Lord Voldemort/Synopsis

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The history of Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter franchise.

Early Life

“	I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who are mean to me. I can make them hurt, if I want... I can talk to snakes, too. They find me, whisper things to me. Is that normal for someone like me?	„
	~ Young Tom Riddle explaining his powers to Dumbledore

Voldemort as an 11-year-old child.

Tom Marvolo Riddle, the boy who would one day grow up to become Lord Voldemort, was born on New Year's Eve, 1926 at Wool's Orphanage, London. He was the only child of Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle Sr. Hailing from the village of Little Hangleton, Tom's parents were polar opposites. His mother was an impoverished, Pure-Blood witch, descended from Hogwarts founder Salazar Slytherin. Tom's father, meanwhile, was a wealthy and extremely snobbish non-Magical human - or "Muggle", as they are called in the Wizarding World - from the same area.

Although they were married, the union between Riddle's parents was not born out of mutual love. Merope, who had spent her entire life being bullied and abused by her father Marvolo and brother Morfin, made her escape from her abusive homelife after her relatives were imprisoned within Azkaban, following an encounter with government representatives from the Ministry of Magic. As part of her scheme, Merope used a love potion to make Riddle, for whom she had unrequited romantic feelings, fall in love with her. Not long afterwards they got married and eloped to London. Merope would keep Tom enchanted for the next few months, but eventually decided to lift the spell so he would love her of his own accord. Once the enchantment was dispelled, however, Riddle abandoned her.

Shortly before their breakup however, Tom and Merope conceived a child, whom Merope would give birth to at the end of that year. Despite Tom's abandonment and her own desperate, miserable state, Merope did manage to see her pregnancy through. According to witnesses from the orphanage, Merope Riddle's last act was to choose a name for her newborn son, whom she hoped would look more like his father than her. She named the boy Tom for his father, and gave him the middle name Marvolo, after her father. Merope died less than a hour later, not knowing the impact her newborn son would one day have upon the Magical and Muggle communities.

Note: Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling later stated that because Tom was conceived through a love potion, he was unable to feel love himself. This inability to understand or feel attachment contributed to his actions later in life. She also stated that had Merope survived and loved him, he would have turned out very different.

Since Tom was never adopted, he spent the first 11 years of his life at the orphanage. Like his mother before him, he grew up impoverished, and it is implied that he was raised in a loveless environment. While he was extremely intelligent, Tom exhibited psychopathic tendencies from a young age; he had no conscience or empathy, bullied and stole from the other orphans, and tortured animals.

Tom was also a really intelligent young boy. Although he was unaware of his Wizarding heritage, Tom realised that there was something different about him. Whilst most witch and wizard children could only use their magic sporadically before starting a formal education, Tom had an unnatural degree of control over his magical abilities. Throughout his time at orphanage (and later Hogwarts) Riddle used his power, to dominate, intimidate and harm people he did not like. Due to both his supernatural abilities and his own cunning, Riddle was never caught for any of his acts but given the way the other children feared him, the staff nonetheless suspected him. As a result of this, Tom spent his early life friendless and alone.

Then, when Tom was 11 years old, his life was changed forever when he received an unexpected visit from a man called Albus Dumbledore, who was Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite some initial reservations Tom was intrigued to hear about the magical world and completely thrilled to discover that he was a wizard. In an act he (and quite possibly his fellow staff members) would later come to regret, Dumbledore offered Tom a place at Hogwarts, which the boy immediately accepted.

In the conversation that followed Riddle would unwittingly tell Dumbledore a little bit to much about himself; namely about his willingness to hurt people and his ability to control/talk to animals, especially snakes. Note: being a Parselmouth (i.e. someone who can talk to snakes) is a general sign of a Dark Wizard. Dumbledore also discovered Tom's acts of thievery and trophy collecting. He made Tom return these items, telling him that such acts would not be tolerated at Hogwarts. After informing Tom how to get to Diagon Alley and Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Dumbledore departed saying that he would see Tom at Hogwarts.

Albus was noticeably shaken by his encounter with the young Riddle and resolved to keep an eye on him. What Dumbledore did not and could not know was that the boy he had just met would one day become his foremost enemy. Nor could have he have anticipated the misery and horror that Riddle would one day unleash.

Hogwarts Years/The Start of Darkness

“	When I first met young Mr. Riddle, he was a quiet albeit brilliant boy, committed to becoming a first-rate wizard. Not unlike others, I've known. Not unlike yourself. If the monster existed it was buried deep within.	„
	~ Horace Slughorn about his first experiences with Tom Riddle.

Tom Riddle attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry between 1938 and 1945. Like every new student, Tom and his fellow first years were sorted into one of the four Hogwarts houses, which were named after one of the Hogwarts founders: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The house that each student ended up in was determined by an ancient magical artifact, the Sorting Hat. When Tom's turn came, it took the hat less than a second to determine his destiny. Sensing his greed, power, cunning and quite possibly his ancestry, (not to mention his dark future), the hat immediately named him a Slytherin.

Tom as a Slytherin student in Hogwarts.

It did not take long for Riddle to fall deeply in love with the castle. Indeed, he would grow to love Hogwart's more than any other person or thing in his life. Tom not only enjoyed his lessons, which by all accounts he excelled at, but loved to explore the mysteries and magic that surrounded the establishment. He eventually developed a deep knowledge of the castle and its various hiding places. For instance, he was one of the very people to discover the Room of Requirement, (a magical room which provided anything the user needed). More sinisterly, he later discovered the Chamber of Secrets and his knowledge of the castle was only rivalled by that of the Marauder's (James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew), Fred and George Weasley and Harry Potter.

An apparition of Tom would later describe himself as "poor, but brilliant, parentless, but so brave, a school prefect, a model student." This opinion was shared by the majority of the Professors, including Tom's head of house, Horace Slughorn who predicted (accurately) that Tom would go on to accomplish many things. Even Dumbledore, (who was wary and distrustful of Tom) admitted that Riddle was the best student Hogwarts ever had. The only thing that angered Tom was the fact that he could not stay at the castle permanently. Every summer, he had to return to the orphanage, which he loathed and dreaded more than any other place on Earth. By the end of his education, Tom had been a Prefect, Head Boy and had received a medal for magical merit.

What the majority of people did not realise however, was that there were two sides to Tom Marvolo Riddle. Just as he had done at the orphanage, Riddle was able to charm and persuade many of his peers and admirers, getting them to do things that they would never have done otherwise. In fact, Tom's years at Hogwarts were noted to be an exceptionally dark period in the schools history. In hindsight, a number of people would realise that they had been foolish to trust Riddle and refused to talk about him afterwards. At that the same time, some of Hogwart's less reputable students started to gather around Riddle, serving as his enforcers, devoted followers and loyal friends (as Tom let them believe). Many members of this group would go on to become Voldemort' loyal followers during his campaign of conquest, whereupon they took up the name of Death Eaters.

Behind the scenes, as Tom's fascination for magic grew, so did his desire to learn where he came from. He became obsessed with his parentage, which he researched endlessly. Tom correctly concluded that he had to have had at least one magical parent in order to have inherited his various abilities. Due to the fact that his mother had died after giving birth to him, Tom originally believed that his father was a wizard and tried to trace him through the magical histories.

This investigation turned up nothing, whereupon Riddle began searching for his mothers bloodline. Using his grandfather's name, Marvolo, Riddle soon hit the jackpot. He eventually discovered that his grandfather belonged an ancient wizarding family called the Gaunt's. Tracing his ancestry back further, Riddle uncovered that the Gaunt's were direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin and through them him as well. This discovery not only excited Tom, but made him even more interested in the opinions and ambitions of his ancient ancestor. Indeed, it was around this time that Tom Riddle relinquished the name his mother had given him. Instead, he began to use a new title, one that one day strike fear into the hearts of everyone that heard it; Lord Voldemort.

Note; This new name is an anagram, created from Tom's given name. In the Chamber of Secrets novel, his horcrux apparition showed Harry Potter that by rearranging the letters of his given name: "Tom Marvolo Riddle" it could spell out "I am Lord Voldemort".

In 1943, during his fifth year at Hogwart's, Tom Riddle truly began his descent into darkness, when he located the secret entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. This underground chamber had been built by his ancestor Salazar Slytherin almost a thousand years earlier. From his studies of magical history, Riddle knew that unlike his contemporaries, Salazar Slytherin was very strict about who he accepted into Hogwarts. Salazar firmly believed that magic should only be taught to those who were descended from magical parents, i.e. Pure-Bloods and that Muggle-Borns were not worthy of such knowledge. This opinion, eventually led to Salazar having a massive falling out with the other founders, in particular his former friend Godric Gryffindor. Knowing that he would not be able to make his opinions universal, Salazar decided to leave the school, but not before he set things up so that another could carry out his ambitions for him.

According to Hogwarts legend, before his departure Slytherin placed a diabolical monster inside the Chamber, which he then sealed so that only one who shared his bigoted opinion and preparation to carry it out could open it. Future generations would later come to refer to this person as The Heir of Slytherin. The same legend, also stated that the beast within (called Slytherin's monster) would only answer to the heir and the heir alone. Of course, since the other founders knew nothing about the Chamber of Secret's existence, these declarations were treated as nothing more than superstition and nonsense.

Tom Riddle was The Heir of Slytherin. Using the fragmented pieces of information in conjunction with his parseltongue, Tom managed to locate the entrance inside one of the girls bathrooms. Entering the chamber, he awaken the beast within; a Basilisk (a giant snake-like monster). With the serpentine creature under his complete control, Tom turned it loose upon the school, injuring/petrifying a large number of the students. The last victim in Tom's dark crusade at Hogwarts was a Muggle-Born Ravenclaw called Myrtle Warren. Following an incident with her bully, Olive Hornby, Myrtle was sitting in the girls bathroom where the entrance was located, when Tom entered, thinking that he was alone. Myrtle heard him speaking parseltongue and realized from his tone that it was boy speaking. Furious, she opened the door to her cubicle and yelled at Tom to go away. Warren did not see Tom, however. Whether by pure accident or deliberate intent, she instead looked straight directly into the eyes of Basilisk, whereupon, she died. Thus, Myrtle Warren became the first person in history to be killed by Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort, albeit indirectly!

Unfortunately for Tom, this incident was the final straw for both the Hogwarts Governors and its Headmaster, Armando Dippet. Although Myrtle's soul would later become a lingering ghost by the name of "Moaning Myrtle", her death made it clear that Hogwarts was no longer safe for people to stay in. As such, the Headmaster and the Governors considered permanently closing down the establishment. This prospect completely horrified Tom, as it would mean that he would be returned to the Muggle orphanage indefinitely. He met personally with Dippet to plead his case and although he was sympathetic, Dippet made it very clear that his hands were tied. He told Tom that the only thing that could prevent the school's closure was if the culprit and the beast responsible for the attacks were both caught.

Inspired by these words, Tom quickly came up with a plan to keep the school open. That very night, he ambushed and captured a third year student, the half-giant Rubeus Hagrid. The young Gryffindor was known throughout the castle for his obsession with dangerous beasts and had frequently been caught looking after such monsters during his time at Hogwarts. At the time of Riddle's campaign of terror, Rubeus was secretly raising a baby Acromantula (Giant Spider) named Aragog. Thanks to Hagrid's actions, courage and selflessness, Aragog managed to escape from Riddle and fled safely from the castle. Hagrid was not so lucky however. Riddle managed to capture and detain him. He then turned Hagrid over to Dippet and the governors, claiming that he and Aragog were responsible for everything that had happened, including Myrtle's demise.

Riddle's actions on that day led to several consequences, both intentional and unintentional. To his relief and partial astonishment, Dippet and the authorities completely bought his story about Aragog. Believing that the incident was now over, the governors declared that Hogwarts could remain open. Hagrid was expelled, though Dumbledore intervened on his behalf ensuring that he later found both a residence and job at the castle. Riddle himself received (an undeserved) reward for special services to the school.

However, Tom's actions once again brought him to the attention of Albus Dumbledore, who had never trusted or liked Riddle as much as his fellow staff members. Having retained his suspicion of Tom since their first meeting, this incident with Hagrid, seemed to verify Dumbledore's opinion that Riddle had not a reformed and was not a trustworthy person. Although Dumbledore never openly questioned Riddle's involvement in the incident with the Chamber of Secret's, he kept an even closer watch over Tom for the remainder of his time at Hogwarts. As such, Tom knew that he would never be able to open the Chamber so long as both he and Dumbledore were at the Castle. Unfortunately for Dumbledore, Riddle soon found a way around this dilemma, just like his ancestor had done, centuries before him.

The only thing that fascinated Riddle more than his family heritage, was the Dark Arts, for which he possessed an unnatural talent and passion for. Above all else, Riddle yearned to unlock the secrets of immortality. During his research, Tom discovered that there was a way for a magical person to make themselves practically immortal. It was one of the most horrendous and vilest forms of magic in existence called a horcrux. Through means unspecified, Riddle discovered that when a witch or wizard killed somebody, they split their soul. He also learnt that by following a series of instructions, the witch or wizard in person, could then conceal a portion of their soul within an object, which would then house and protect it. This not only kept them anchored to the mortal plane, but ensured that even if the persons body was destroyed, they would still survive, albeit as a twisted, monstrous being, less than even a ghost.

Having split his soul in the moment of Myrtle's death, Tom used the torn off fragment to create his first horcrux in the form of a magical Diary. Riddle intended to use this horcrux, not just to keep him alive, but in the hope that it would one day lead someone to finish Salazar Slytherin's "noble" work. This was somewhat of a contradction, as horcruxes were supposed to be locked away and kept safe, so that they could never be damaged or harmed and risk rendering their creator mortal once again. However, in 1944, Riddle approached his head of house, Horace Slughorn. Using some carefully chosen words, Tom, (who already knew how to create a horcrux), manipulated Horace into admitting that although it had never been done before, it was feasible for a person to split their soul multiple times.

Thus, Voldemort decided that he would create seven Horcruxes. That way, even if the diary or one of the others was destroyed, he would have six more, which would guarantee his survival. It was it at this point that Tom Riddle passed the point of no return and Lord Voldemort was truly born!

Little Hangleton

“	Morfin Gaunt: I thought you were that Muggle, you look mighty like that Muggle. Voldemort: What Muggle? Morfin Gaunt: That Muggle what my sister took a fancy to, that Muggle what lives in the big house over the way, you look right like him. Riddle. But he's older now, in 'e? He's older 'n you, now I think on it... he comes back, see.	„
	~ A confrontation between Voldemort and his uncle Morfin

In the summer of 1943, Tom Riddle left the orphanage were he was born and went on a journey further north. Although his mother was long dead, Tom had learnt through his research that she still had family living in the remote village of Little Hangleton, where she had been born almost four decades previously. Knowing their address Tom set out in search of his maternal relatives. It is not known what Riddle originally planned to do when he met them, but by the time he returned to London, Tom Marvolo Riddle would be the only living and free member from both of his families respective bloodlines.

After an unknown period of travel, Tom finally arrived outside the small hut, where his mother had once lived. Entering unannounced, Riddle soon discovered that the place was dirty and disheveled, to the point that it made his orphanage look comfortable. He was soon confronted by the houses sole resident, a filthy, drunk and unkempt wizard, who charged at him brandishing both a knife and a wand. Showing no fear, Tom stopped the man by speaking to him in parseltongue. With the stranger subdued, Tom asked him who he was and where he could find Marvolo?

The man revealed that Marvolo had died many years ago, before identifying himself as Morfin Gaunt. Tom offered no greeting in return and his uncle did not ask for his name. Instead, Gaunt declared that Tom looked very much that affluent muggle, Tom Riddle. This declaration caught the younger Riddle of guard. To his astonishment, Morfin unwittingly revealed that Tom's father not only came from the same village, but that he had left Merope not long after marrying her and lived nearby.

This revelation, had a profound effect upon the growing Dark Lord. Moments later, he stunned Morfin and took the unconscious wizards wand, before heading towards the house that his uncle had pointed out. Although he was spotted at some point by the Riddle's family's gardener, Frank Bryce, Tom still managed to make it to the house undetected. Riddle's intentions at this point remain unknown, but he used his magic to enter the manor, where following a small search, he found the three members of his paternal family in the drawing-room; his father, Tom Riddle Sr. and his grandparents, Thomas and Mary Riddle.

What happened next is known only to Voldemort himself, for the Dark Lord never told anybody about at Little Hangleon or the Riddle Manor. Nobody can say for certain whether he gave his father a chance to explain himself, or whether he just planned to kill him from the very start. If Tom Riddle Sr. did try to explain that his wife had bewitched and tricked him into marrying her, his son clearly did not believe him.

Note: After learning the truth about his bloodline, Voldemort spent the rest of his life believing that his father had freely fallen in love with Merope, but left her when she revealed her magical heritage.

All that is known for certain, is that when Voldemort left the house minutes later, he left behind the lifeless bodies of his father, grandfather and grandmother. For the first time in his life, Voldemort had used what would one day become his signature spell "Avada Kedavra", the Killing Curse. Thus, the Riddle's became the first people in history to be directly and intentionally killed by Tom Marvolo Riddle with his own magic. The Riddle's bodies were discovered the next day. Voldemort's role in the demise of his relatives would not be discovered for many years and in the muggle world, the Riddle's deaths remain unexplained to this day. Frank Bryce, the only person to see Voldemort anywhere near the crime scene, was falsely accused and suspected of the murder. Although the charges were ultimately dropped due to a lack of evidence, the people of Little Hangleton continued to believe that Frank was the murderer for the rest of his life.

Riddle did not know of this and would not have cared even if he had. On the contrary, his subsequent actions once again demonstrated that he was completely incapable of compassion. Returning the Gaunt's grovel, Tom decided that he wasn't interested in building a familial relationship with his uncle Morfin. Realizing that Gaunt could still be of some use to him however, Riddle implanted a false memory into his uncle's mind. A few days later, when the Ministry of Magic questioned Morfin about the Riddle's deaths, Gaunt proudly confessed to the killings and would spend the rest of his life in Azkaban. The Ministry only discovered Morfin's innocence during the last few weeks of his life, many years later, with Gaunt dying in prison before he could be acquitted.

Tom Marvolo Riddle, ultimately left Little Hangleton a murderer, with few people having known that he had ever been there. Despite what happened, the journey was not a complete waste for Tom. At some point during the travesty, he stole a gold ring with a large black stone engraved upon it from his uncle Morfin. Originally, this small artefact would serve as one of Riddle's trophies, a reminder of the evil act he had carried out. At some point after his discussion with Horace Slughorn about Horcruxes in the plural however, Riddle stopped wearing this particular trophy however. Instead, he bound another fragment of his soul into the ancient heirloom, which he had split even further upon murdering his father. Thus, the Ring would become Voldemort's second horcrux.

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 Burkes, 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 charmed a wealthy, elderly lady named Hepzibah Smith, a descendant of one of Hogwarts' founders, Helga Hufflepuff. After several visits 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, Hokey, Hepzibah's house elf, who 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.

Transformation

What he has become.

“	He disappeared after leaving the school … traveled far and wide … sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognisable as Tom Riddle.	„
	~ Albus Dumbledore about Tom Riddle's transformation into Lord Voldemort.

Tom disappeared for many years, slipping deeper into the Dark Arts. The more Horcruxes that he made, the less human he became and eventually lost all trace of humanity. Tom appealed once more to Albus Dumbledore, now Headmaster of Hogwarts, for the position of a 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.

The Rise of the Dark Lord

In the 1970s, Lord Voldemort had gathered a following of Witches and Wizards, who named themselves the Death Eaters. He then began taking advantage of the Wizarding World's greatest weakness: the beings and creatures that they had outcast. He recruited Giants, Werewolves, Dementors and many others, and used his army to wage war against the Ministry of Magic. At the height of Voldemort's reign of terror (and for many years after), people were so afraid of him that they didn't even dare to speak his name, referring to him 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 have suffered many casualties. 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…

„

This Prophecy was made by Sybill Trelawney, during a job interview with Albus Dumbledore for the position of Divination. According to Dumbledore, Snape only heard the part about Voldemort's downfall and to who it may relate to, before being thrown out by the barman Aberforth Dumbledore. Frightened, the Dark Lord sprang into action, unknowingly launching a chain of events that would eventually accomplish the fate he sought to avoid.

Voldemort killing Lily Potter.

Lord Voldemort realized he must kill the two babies who it could refer to: Harry Potter, a Half-Blood, and Neville Longbottom, a Pure-Blood. For reasons known only to Voldemort himself, he chose to kill Harry instead of Neville (Dumbledore suspected this because Harry shared his Half-Blood heritage with Voldemort). Due to the involvement of Peter Pettigrew, James Potter's friend-turned-Death-Eater, Lord Voldemort learned the Potter family's secret location. On Halloween 1981, Voldemort murdered James and Lily Potter, but when he used the Killing Curse on Harry as a baby, 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 and 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

However, Lord Voldemort isn't dead as his Horcruxes keep him alive, although formless and powerless, so he retreats to the same Albanian forest he had travelled to find Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, expecting one of his faithful Death Eaters to find him and help him. However, those still faithful to him are either dead or in Azkaban so he gains a form by inhabiting snakes, which never live long. During the incidents with the Cursed Vaults, Jacob's sibling encounters several Boggarts in his/her third year, taking the shape of his/her greatest fear; Lord Voldemort. In the Vault of Fear, he/she has to save his/her friends from three Boggarts taking the shape of Voldemort, turning them into clowns. Another Boggart appears, saying the words of the real Voldemort; "There is nothing worse than death", before being forced to fight it. After defeating the Boggarts, Jacob's sibling and his/her friends escape and discovers the treasures of the Vault.

Second Defeat

“	Voldemort: Let me speak to him. Quirinus Quirrell: Master, you are not strong enough. Voldemort: I have strength enough for this.	„
	~ Voldemort, revealing himself to Harry Potter.

Fortunately for Lord Voldemort, Professor Quirrell is wandering into the forest while on vacation and he is able to make him his follower. In 1991-92, Voldemort orders Quirrell to steal Nicolas Flamel's Philosopher's Stone from a vault in Gringotts Bank, so he can make the Elixir of Life. However, it has been removed by Hagrid right before Quirrell can steal it so Lord Voldemort possesses Quirrell and takes form on the back of his head, which is concealed by a turban. Quirrell often drinks unicorn blood to sustain his Master.

Voldemort, reduced to living like a parasite to survive.

Quirrell tricks Hagrid into telling him about Fluffy, the three-headed hound guard of the Philosopher's Stone at Hogwarts. Now all they need is a way to get into the Forbidden Corridor but Severus Snape is suspicious and,when Quirrell lets loose a Troll in the dungeons as a distraction, Snape blocks him off.

Voldemort has Quirrell send a fake letter to Dumbledore, asking him to go to the Ministry of Magic, then moves on with their plan. They beat their way through the security enchantments and reach the Mirror of Erised. where Quirrell sees himself presenting the Stone to his Master, but cannot get it. It is only when Harry arrives that they could retrieve the Stone, as only someone who wants to find the Stone, but not use it, can get it from the mirror. Voldemort figures this out, and Quirrell attacks Harry but, when he touches Harry, his hands blister. Harry puts his hands on Quirrell's face, severely injuring him. Lord Voldemort's soul flees when Dumbledore barges in, once more without a body.

Second Exile and the Diary

“	There are strange likenesses between us, after all. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the Great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike … but after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That’s all I wanted to know.	„
	~ Tom Riddle facing Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets.

Lord Voldemort returns to the Albanian forest, weaker than ever where he has to wait for another to help him.

In 1992, Lucius Malfoy puts the Diary containing the soul fragments of Voldemort in Ginny Weasley's cauldron who brings it to Hogwarts. She comes into contact with the 16-year-old-Riddle Horcrux, who feigns innocence to comfort and manipulate her. Riddle's memory learns all he can about his future self-defeat and Harry Potter. He slowly drains the life away from Ginny Weasley and puts her under his control, makin her open the Chamber of Secrets and release the Basilisk, kill Hagrid's roosters, and write threatening messages on the wall outside Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Gradually, Ginny becomes suspicious, so she throws the Diary away in Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom. Harry and Ron accidentally stumble upon it, and Harry begins communicating with Tom.

Harry Potter destroying the diary with the Basilisk's fang.

Tom misleads Harry about who opened the Chamber of Secrets, convincing him it was Hagrid. When Ginny sees that Harry has the Diary, she steals it back for she does not want Harry to find out all the things she had done while under its influence. When Tom is ready to take his physical form from Ginny's life, he lures her into the Chamber of Secrets. The switch is almost complete when Harry finds them so Tom summons the Basilisk to kill Harry, but Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes arrives and blinds the monster. Fawkes also brings the Sorting Hat, from which Harry withdraws Godric Gryffindor's Sword, kills the Basilisk with the Sword, and uses the Basilisk's fang to stab the Diary, unknowingly destroying one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes.

The Servant Returns

Voldemort himself plays no part in Harry Potter's life between 1993 - 1994 as the focus is instead given to Sirius Black, who has escaped from Azkaban and is falsely believed to be after Harry. This year ultimately proves to be the last time that Harry enjoys some measure of peace and calm for some time. Towards the end of his third year at Hogwarts, as Harry completes and prepares to leave his Divination exam, his teacher, Sybil Trelawney, suddenly enters a trance like state, similar to what she had done with Dumbledore thirteen years previously. The seer then foretells that one of Voldemort's Death Eaters, i.e. the one who had been in hiding since the fall of his master, will leave to return to Voldemort that very evening. She also prophetically proclaims that this man will ultimately ensure the Dark Lords restoration.

Unfortunately for the Wizarding Community, Sybil Trelawney's prediction comes true as, that very night, Peter Pettigrew is unmasked by his former friends Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, who reveal his treachery to Harry, Ron and Hermione. Peter is only spared from death at the hands of his former friends at the urgings of Harry himself, which results in a life debt being established between the two of them. Conceding to Harry's wishes, Lupin and Sirius restrain Peter and together with the others, go to take him up to the castle so he can face justice.

Unfortunately, before the group can reach Hogwarts, Remus' lycanthropy kicks in and in the ensuing chaos, Peter manages to break free and escape. Nevertheless, his betrayal of James and Lily Potter hs finally been revealed, although only Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Lupin and Dumbledore are aware of/believe it. Despite this, Peter knows that Sirius (who escaped from the Dementor's a second time with some help from Harry and Hermione) and Remus (who resigned as a Hogwarts teacher the following morning) will come after him, wanting vengeance. With his options limited, Peter concludes that his only refuge lays with his Master, Voldemort so he leaves Britain and makes the long journey to Albania, with the intention of finding his master.

It is not known how long Peter travelled, nor of the methods he used to reach his destination, but for the most part his journey is uneventful. That all changes during the final stages of his travel, when Peter innocently stops at an inn for a bite to eat where he meets and is recognised by a holidaying witch called Bertha Jorkins. Bertha is a British Ministry of Magic employee and has been at Hogwarts at the same time as Peter, thus she easily recognised the supposedly dead wizard. Fortunately for Peter, Bertha is also an extremely nosy and naive witch so he manages to trick her into accompanying him into the forest. Inside the woods, Peter manages to both detain Bertha and locate his master, Voldemort.

After reuniting with the Dark Lord, Pettigrew, no doubt following his masters instructions, manages to create a small living body for his master, through the use of dark magic. For the Dark Lord, this vessel is a significant improvement and welcome escape from the perpetual nightmare that had been his spectral existence. Yet even so, his new body is feeble and weak so, to stay alive, the Dark Lord needs to regularly ingest a potion made from unicorn blood and snake venom, provided by his latest acquisition, a female snake called Nagini. Nevertheless, as Trelawney predicts, Voldemort after thirteen long years has finally returned to the physical plane. Under Peter's care, Voldemort can not only travel and use magic again, but is finally able to search for a new way to restore himself to power.

This is where Bertha Jorkins comes in. Before capturing her, Peter overhears Bertha talking about the infamous Triwizard Tournament, mentioning that one is scheduled to take place at Hogwarts later that year. Realising that she might have valuable information that would be beneficial to his master, Pettigrew brings Bertha to Voldemort. As it turns out, Peter's hunch is spot on and the knowledge that Bertha imparted turns out to be invaluable. Not only does Voldemort manage to wrangle out further details about the upcoming tournament, he also learns of Bartemius Crouch Jr's survival and imprisonment at the hands of his father and that former Auror Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody will be taking over as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts that coming year.

With this information and his knowledge of the Dark Arts, Voldemort finally figures out a way to restore himself to life, without drawing the attention of those that could stop him i.e. Albus Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic. Having learnt everything he could possibly learn from Bertha, Voldemort kills her because in his own words, the interrogation has damaged Bertha's mind and body beyond repair. As an added bonus, the Dark Lord uses this murder to create the final of his seven horcruxes, infusing a portion of his soul into Nagini. With that, Voldemort unknowingly replaces the horcrux that Harry unwittingly destroyed, two years previously.

Rebirth

“	I have my reasons for using the boy, as I have already explained to you, and I will use no other. I have waited for thirteen years. A few more months will make no difference. As for the protection surrounding the boy, I believe my plan will be effective. All that is needed is a little courage from you, Wormtail — courage you will find unless you wish to feel the full extent of Lord Voldermort's wrath —	„
	~ Voldemort informing Wormtail of his plot to murder to Harry Potter in the oncoming Triwizard Tournament

Following Bertha's death, Voldemort, Pettigrew and Nagini leave the forest that had been the Dark Lords refuge for over a decade. They take shelter in Little Hangleton, England, taking up residency in the house that once belonged to Voldemort's father. Not only is the now derelict Riddle Manor deserted, but a key ingredient necessary for Voldemort's restoration, rests nearby. However, Voldemort does not intend to stay in the house for very long and he tells his servant that, once he has recovered from their journey (due to the fragile nature of his body) they will travel elsewhere to make their next move. The wizard's plans are overheard by the Riddle's groundskeeper Frank Bryce, the same man who had been unjustly blamed for the Riddle's murder over fifty years ago. Unfortunately, before he can leave to contact the police, Frank is discovered by Nagini. Choosing to confront Voldemort, rather than escape, the elderly muggle has a short argument with the Dark Lord, who upon being invited to do so, turns to face him. Horrified by what he sees, Frank is then murdered by Voldemort to keep his existence and schemes a secret.

A few weeks later, Voldemort and Peter, go to the Crouch Family residence. When Barty Crouch Sr. opens the door, he is immediately placed under the Imperius Curse by Voldemort, who then lifts the enchantment that had been placed upon Crouch's son freeing him at last. With Crouch Sr. now under the Dark Lords direct control and his faithful servant returned to him, Voldemort brings the younger Crouch up to speed on his plan. In order to restore himself to life, Voldemort plans to use an ancient potion that requires three key ingredients to rebuild his body; the bone of his father, the flesh of a servant and the blood of an enemy. Voldemort already has easy access to two of these ingredients; the bone and the flesh and, although Pettigrew points out that he can use the blood of any wizard to restore himself quickly, Voldemort makes it very clear that he wants Harry Potter's blood. Now aware of the magical protection that Lily Potter's sacrifice bestowed upon the boy, Voldemort correctly predicts that, if he takes the boys blood into his own veins, he would be able to overcome that obstacle and allow him to eliminate the one person that Sybil Trelawney's prophecy foretold could bring an end to his immortality,

In order to obtain this final ingredient however, Voldemort needs to get Harry away from Dumbledore's protection and bring the boy to a location that he cannot possibly escape from. Using the information that Bertha Jorkins had given him, Voldemort tells his two servants of his plan who are to capture and imprison Alastor Moody before the latter sets off for Hogwarts. Using both Polyjuice Potion and the Imperius Curse, Crouch then impersonates Moody and takes his place at Hogwarts. When the Triward Tournament selection process begins, each of the schools participating would have a champion selected by a magical artefact; the Goblet of Fire. Crouch's first job is to bewitch the Goblet and enter Harry's name under the name of fictional school. Due to the nature of the Goblet of Fire, once chosen, Harry will have no choice but to take part in the tournament.

Over the course of the next year, Crouch secretly guides Harry through each of the three tasks, ensuring that he won. For the final part of the plan, Crouch needs to turn the Triwizard Cup into a portkey, which will then teleport Harry to Little Hangleton where Voldemort and Pettigrew are be waiting for him. If all goes well, the Dark Lord will not only be able to resurrect himself, but dispose of the boy that caused his downfall thirteen years earlier. Barty Crouch Jr. is more than willing to help his master and their plans were executed without any issue, resulting in Moody's imprisonment and Harry being forced to enter the tournament against his wishes. Due to his Horcrux link with Voldemort, Harry experiences a few dreams, which show Voldemort's current activities. Although he shares what happened with Sirius and Dumbledore, the group do not understand their meaning, until it is too late. At the same time, due to Crouch's careful acting and interrogation of the real Moody, no one, not even Dumbledore, realises that Voldemort had planted a mole amongst their ranks for almost a full year.

The plan is nearly undone however, in the weeks leading up to the Third Task because, despie Voldemort's best efforts, Barty Crouch Sr. proves to be a much more talented wizard than the Dark Lord anticipated. Shortly after the First Task, towards the end of 1994, Crouch begins to fight off the Imperius Curse and regain control of himself. Knowing that Barty's escape could jeopardise everything, Voldemort keeps him under house arrest at the Crouch residence. Barty is kept under constant supervision. His only form of contact with the outside world is through carefully inspected messages and instructions to his colleagues, who are told by Crouch, under the influence of the curse, tell that he ill.

Since Voldemort is still too weak to supervise or restrain Barty in person, he leaves him in the care of Peter Pettigrew. This turns out to be a big mistake. One day, Peter neglectes his duty and on that day, Crouch finally manages to regain enough control of himself to escape from his imprisonment. The absolutely livid Voldemort knows straight away that Crouch would go to Dumbledore. Having been present when Voldemort explained his plans to Barty Crouch Jr., the senior Crouch knows everything about Bertha and Voldemort's hidden agenda at Hogwarts and that if, word of his scheme's reached Dumbledore, then he is finished.

With the Third Task just around the corner and his goal in-sight, Voldemort acts fast. Since Crouch has not been able to fight off the curse completely and could not apparate directly into the Hogwarts grounds, his journey will be delayed somewhat. Voldemort uses this time to contact his agent at Hogwarts. After informing Crouch Jr. about what had happened, Voldemort tekks him to be on the lookout for his father and do everything in his power to silence the man. Fortunately for Voldemort, Crouch has come into the possession of the Maruader's Map, which he had taken from an unsuspecting Harry a few months previously. This allows the Death Eater to keep an eye out for his father without raising any suspicion.

Shortly before the Third Task began, the half-mad Barty Crouch finally manages to reach Hogwarts, where he encounters Tournament Champions Harry Potter and Victor Krum. Between bouts of insanity, Barty pleads to be taken to Dumbledore, whilst constantly muttering things about his son, Bertha and Voldemort. Unable to move him from the spot, Harry eventually runs off to get help, which proves to be a costly decision. Thanks to the Maruader's Map, Crouch Jr. arrives first and, atching from the shadows, he waits until Harry is safely out of sight, whereupon he stuns Krum and finally, murders his father. Removing his father's body from the scene, the surviving Crouch doubles back and speaks with Dumbledore. After everyone has gone, Crouch disposes of his father's body and subsequently tells everybody that Crouch Sr. evaded him. With the leak secured, Crouch contacts his master, informing him that the situation has been resolved and Voldemort is relieved to hear this as it means that their plans can still proceed. He then punishes Pettigrew for allowing it to happen. Not long afterwards, Peter and Voldemort return to Little Hangleton to await Harry Potter's arrival.

On the night of the Third Task, with their preparations complete, the two wizards go to the Little Hangleton graveyard, trusting that Barty Crouch will successfully complete his mission. At long last, Harry Potter finally arrives, in the company of fellow Hogwarts Champion Cedric Diggory who, upon Harry's insistence, had touched the cup at the same time he had. As the two boys look around in confusion, Pettigrew, who is carrying Voldemort, makes his presence known. Upon seeing them, Harry is immediately overcome by pain and collapses helplessly to the floor. Voldemort meanwhile has spotted Cedric and, having no use for the older boy and wanting to leave no witnesses, the Dark Lord callously orders Pettigrew to kill him.

The Dark Lord rises again.

With Cedric disposes of, Peter places Voldemort on the ground, restrains Harry against Tom Riddle's gravestone, then goes to fetch a large stone cauldron filled to the brim with a water like potion. Lighting a fire underneath it, Pettigrew waits until it has reached boiling point, whereupon he finally begins the process of Voldemort's restoration. Placing his masters malformed body into the potion, Pettigrew, chanting all the while added the three restorative ingredients. First up, is the bone of Tom Riddle Sr. At Peter's words, the grave at Harry's feet splits open, the dusty remains of what had once been Riddle (or at least a part of him) rises into the air and lands in the cauldron. Next, Peter offers the flesh of a servant, by (reluctantly) cutting off his own maimed hand and adding it to the mixture. Finally, is the ingredient that Voldemort and his servant had waited months to obtain: the blood of an enemy. Going over to Harry, Pettigrew stabs him in the shoulder, fills a small vial with a few drops of the red liquid, which he then poures into the brew.

Witnessing the whole thing, Harry knows straight away that something very bad would happen if the spell works. As the potion flashes brightly, Harry silently pleads for the magic to fail. Moments later, the potion dissipates and a huge column of steam rises from the cauldron, giving Harry hope. Unfortunately, this optimism is short lived as, a moment later, a man stands up from inside the cauldron, ordering Pettigrew to dress him, too which the latter complies. After clambering out of the cauldron, the figure looks directly at Harry and the terrified young boy in turn, stares into the face of his nemesis. For the first time in living memory, Harry looks upon the man who had murdered his parents and countless other people before them. At long last, the Boy Who Lived sees for himself what the person that had haunted the nightmares of many witches and wizards (including himself) for so long really looks like. An image that had been the last thing that so many witches, wizards and muggles had ever seen. After fourteen long years of peace, Lord Voldemort has finally returned.

The Dark Lord Rises

Voldermort then tries to kill Harry but, since their wands are made from the same Phoenix's feathers, the core wands connect, and those who were killed by Voldemort's wand come out as spectral beings, including Harry's parents. Harry pulls away, and the spectral beings give him enough time to grab Cedric's body and the Triwizard Cup to return to the Hogwarts grounds. Barty Crouch Jr. has been discovered and is given the Dementors' kiss before he can stand trial, leaving the only knowledge of Voldemort's return as Harry's word, which isn't taken seriously by most. Due to this, Voldemort is able to operate in secret.

Prophecy Search

Lord Voldemort keeps quiet about his return, and only a few believe he is back but Dumbledore ressurects the Order of the Phoenix again, this time with a head start. In 1995, Voldemort is now after the Prophecy in the Department of Mysteries, to hear the whole of it. Voldemort uses the Imperius Curse on an Unspeakable: Broderick Bode, and sends him in to get it. However, Bode is seriously injured, and put into a permanent ward at St. Mungo's, where he is eventually murdered by a Devil's Snare plant delivered to his bedside. Voldemort then learns that only the people the Prophecy is about are able to touch it, although understandably he can't 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, escape from Azkaban and return to his side.

Eventually he becomes aware of Harry seeing through his eyes, so he sets up a false vision, of Sirius being tortured at the Ministry. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna Lovegood, Ginny and Neville go to rescue him, as Voldemort predicted. Now that Harry has the Prophecy, all they need is to get it from him, but they put up a fight during which the Prophecy is smashed.

Voldemort battling Dumbledore.

In the end, Voldemort appears and tries to kill Harry, but ends up duelling Dumbledore. After a destructive battle with Dumbledore, realising that his old teacher will overcome him in the end, Voldemort switches tactics and possesses Harry, telling Dumbledore to kill him now. However. Harry's grief over the loss of his beloved Godfather, causes Voldemort excruciating pain. but he flees when Cornelius Fudge and other Ministry officials arrive, now convinced of his return. Many of Voldemort's Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy, are incarcerated and sent to Azkaban, though by this time, the Dementors side with the Dark Lord.

Second Wizarding War

Now with his Army restored to full strength, Voldemort no longer needs to keep his actions silent and wages a second war against the Ministry of Magic. Mass Muggle killings and destruction, are rampant.

In 1996, he makes Draco Malfoy a Death Eater, requiring a loyal follower within the school and instructs Draco to kill Dumbledore, for he wishes to punish Lucius Malfoy by giving his son a task he could not do. If he fails, he will meet terrible consequences. In the end, Malfoy is able to sneak a group of Death Eaters into the Castle through a pair of Vanishing Cabinets (the second of which is located in Borgin and Burke's), and a Battle at Hogwarts ensues. Voldemort's plans are carried out, as Severus Snape kills Dumbledore (Albus is dying and asked Snape to kill him and also to save Malfoy, for he had made an Unbreakable Vow with Draco's mother, Narcissa).

Voldemort asking Lucius to give him his wand.

Voldemort makes Malfoy Manor his headquarters where, during the summer of 1997, he captures the Muggle studying Hogwarts teacher, Charity Burbage, and kills her before he feeds her to Nagini and also questions the kidnapped wandmaker, Ollivander, about why his wand reacted so with Harry Potter's wand. Ollivander tells him that Voldemort needs another's wand and so he takes Lucius Malfoy's wand. When Harry is removed from his Muggle home for the last time, Voldemort flies to the scene where his Death Eaters are fighting with the airborne Order of the Phoenix. He kills Mad-Eye Moody and then heads straight towards Harry where Voldemort attempts to duel but Harry's wand releases a spurt of golden fire at him and destroys Lucius' wand (Harry's wand absorbed a fraction of Voldemort's magic during their duel at the graveyard). Harry manages to reach the protection of Nymphadora Tonks' parents home and Voldemort is forced to retreat.

Angrily, he returns to Malfoy Manor and demands that Ollivander explain why Harry's wand yet again reacted towards him, even with a completely different wand. Ollivander tells him truthfully that never in Wandlore has he ever heard of such thing happening. Infuriated, Voldemort resolves that he needs the most powerful wand known to man to defeat Harry Potter: the Elder Wand, the Deathstick and the Wand of Destiny. He sets out to assume mastery of the Elder Wand, hoping it will finally overcome his connection with Harry's wand, not knowing that it was one of the three legendary Deathly Hallows.

Voldemort retrieves the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's grave.

During the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, Kingsley Shacklebolt announces through his Patronus that the Minister of Magic was dead and that the Ministry of Magic has fallen to Voldemort, giving him control over the entire Wizarding England. He establishes a totalitarian police state in its place and has all Muggle-Borns persecuted and imprisoned in Azkaban. With the Ministry finally under his control, Voldemort travels abroad, in search of the wandmaker, Gregorovich. Eventually, 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 who steals the wand and disappears into the darkness. Since Gregorovich doesn't know who the thief was, Voldemort kills him.

When Harry Potter and Hermione Granger go to Godric's Hollow, they fall into a trap devised by the Dark Lord, who knows that they would go there. Nagini, who Voldemort had disguised as the historian Bathilda Bagshot, manages to ambush Harry, and calls Voldemort. Harry and Hermione narrowly escape just as 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, who Albus Dumbledore defeated decades ago. He breaks into the prison where Grindelwald is being held, where Grindelwald proceeds to tell him that it wouldn't bring about what Voldemort sought, and that there is so much Voldemort doesn't understand. The Dark Lord receives a call that his Death Eaters have managed to capture Harry Potter. Voldemort kills Grindelwald and departs to Malfoy Manor to snuff out Harry's life, but again Harry manages to escape just before he arrives. and steals the Elder Wand from Albus Dumbledore's tomb. Having claimed the wand as his own, Voldemort finally believes that he has achieved true invincibility and that nothing can stop him now.

The Battle of Hogwarts

Following this, Voldemort becomes aware that Harry Potter and his friends are hunting down and destroying his Horcruxes, and realises that three of them have been stolen, with another destroyed. He reacts furiously and slaughters all around him, mentally checking his Horcrux locations, unintentionally tipping Harry off to the final hiding place of his last Horcrux.

Voldemort and his Death-Eaters are ready to attack Hogwarts.

Voldemort returns 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 after not receiving Potter, he commands them to fight the Aurors, teachers, and students there. Voldemort himself isn't present at the first half of the Battle as he is investigating why the Elder Wand doesn't work any differently than his old one. 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 the seventh Horcrux, formed when Voldemort failed to kill him as a baby. When Harry meets Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, Voldemort casts the Killing Curse at him 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 (in the film) furiously attacking Harry after learning that he was still alive.

Voldemort and his Death Eaters then marches to Hogwarts, proclaiming the "death" of Harry Potter and his victory. Neville Longbottom, instead of surrendering, charges at Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and the Battle continues. Neville pulls the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and decapitates Nagini with it, destroying the last of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Enraged, Voldemort attempts to kill Neville, but Harry interfers and casts the Shield Charm between them before the former can raise a wand. Voldemort enters the Battle and forces his way into Hogwarts with his Army, before getting locked in battle against Minerva McGonagall, Horace Slughorn, and Kingsley Shacklebolt all at once. When he sees Bellatrix Lestrange get killed at the hands of Molly Weasley, who os saving her daughter Ginny Weasley, he turns his wand on her, intending to kill her.

Voldemort crawling towards the Elder wand.

However, Harry reveals himself to be alive, forcing the Battle to stop, and the two Wizards face each other in the Great Hall for their final battle. When the two Wizards are facing each another, Harry proceeds to tell Voldemort that he has magic that Voldemort does not know 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, Harry tells him that Snape's loyalty was with Dumbledore all along, that Dumbledore's death was planned and that Snape wasn't the master of the Elder Wand; Draco Malfoy was.

Death

• Voldemort's death in the book version.
• Voldemort's death in the film version.

1/2

Originally horrified, Voldemort proceeds to tell Harry that it makes no difference and that after, he has "killed" Harry, Draco can 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 tries to cast the Killing Curse at Harry, but Harry is indeed the master: The Elder Wand refuses to kill its master and the spell rebounds, finally killing the Dark Lord and ending his reign of terror on the entire Wizarding World for good. Voldemort's body is later laid to rest in an adjoining room, and later, presumably, gets cremated. With Voldemort and his forces finally dead, the deaths of Harry's parents, Dumbledore, Snape, Cedric and all of those who are murdered are all avenged at last.

Legacy

After his death, the jinx Voldemort put on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position is broken and the Dark Mark signs Voldemort gave to his minions fade from their arm and are reduced into nothing but scars. The Ministry of Magic is reformed by Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was named the Minister of Magic. In addition, once the Wizarding World as whole became aware of Voldemort's final defeat, they no longer feared to pronounce his name. According to the events of The Cursed Child, this also helped by efforts made by some people who exposed Voldemort's background with a book titled Marvolo: The Truth in a bid to reassure everyone that he's still a mortal as much as everyone else as opposed of terrifying, all-powerful Dark Lord everyone in Wizarding World perceived as.

Since the Horcruxes damaged Voldemort's soul to the point that he can't even become a ghost, he is stunted to exist in the skinless baby-like form that Harry saw when he was in Limbo, unable to cross over into the afterlife for all of eternity. Lord Voldemort, who was extremely afraid of death, received in the end, a fate far worse than that.

Differences between the Adaptations

As with all of the characters in the Harry Potter franchise, Voldemort's movie portrayal was largely consistent to his role/actions in the corresponding novels. However, a number of small changes did occur.

General

• With the exception of the Philosopher's Stone, the movies version of Voldemort was portrayed as having blue eyes instead of the red eyes with slitted pupils.
  • Also in the Philosopher's Stone movie, Voldemort had a noticeable nose instead of the snake like nostrils mentioned in the book. From the Goblet of Fire of onwards however, this was changed to match his novel counterpart.

Philosophers Stone

• In the book, Voldemort spoke to Harry directly during their first meeting. After taking off his turban, Quirrell turned around so that Voldemort could look directly at him. In the movie however, Voldemort spoke to Harry by looking at his reflection in the Mirror of Erised.
• Voldemort's defeat also differed between the two adaptations.
  • As mentioned above, in the book, Lily Potter's protective magic caused Quirrell's body to instantly develop horrendous blisters. Voldemort exorcised himself from Quirrell's body following Dumbledore's arrival, killing Quirrell in the process before fleeing.
  • In the movie however, Lily's protection caused Quirrell to turn into crumbling stone. Following Quirrell's death, Voldemort's spectral form (which made no appearance in the books) rose up from the ashes and attacked Harry, before making its escape.

Chamber of Secrets

• In the movie, Riddle did not meet with Armando Dippet following the death of Myrtle Warren. He instead talked to Albus Dumbledore, his conversation mirroring not only the book counterpart, but a talk that Harry and Dumbledore had earlier in the film. This was presumably done to illustrate the similarities between himself and Harry, which the latter alluded to following Voldemort's defeat in the Chamber. Also, unlike in the book, Dumbledore was portrayed as being a lot nicer to Riddle than in the book.
• Once again, Voldemort's defeat also varied between the adaptations.
  • In book, Fawkes healed Harry's injuries moments after he had defeated the Basilisk. This prompted Riddle to try and kill Harry himself. Fawkes however, dropped the diary onto Harry's lap, who stabbed it directly through the cover with the Basilisks fang. Riddle's horcrux died instantly and the projection faded into nothing.
  • In the movie however, the diary was held by Ginny throughout the encounter in the Chamber of Secrets. After Harry killed the serpent, he staggered to her side. Riddle mocked Harry about his upcoming death, before saying it was amazing the damage the book had done, in the hands of the wrong person. This comment unwittingly made Harry realise what he had to do. Opening the book, Harry picked up the fang, whereupon Riddle, realising what he was going to do lunged at him. Unlike in the book, Harry stabbed the Diary three times, twice through the pages and finally through the cover. Instead of disintegrating, Riddle's spectral memory started to rip apart, light pouring out of him. The first tear ripped open his chest. When he lunged at Harry again, Harry stabbed the book a second time, which tore open his face. The final stab destroyed the diary completely, whereupon Riddle's body exploded like a firework.

Goblet of Fire

• Despite using the same ingredients and locations, Voldemort's rebirth differed slightly between the book and movie adaptations.
  • In the former, Wormtail had to retrieve the cauldron before he could enact the spell that would restore Voldemort to life. Once the enchantment was completed, Voldemort simply rose out of the cauldron and had Wormtail physically dress him.
  • For the movie however, everything was set up before Harry's arrival. After Wormtail added the final ingredient, the cauldron and the potion within caught fire. The cauldron then melted, whereupon the audience saw Voldemort's restoration in all its glory. Also, instead of having Pettigrew dress him, wisps of dark magic converged upon Voldemort's body, morphing into a long black robe. This was deliberately done due to censorship.
• Voldemort was portrayed as bare foot in the film adaptation, although there is no mention of him being such in the books.
• In the movie, after the Death Eater's returned, Voldemort unmasked them as he spoke to them. This replaced the scene in which he tortured Avery in the book.
• The duel between himself and Harry was also portrayed slightly differently. Unlike in the book, Voldemort he did not use Imperius Curse on Harry, jumping straight to Cruciatus Curse and then proceeds with Killing Curse. He also yelling at Harry when the latter retreated among nearby tombstones instead of teasing The Boy Who Lived that they won't play hide and seek much to watching Death Eaters' amusement.
  • Also, in the book, Voldemort was present when Harry escaped. As the portkey whisked him to safety, Harry merely heard Voldemort's cry of frustration. In the movie, Voldemort and his Death Eater's arrived too late to stop Harry, whereupon Voldemort let out an angry cry of "NNNOOOO!"

Order of the Phoenix

• In the movie, Voldemort or an apparition of him, appeared before Harry at Kings Cross Station. This was presumably done to make it clear to both Harry and the audience that the magical community genuinely didn't believe that Voldemort had returned. Curiously, Voldemort is clad in a suit of Muggle design the real Dark Lord won't likely wear, further highlighting him as mere apparition.
• Voldemort's arrival at the Ministry of Magic varied between the two sources. In the book, he appeared silently and only made his presence known after Harry told Bellatrix that the prophecy had been destroyed. In the movie however, Voldemort apparated directly into the Ministry after Harry attacked Bellatrix, goading him to finish her off.
• The spells and enchantments used during his duel with Dumbledore also differed between the book and films. Unlike in the book, the pair did not talk to each other during their fight.
• In both the book and the film, Voldemort attempted to possess Harry after realizing that he could not defeat Dumbledore. In both versions, he tried to get Dumbledore to kill Harry, only to be defeated and expelled by Harry. How this happened differed between the adaptations.
  • In the book, Harry, who was left in excruciating agony, wanted Dumbledore to do it, just so it would stop the pain. In an afterthought, Harry recognised that doing so would allow him to reunite with his dead godfather, Sirus Black. Even after his rebirth, Voldemort's body could not stand love. This exorcised him from Harry's body, causing him to appear in front of Cornelius Fudge and the other Ministry employee's. Defeated, Voldemort grabbed Bellatrix and the pair disapparated.
  • In the movie, after possessing Harry's body, Voldemort conjured up several of the worst memories of Harry. He taunted Harry throughout the possession, conjuring up an illusion of himself talking to Harry as a reflection in a mirror, whilst wearing Harry's clothes. He did this to once again demonstrate the similarities between them. However, Dumbledore told Harry to look beyond those links and pay attention to the differences between them. At that moment, Harry's friends showed up. Seeing them Harry turned the tables, telling Voldemort that he was the weak one for not understanding what friendship or love was. His expression of pity and compassion, destroyed the link, which was exemplified by Harry punching the mirror in the illusion, destroying it. Ejected from Harry's body, Voldemort nevertheless took the time to taunt him, saying that he would destroy him. This was a costly mistake, as at that moment Fudge and the other Ministry workers arrived and saw him. Only then, did Voldemort retreat.

The Half-Blood Prince

• Only flashbacks about his meeting with Dumbledore and discussion about Horcruxes with Professor Slughorn (false and true versions) as reviewed by Harry and Dumbledore via. Pensieve that shown due to time constraints but, that's not it all. The former suggested young Voldemort as an insecure child who struggled to fit in at the orphanage where he raised and had to resort to use his powers to retaliate against those who mistreat him not unlike the titular protagonist from Stephen King's Carrie, a contrast to his book counterpart who was outright a bully. While he nonetheless stole his fellow orphans' belongings as with in the book, he did so as the warning to not made fun of him anymore.
• Rather than deductions based on his activities during his Hogwarts years and attempts to apply the job there, the film goes to explanation where Horcrux creation leaves traces as with other Dark Arts; when Harry touches Marvolo's Ring which no longer a Horcrux, he had a brief yet fast-forward series of visions pertaining Voldemort screaming in pain and remaining objects he turned into his very own Horcruxes, providing The Boy Who Lived everything he needs to identify them all.
• Dumbledore's mention of how Voldemort delved into Dark Arts so much it disfigured him in addition of aforementioned Horcrux creation and Regeneration Potion was omitted in the film due to time constraints, which unfortunately led to fans' misconception of Horcrux creation being sole reason of how he became a snake-like abomination.

Deathly Hallows

• Unlike in the book, the movie version of Voldemort appeared to sense when one of his Horcruxes was destroyed. Like in the novel however, he did not realise what was going on, until he was notified about the theft did so o to the books however, he only sensed the destruction of his Horcruxes once their numbers were halved starting from aforementioned cup.
  • The film goes to explain that certain mechanics of his Horcruxes were changed due to pacing issues; rather than through deductions based on what he and Dumbledore put together throughout Half-Blood Prince, Harry, as the Dark Lord's accidental Horcrux, exploited the link between his nemesis and the rest of the Horcruxes to identify and subsequently pinpoint the location of the latter. This is more apparent in video game adaptation of Deathly Hallows Part 2 where he exploits his scar's reaction to Voldemort's soul within Ravenclaw's diadem in order to locate it not unlike metal detector with hidden metallic objects.
• Unlike in the book, the Elder Wand started to fracture the more Voldemort used it. This was presumably done to prove that he was not the wands true master.
• In both the book and the film, after apparently killing Harry, Voldemort brought his body back up to the castle to proclaim his victory, only to be confronted by Nevile Longbottom and meet his final defeat. How this happened varied the two sources.
  • In the book, Voldemort and Death Eaters were attacked by reinforcements from Hogsmeade, Hogwarts and the forbidden forest. Neville cut off Nagini's head at the start of the engagement, leaving him mortal. Despite this Voldemort managed to hold his own against several opponents. When Harry made his survival known, he and Voldemort both moved to the center of the arena, surrounded by their supporters who watched on silently. After a long talk in which Harry revealed himself as the Elder Wands true master, they attacked each other with their signature spells, leading to Harry disarming Voldemort, who was himself killed by his own rebounding curse.
  • In the film however, after hearing Nevile's speech Harry revealed to everyone that he was alive and tried to kill Nagini. Focusing all of his attention upon Harry, Voldemort was deserted by several of his followers. Also, unlike in the book, he initially kept Nagini close, meaning that he was still immortal when the pair began their duel. Instead of simply fighting the entrance hall, Harry and Voldemort fought a much a larger and grander battle all over the establishment. Their final encounter, happened in the courtyard, with no witnesses. Like in the book, following Nagini's death, Voldemort was struck by his own rebounding killing curse. Instead of keeling over dead, Voldemort let out a final gasp of pain as his body disintegrates into ashes, with pieces flying into the air like torn up paper.