Malfoy by giving his son a task he could not do. If he failed, he would meet terrible consequences. In the end, Malfoy was able to sneak a group of Death Eaters into the Castle through a pair of Vanishing Cabinets (the second of which was located in Borgin and Burke's), and the Battle of Hogwarts ensued. Voldemort's plans were carried out, as Severus Snape killed Dumbledore (to save Malfoy, for he had made an Unbreakable Vow with Draco's mother, Narcissa). Although the Death Eaters fled Hogwarts, the intrusion of the Castle signified the fact that no longer was there a single place safe from the Dark Lord.

Voldemort made Malfoy Manor his headquarters. During the summer of 1997, he captures the Muggle Studies teacher at Hogwarts, Charity Burbage, and kills her before he feeds her to Nagini. He also questioned the kidnapped wandmaker, Ollivander, about why his wand reacted so with Harry Potter's wand. Olivander told him that it was Priori Incantatem and that Voldemort merely needed another's wand and so he takes Lucius Malfoy's wand. When Harry is removed for the last time from Number Four, Privet Drive; Voldemort flies to the scene where his Death Eaters are fighting with Order of the Phoenix airborne. He kills Mad-Eye Moody and then heads straight toward Harry. There Voldemort attempts to duel with Harry, when Harry's wand reacts in a surprising way towards Voldemort, releasing a spurt of golden fire at him and destroying Lucius' wand. Before Voldemort could react, Potter reached the protection of Nymphadora Tonks' parents' home and Voldemort was forced to retreat.

Angrily, he returned to Malfoy Manor and demanded from Ollivander to answer why Harry's wand yet again reacted towards him, even with a completely different wand. Ollivander told him truthfully that never in Wandlore has he ever heard of such thing happening. Infuriated, Voldemort tortures him and demands him to tell him everything that he knows about the legendary wand known as the Deathstick, The Wand of Destiny, or the Elder Wand (he has no idea that it is a Deathly Hallow). Realising that he needs this wand to defeat Harry Potter, he sets out to assume mastery of the Elder Wand, knowing that it is more powerful than any other wand.

During the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, Kingsley Shacklebolt announced through his Patronus that the Minister for Magic was dead and that the Ministry of Magic had fallen to Voldemort, giving him control over the entire Wizarding World. He establishes a totalitarian police state in it's place and has all Muggle-Borns persecuted and imprisoned in Azkaban.

Voldemort traveled to Germany, where at the valley of surrounding mountains, lied a small town and went in search of the wandmaker, Gregorovich. Eventually, after murdering people who got in his way, Voldemort finally finds Gregorovich, who informs Voldemort that the Wand was stolen from him. Voldemort then performs Legilimency on him and sees a blond young man perched on the windowsill of Gregorovich's workshop who steals the wand and disappears in the darkness. Voldemort demanded Gregorovich to reveal the identity of the thief and when he couldn't, Voldemort killed him.

When Harry Potter and Hermione Granger go to Godric's Hollow, Nagini manages to capture Harry, and calls Voldemort. Harry escapes shortly before Voldemort arrives however, and Voldemort finds not Harry, but a picture of the thief at the scene.

Voldemort realises that the thief is none other than the Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald, the wizard whom Albus Dumbledore defeated. He breaks into the prison where Grindelwald was being held, where Grindelwald proceeds to tell him to kill him, for he welcomed death, but that it would not bring about what Voldemort sought, and that there was so much Voldemort did not understand. Voldemort killed Grindelwald and stole the Elder Wand from the tomb of Albus Dumbledore.

The Battle of Hogwarts
Following this, Voldemort became aware that Harry Potter and his friends are seeking his Horcruxes. With fury, he realises that three of his Horcruxes have been stolen, with another destroyed.

Voldemort returned to Hogwarts following these revelations, to quell a revolution sparked by the arrival of Harry Potter. He rounds up his entire army of Death Eaters, giants, dementors and Acromantulas and an hour later, after not receiving Potter, commands them to fight the Aurors, teachers, and students who were of age. Voldemort himself is not present at the Battle; he is investigating why the Elder Wand does not work any differently than his old wand. He comes to the conclusion that Severus Snape is the true master of the Elder Wand and orders Nagini to murder him.

Voldemort then calls a one-hour armistice, requesting Harry Potter in exchange for peace and no further deaths. Unbeknownst to Voldemort, Harry carried within him a seventh Horcrux, formed when Voldemort failed to kill him. When Harry meets Voldemort, Voldemort hits him with a Killing Curse almost immediately, but only destroys the Horcrux within, for when Voldemort used Harry's blood in the potion, it kept his mother's protection alive. Harry was knocked to the ground and feigns death.

Voldemort then marched to Hogwarts, proclaiming the death of Harry Potter and his victory. Neville Longbottom, instead of surrendering, charged at Voldemort, and the Battle recommenced.

Neville pulled the sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and decapitated Nagini with it, destroying the last of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Enraged, Voldemort attempted to kill Neville, but Harry interfered and cast a shield charm between them before the former could raise a wand. Voldemort entered the battle and tried to strike down everyone within his reach. He, with his now weakened army, forced his way into Hogwarts and began to duel against Minerva McGonagall, Horace Slughorn, and Kingsley Shacklebolt all at once. When he saw Bellatrix Lestrange killed at the hands of Molly Weasley, he turned his wand on her, intending to kill her, but Harry revealed himself then to be alive, forcing the battle to stop, and the pair faced each other in the Great Hall.

When the two men are facing one another, Harry proceeds to tell Voldemort that he has magic that Voldemort knows not and a weapon more powerful than his, in addition to giving Voldemort warning of the fate that lay in store for him if he was unwilling to feel remorse for his actions. Goading him by using his real name, Riddle, Harry tells him that Snape's loyalty was with Dumbledore all along, that Dumbledore's death was planned and that Snape was not the master of the Elder Wand; Draco Malfoy was.

Originally shocked, Voldemort proceeded to tell Harry that it makes no difference, and that after he has killed Harry, Draco could be disposed of. Harry then states that if the Elder Wand is aware that Harry overpowered Draco in Malfoy Manor, then Harry himself is the true master. Refusing to believe this, Voldemort cast the Killing Curse at Harry, but Harry was indeed the master:

Voldemort: "Avada Kedavra!" Harry: "Expelliarmus!" — Harry and Voldemort duel one final time.

The Elder Wand refused to kill its master and the spell rebounds, killing Tom Marvolo Riddle once and for all.

After his death, the jinx Voldemort put on The Defence Against the Dark Arts position was broken.

The Dark Mark signs Voldemort gave to his mininions faded from their arm after Voldemort died.

In death, Voldemort is stunted to exist in the form that Harry saw when he was in limbo. This was because although Voldemort was actually terified of dying, the horcruxes damaged his soul to the point where he could not become a ghost. Also for the rest of eternity, he would be unable to cross over into the afterlife.

In film
Voldemort's role in the film is mostly the same as in the book.

Even before Tom Riddle was 11, he was torturing and stealing from kids at the orphanage. He soon figured out how to make Horcruxes and become immortal, intending to make six Horcruxes so his soul would be split into seven pieces.

At age 16, he opened the Chamber of Secrets to set the Basilisk on Muggle-borns, whom he was prejudiced against. Moaning Myrtle was killed, to which Riddle made the diary into a Horcrux.

After rising to power and creating five Horcruxers, Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, terrorized the wizarding world before hearing of the prophecy, and went to Godric's Hollow to kill Harry Potter. He killed both of Harry's parents, but his mother Lily tried to protect him, thus sacrificing herself and creating protection for Harry which caused Voldemort's Killing Curse to rebound and destroy his body. His spirit survived due to the Horcruxes.

Voldemort soon found Professor Quirrell and moved to the back of his head. The Philosopher's Stone could have returned Voldemort to power. They attempted to steal the Philosopher's Stone by breaking into Gringotts, but it had been taken out of the vault earlier by Hagrid and moved to Hogwarts. Voldemort and Quirrell attempted to steal the stone from the chambers in Hogwarts, but Harry stopped them, reducing Quirrell to dust by touching his face due to the protection his mother had given him. Once again a disembodied spirit, Voldemort flew through Harry, knocking him out before he left the area.

The portion of his soul inside the diary possessed Ginny to open the Chamber of Secrets and release the Basilisk again. He attempted to absorb Ginny's energy to return Voldemort to power, but Harry entered the Chamber of Secrets and killed the Basilisk with Gryffindor's Sword. Then he used a Basilisk fang to destroy the diary.

When Voldemort's servant Wormtail, who betrayed Lily and James to him, returned to Voldemort with Barty Crouch Jr., Wormtail set up a potion to return Voldemort, to power. By this time Wormtail has returned Voldemort to physical form, though extremely weak, although he was able to kill a Muggle, Frank Bryce, with Avada Kedavra. Barty impersonated Mad-Eye Moody and set up the Triwizard Cup to take Harry to the graveyard, where Voldemort used his father's bone, Wormtail's hand, and Harry's blood to return to power. He gave Wormtail a silver hand and dueled Harry, whose wand was connected with Voldemort's as they shared the same core, Phoenix feather. This caused the spirits of Voldemort's four latest victims - Cedric Diggory (whom Wormtail killed with Voldemort's wand), Frank, and Harry's parents - to appear before Harry was able to get to the Triwizard Cup and escape.

Fudge, the Minister of Magic, denied Voldemort's return out of fear. Voldemort began seeking the prophecy to find the full details of it, tricking Harry into getting it by implanting a vision in his head of him torturing Sirius, as Harry was seeing into Voldemort's mind. During which, Voldemort's other most loyal and insane Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange, killed Sirius. Voldemort appeared afterward, but then Dumbledore arrived as well and dueled Voldemort, who eventually possessed Harry but was driven out. Voldemort was forced to retreat when Fudge arrived, and saw him as he Disapparated.

Dumbledore found Marvolo's ring, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, and destroyed it. He and Harry discovered that Voldemort intended to create enough Horcruxes to split his soul into seven, and attempted to retrieve the locket from the cave, but it had already been taken by Regulus Black. Meanwhile Voldemort assigned Draco Malfoy to kill Dumbledore. In the end it was Snape who killed Dumbledore (although Dumbledore told him to).

Without Dumbledore, and with his servant Pius Thicknesse, Voldemort infiltrated the Ministry of Magic. When the Order of the Phoenix was moving Harry to the Burrow, Voldemort killed Mad-Eye Moody and tried to kill Harry with Lucius Malfoy's wand, as Ollivander had told him about the twin cores, but Harry's wand, recognizing Voldemort from their duel, shot gold flames at him, destroying Lucius's wand.

Afterward Voldemort tortured Ollivander, who told him about the Elder Wand, which he traced to Gregorovitch. When he read Gregorovitch's mind and saw that Grindelwald had stolen the Elder Wand, he killed Gregorovitch and tracked down Grindelwald at Nurmengard. During this time, Ron destroyed the locket that Voldemort made into a Horcrux. When Voldemort finally found Grindelwald, Grindelwald told him that the Elder Wand was in Dumbledore's tomb. Voldemort left without killing Grindelwald (as opposed to the book) and took the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb.

It has been revealed that in Part 2, Voldemort will kill Snape more violently than in the book. His duel with Harry will be extended to a battle all around what remains of Hogwarts, lasting about 15 minutes before he is struck with his own Killing Curse and is completely disintegrated.

Abilities
As was described earlier, a young Voldemort before acquiring a wand, or even knowing the very existence of magic itself, could use his magical power to achieve something similar to telekinesis, manipulate animals, and "make bad things happen to people who annoy him", in a much more controlled display of magic than wizards exhibit at that age.

Voldemort is the only wizard explicitly mentioned as having created a Horcrux (though others are known to have done so) and is the only wizard known to have created more than one. Hence, Voldemort has come the closest to being truly immortal (Nicolas Flamel was not truly immortal, for after he stopped drinking his Elixir of Life, he died).

Voldemort is the most powerful Legilimency practitioners in the world, being able to tell whenever a person is lying and can delve into their deepest thoughts without resistance. One of the few people who are skilled enough to shield their mind from him is Severus Snape, who is extremely skilled at occlumency. Snape does, in fact, successfully shield his inner thoughts from Voldemort for many years and proves to be a powerful asset to the Order of the Phoenix as a spy. Voldemort would often plant illusions into the minds of his victims, until they started begging him to kill them.

Voldemort is also said to be very skilled at Occlumency, however his use of this talent was not greatly shown in the series.

When dueling, Voldemort is able to cast spells, counter-spells, and Apparate/Disapparate with great speed and precision and is able to:


 * Create a shield out of thin air.
 * Transfigure Dumbledore's fire-rope into a black snake.
 * Cast powerful and complex spells in mid air with enough accuracy to strike a moving target.
 * Control a person's mind or body (forces Harry bow before their duel. This sensation is described as "an invisible hand bending his spine").
 * Can create snake like objects such as fire
 * Master of the 3 unforgivalble curses
 * Can create a sonic boom
 * Control of objects such as a large number of glass shards

He also boasts an array of other special magical skills, such as:

And many, many more
 * Creating artificial limbs such as Peter Pettigrew's silver hand.
 * The spell Morsmordre is of Voldermort's own creation, which summons an image of the Dark Mark in midair.
 * Summon his fellow Death Eaters to him by touching one of their Dark Mark.
 * Physically flies through the air without support or physical aid, at speeds comparing to Thestrals, broomsticks, and Sirius Black's motorcycle.
 * Suspending people such as Charity Burbage and Gregorovitch, tied up in midair with no sign of ropes or bounds.
 * The ability (or willingness) to create a Horcrux. Voldermort is the only known wizard to have done this more than once.
 * Creating and controlling Inferi.
 * Turning the corpse of Bathilda Bagshot's into a disguise for his snake, Nagini.
 * Speak Parseltongue

He has created an array of many other magical spells, for example Morsmordre, the Taboo curse, a potion and a few spells which returned him to a physical form, and created the ability to fly. There are much much more of course. Lord Voldemort is actually knowledgeable, and capable of thinking of almost perfect plans to protect some of his Horcruxes, as well as being the brightest students Hogwarts has ever seen. He is a pure evil knowledgeable, and if it was not for his arrogance and his lack of understanding of human emotions and reactions, he would not have fallen.

Name
Voldemort was born Tom Marvolo Riddle, a name he hated. The first name was common and, like his last name, it came from his Muggle father. He decided to forge his own name, hoping that one day everyone would fear speaking it. He created the name "Voldemort" which means "flight of death" in French. "I am Lord Voldemort" is an anagram of "Tom Marvolo Riddle" and "Immortal Odd Lover". At first, this name was used to refer to him or to address to him.

"They do not call me 'Tom' anymore," he said. "These days, I am known as —"

—Book 6, Chapter 20

Later, as he hoped (he explains to Harry that it was his goal in the Chamber of Secrets), he became so feared in the wizarding community that many wizards refused to call him by this name, referring to him only as "You-Know-Who" or "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named". Fudge refers to him like this when he officially announces Voldemort's return: "the wizard styling himself Lord — well, you know who I mean"

—Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 38

. His followers (and few others) call him "The Dark Lord". As a result, his former name was forgotten, as Dumbledore noted : "Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle"

—Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 18

Fudge even wrote it for the Muggle prime minister rather than saying it.

Albus Dumbledore was one of the few who dared referring to him as "Voldemort" (altough he often refered to him as "Tom" to Harry), and he said others to use this name as well. Minerva McGonagall used it per Dumbledore's request. Hagrid asked Harry not to use it (Hagrid used it once, because he had to teach Harry the name and didn't know how to write it). Remus Lupin and Sirius Black were never reluctant to use this name. Harry Potter never learned to fear the name, so he used it regularly. Hermione Granger started to use it in their fifth year, to show Harry that she really was with him (she used the name in the first film, but it's considered a mistake). Ginny Weasley used the name for the first time during Dumbledore's burial.

When addressing him directly, Dumbledore calls him "Tom". Harry noted that "Dumbledore's refusal to use Voldemort’s chosen name was a refusal to allow Voldemort to dictate the terms of the meeting" when he saw it in Dumbledore's memory. So by addressing him as "Tom", Dumbledore refuses Voldemort to impose his rules.

After the coup in the ministry, the name "Voldemort" became a taboo: if anyone pronounced it, Death Eaters apparated before him. As Ron explained, the Order of the Phoenix members were the only ones to use it. Kingsley Shacklebolt barely escaped Death Eaters when he used it. Harry and his friends were twice attacked because of this. According to Death Eaters, not pronouncing his name is a mark of respect.

Physical description
As a child, Tom Riddle was an extremely handsome boy. He was described as having jet black hair, perfectely carved features, and dark eyes. He was pale, tall, and had a voice always filled with interest and curiosity – which was a farce to gain Hogwarts' respect. As he grew, and became more involved in the Dark Arts, he was deathly pale, his face waxy and oddly distorted, and the white of his eyes now had a permanently bloody look. He continued to go through many transformations, until he became what he is. He is tall, and skeletally thin. His face is an almost opaque texture, with deep, dark scarlet eyes set in slits, like a cat's gleaming in the dark. His nose is as flat as a snake's, leaving small incisions for nostrils, and his fingers are unnaturally long, like a spider's legs. He can usually be seen wearing his black hooded cloak that always covers his face. In the books he was described as haveing red eyes while in the movies they were blue.

Videos
The Dark Lord rises into full human form and battles Harry in a wand-connecting duel.

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In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Albus Dumbledore confronts the Dark Lord in an intense duel, after Bellatrix Lestrange kills Harry's only close relative, Sirius Black.

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