Why Does Voldemort Look Like He Does

Waxy And Oddly Distorted

Years passed, and during them, Tom Riddle assumed the mantle of Lord Voldemort. Innocents were murdered, horcruxes were made of their senseless deaths, and sometimes, even their empty corpses were pressed into service as Inferi. Specifics as to what depths of dark magic Voldemort sank to are scarce here, but what is known is horrifying.

Most suggestive of the extremes to which he went is the manner in which his appearance changed. Ten years after Hepzibah Smith’s murder, Riddle emerged to ask Dumbledore, already Headmaster of Hogwarts, for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. As he argued, by that time he had “experimented … pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, than they have ever been pushed.” This had begun to wear away at his looks: Harry noted from his viewpoint in the Pensieve that Riddle looked “as though his features had been burned and blurred they were waxy and oddly distorted, and the whites of his eyes now had a permanently bloody look … his face was as pale as the snow glistening on his shoulders.” The implication that Voldemort’s evil was strong enough to erode his good looks is startling enough worse still is the fact that Voldemort had grown so powerful that he no longer felt the need to maintain his handsomeness as a tool.

Can All Slytherins Speak Parseltongue

The ability to actually speak Parseltongue not just imitate it as Ron Weasley did was considered an attribute of a Dark Wizard, which wass partly due to the fact that both Salazar Slytherin and Lord Voldemort possessed this ability. Another notable Dark Wizard who was also a Parselmouth was Herpo the Foul.

How Did He Learn About Horcruxes

One of the mysteries in the first books of the series is how, exactly, Voldemort learned about Horcruxes. Its ultimately revealed that none other than Horace Slughorn, Voldemorts professor in school and the man who returns to Hogwarts to teach Defense of the Dark Arts, blurted out the truth of Horcruxes to Tom, seduced by the younger mans irresistible charm.

Slughorn, deeply shamed at his complicity in Voldemorts rise to power, obscured the memories until finally revealing them to Harry.

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Why Does He Hate Muggles So Much

Throughout the series, its made very clear that Voldemort has a loathing of Muggles and those born of Muggle parentage to rival that of any other wizard. In large measure, this seems to stem from his own hatred of his fathers family, who were Muggles.

It must have been a crushing blow to his sense of self-esteem and self-worth to find out that he was, in fact, descended from the very humans whom he held in such scathing contempt.

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Magical Abilities And Skills

Rowling establishes Voldemort throughout the series as an extremely powerful, intelligent, and ruthless dark wizard, described as the greatest and most powerful Dark Wizard of all time. He is known as one of the greatest Legilimens in the world and a highly accomplished Occlumens he can read minds and shield his own from penetration. Besides Dumbledore, he is also the only wizard ever known to be able to apparate silently. Voldemort was also said to fear one wizard alone, Dumbledore.

On her website, Rowling wrote that Voldemort’s wand is made of yew, whose sap is poisonous and which symbolises death. It forms a deliberate contrast to Harry’s wand, which is made of holly, which she chose because holly is alleged to repel evil.

Rowling establishes in the books that Voldemort is magically connected to Harry via Harry’s forehead scar. He disembodies himself when his Killing Curse targeting Harry rebounds on him, leaving the scar on Harry’s forehead. In the books, and to a lesser extent in the films, Harry’s scar serves as an indicator of Voldemort’s presence: it burns when the Dark Lord is near or when Voldemort is feeling murderous or exultant. According to Rowling, by attacking Harry when he was a baby Voldemort gave him “tools no other wizard possessedthe scar and the ability it conferred, a magical window into Voldemort’s mind”.

A Growing Affinity For Snakes

Growing up in a world without magic was a defining experience for Voldemort. He wasn’t just surrounded by what he would go on to view as the mundanities of the muggle world, he was trapped at one of the lowest and most pitiable levels of it: an early 20th-century orphanage. He was alone, with no one to guide him but distant matrons and teachers whose intelligence did not match his own. Sure, he could probably tell he was uncommonly clever and good-looking from an early age, but given how fervently he proclaimed to Dumbledore that he knew all along that he was “special,” it is likely that his sense of self was bigger than even those formidable talents.

He was not, however, without any magical experiences during this time. As he told Dumbledore upon learning of his abilities, he had already been speaking to snakes for some time. In a life as lonely as his had been, this was probably a great comfort, in addition to being a confirmation of the greatness he so dearly wanted to embody. Snakes were friends, proof of his special talents, and could be coerced into doing his bidding. Years later, Voldemort would disfigure himself in a strikingly snake-life way, transforming his nose into flat, colorless slits and ridding himself of hair. He didn’t just want to inspire fear he wanted to honor the creatures he’d felt an affinity towards for decades.

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Differences Between The Book And The Film Adaptation

In the film, after discovering the truth of himself being a Horcrux, Harry met up with Ron and Hermione at the Grand Staircase, where he expressed his necessity to die, before bidding the two of them goodbye, something he avoided in the novel.

The duel as shown in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

In the film version of the duel, Harry reveals himself after he jumps from Hagrids arms as Voldemort looks on with a surprised and bewildered look. Harry fires a Blasting Curse at Nagini, but due to her protection, it rebounds on several Death Eaters behind Voldemort. Next, Harry dashes through the Courtyard as Voldemort follows, firing explosions at him. Shocked, Voldemort turns and sees a fraction of his Death Eaters retreating. Bellatrix screams and yells at all the Death Eaters to return, even pinpointing the fleeing Lucius Malfoy. He then turns and sees Harry dashing into the Entrance Hall as the battle recommences. Harry runs up the Grand Staircase Voldemort stuns Neville, sending him flying into the Great Hall. Voldemort then grabs Nagini and Disapparates in pursuit.

Harry and Voldemort duelling on the Marble Staircase

Harry Potter holding the Elder Wand after Disarming Voldemort, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Tom Riddle: Why do you live?Harry Potter: Because I have something worth living for!

Voldemort disintegrates upon death in the film adaptation, as opposed to merely dying as in the book

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Why He Made His Horcruxes So Identifiable

Okay, so this is something that J.K. Rowling has actually explained in canon, and while it does make some sense that someone as haughty as Voldemort would want his Horcruxes to be something very magically valuable and iconic its still not something that seems totally understandable.

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Yes, Lord Voldemort is obsessed with proving himself as a legend in the magical world, but creating his Horcruxes with extremely identifiable magical objects seems to directly contradict what the purpose of a Horcrux is. And even if he wanted to have Horcruxes that were magically powerful, that doesnt necessarily mean that he needed to use things like Marvolo Gaunts ring or Salazar Slytherins locket.

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He Worked At Borgin And Burkes

Lord Voldemort doesnt exactly seem like the kind of person youd excpect to work in a shop, but thats exactly what he did after leaving Hogwarts. We learn in the Harry Potter books that a young Voldemort took a job at Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley although it is revealed that he only took the job so that he could find more famous items to turn into Horcruxes.

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Nagini Was First Introduced In Goblet Of Fire

Although we met Lord Voldemort in Philosophers Stone, Nagini the snake did not appear until Goblet of Fire. In the book, Nagini was first introduced in The Riddle House, Goblet of Fires opening chapter, where she proceeded to eat the body of the poor, local Muggle, Frank Bryce. Lovely. Nagini seemed integral to Lord Voldemorts survival before he could be restored to his body, and we learnt, quite grotesquely, that Voldemort even tasked Wormtail to milk Nagini so he could live off her venom to keep his strength up. BFFs forever.

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Just How Powerful Were His Magical Abilities

Evil as he is, theres no question that Voldemort is also one of the most powerful wizards to have ever lived. Hes a master duelist, able to defeat almost anyone who comes against him .

Perhaps most notably, he also has the power of necromancy, i.e. the ability to raise creatures from the dead . This is an ability that seems to be unique to him, making him a very formidable enemy indeed.

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His Similarity To Harry Weakened His Wand

Anyone who was an avid fan of the wand selection process know that your wands composition is heavily dependent on your personality and how you think. Not only this but the wand chooses the wizard, meaning the likelihood of Harry and Voldemort having twin phoenix tail feathers is astronomical. This similarity shows that, at their core, Voldemort and Harry are similar people. However, this similarity does get Voldemort into trouble as these wands cannot hurt each other or their masters, causing Voldemort to use others wands when battling Harry.

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Voldemort Made His First Horcrux By Killing Moaning Myrtle While He Was A Student At Hogwarts

Making a Horcrux is a dark form of magic that requires a witch or wizard to take another’s life.

Tom Riddle created his first Horcrux by killing his fellow Hogwarts student Myrtle Warren, who’s known as Moaning Myrtle.

After the murder, the part of his soul that split entered a diary that eventually possessed Ginny Weasley and made her reopen the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts during Harry’s second year.

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Draco Was Forced Into Becoming A Death Eater

Following Lucius blunder at the Ministry of Magic in the fifth book, Draco is forced to take his fathers role as a Death Eater and is then coaxed into becoming the key player in the plot to assassinate Dumbledore. As we see in the sixth book, this takes a massive toll on Dracos sanity, breaking him to the point where his only true moment of agency is in refusing to hurt Dumbledore, only to need to carry that burden anyways when Snape finishes the job for him. Draco wanted to be a Death Eater, but he never really understood what that meant until he was forced to become one.

Hes Very Shy And Very Private

Most actors excel at talking about themselves, usually to the exclusion of everything else. Not Ralph Fiennes. There are things that are hard for me to talk about, he told Saga Magazine in October 2012. He suspects this has something to do with his working process: In order to create an emotional life for any character I play, I tend to scan my own life, my own experiences and fit them into the imaginary world my character inhabits, he says.

Paradoxically, this technique makes him clam up about personal matters. Still, he was rather reserved and introverted as a child, too. I was quite shy, I was never good at sport, I was happiest in the art class, he told The Guardian in December 2011.

Exactly what life experiences did Fiennes draw upon to play Voldemort, a wizard who gleefully tried killing an infant Harry Potter with an Avada Kedavra curse? Alas, it seems the actor prefers staying mum on his process but we do know a few things about his childhood.

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Why He Wanted To Be The One To Kill Harry

It isn’t entirely mystifying that Voldemort wants to be the one to kill Harry Potter himself, however, it is a little odd that he absolutely insists on it. Voldemort is extremely arrogant, and that overconfidence in himself is clearly tested by Harry Potter’s continued existence. However, at some point you’d think pragmatism would take precedence over arrogance.

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Ironically, Voldemort almost certainly would have won the wizarding war if he had just let someone else kill Harry, because so many of his followers had the chance but never took it because Voldemort specifically commanded them not to. And at the very least, Voldemort could have seen if someone else were actually able to kill Harry at all.

He Couldn’t Just Shut Up And Kill Harry

It’s one thing that Lord Voldemort banned all of his followers from actually killing Harry Potter, but it’s quite another that Voldemort had half a dozen opportunities to kill Harry himself but he didn’t. And why didn’t he, you may ask? Well, because he had a lot of stuff to explain before he did.

Again, it’s no surprise that Voldemort’s ultimate downfall was his own arrogance, but you’d think after a couple of failed attempts on Harry’s life that Voldemort might hold off on the big speeches and just try to kill Harry. Had he done that, he probably would have actually succeeded.

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Fiennes Had An Unusual Situation Under Those Robes

One of the most unique aspects of the wizarding world is that every wizard and witch dons a distinctive robe, and naturally, Voldemort is no exception. With his sweeping black get-up, Voldemort looks more imposing than ever once he resumes his semi-human form, but if viewers had known about the entire construction of Fiennes costume, they mightve been a little less frightened.

Despite playing one of the most formidable villains of all time , Fiennes had a fairly comical situation happening under his flowing robes. In an interview with Graham Norton, Fiennes admitted that he couldnt handle the womens tights in which he was originally outfitted, so he begged the costume designer to cut part of them out, leaving him with a garter belt and suspenders throughout the entire production. This was a wise move on Fiennes part when you consider that he had trouble performing Voldemorts smooth, powerful walk without this adjustment. But still, its amusing to think about Fiennes clothing situation under those robes. A garter belt is guaranteed to make an evil wizard far less intimidating.

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Voldemort Was Incredible At Transfiguration

Transfiguration is the art of making an object look, feel and sound like something else Just like everything else, it would seem, Voldemort is amazing at Transfiguration as well. For example, he made Nagini appear to be Bathilda Bagshot for an extended period of time just in case Harry returned to Godrics Hollow. He also transformed Dumbledores fire-rope into a snake and gave Peter Pettigrew a forearm to replace the one he lost.

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