While he was born Tom Riddle, the most powerful Dark Wizard in the history of magic is better known by the name of Lord Voldemort, although he was so feared that he was mostly known as He Who Must Not Be Named. Trained at Hogwarts under the watchful eye of Albus Dumbledore, he learned much about the Dark Arts and soon set off on his own to build his own army of followers. Soon, he amassed more and more power until he became a threat to not only the wizarding world but to all of mankind - wizards and Muggles alike.
However, as his powers grew, his body took on a fascinating transformation, both in appearance and power, making Voldemort one of the most horrifically recognizable villains in modern pop culture history. While fans were originally introduced to him in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter book series, the rest of the world met him through the movie adaptations, with Ralph Fiennes portraying the Dark Wizard. However, there are many things about the villain and his body that even the biggest Harry Potter fans don't know.
Updated Nov 8th, 2021 by Rose Graceling-Moore: Voldemort has lost his status as the current big bad of the Harry Potter universe, now that the Fantastic Beasts series is focusing on Gellert Grindelwald (and of course, his history with Dumbledore). For original fans, though, The Dark Lord is the one true villain of the wizarding world - even if his story (and his physical appearance) don't always make perfect sense.
The Dark Arts Changed His Handsome Appearance
When Tom Riddle began to dabble in the Dark Arts, his appearance started to change over time. The good looks that defined him soon faded, and it all started with his eyes. Though they were at first dark and striking, they soon became sunken and always had the appearance of being blood-shot. In the books, they eventually become entirely red, although this was a detail left out of the movies.
The change in his appearance happened before his 'death' and resurrection, and was due to his dealing with the Dark Arts and the fact that he had started to experiment with this form of magic - something that changed him psychologically and physically.
He Is Half-Blood
If anyone ever wondered why Voldemort hated Muggles as much as he does, it is because he is actually half-Muggle himself and hates that side of his lineage. He was born to a Muggle named Tom Riddle and the witch named Merope Gaunt, who used a love potion to ensnare the wealthy Riddle.
However, when she decided to test their love by no longer using the potion, Riddle is assumed to have refused to remain with her and left while she was pregnant with their only child. After the baby was born - and named after his father - Merope ed away and young Tom Riddle was sent to orphanages. By the time he ended up at Hogwarts, he had developed an intense hatred of Muggles based on the betrayal by his own father.
He Doesn't Need A Wand
As the Harry Potter movies show, most wizards need a wand in order to cast their spells. When a wand breaks, as has happened on numerous occasions throughout the movies and books, the wizard or witch becomes incapable of casting spells (or only casts ones that don't work!). Of course, many magical children find that they have magical outbursts at a young age, without the use of a wand, but these are uncontrolled - and the wand is used to direct and control their abilities.
However, a young Tom Riddle had figured out that he had special abilities - and he had a shocking amount of control over them. He could move things with his mind and he could speak to and occasionally control animals, among other things. As an adult, he was accomplished at non-verbal and wandless magic, using it to move and control people with a hand gesture alone on many occasions.
He Was Able To Possess Others
Once Voldemort was defeated after failing to eliminate Harry Potter as an infant, he no longer had a body to return to. However, he was still alive - mostly. As fans know, he had created Horcruxes, which held parts of his soul on Earth so that he couldn't truly perish. Outside of that, Voldemort remained in existence in a ghostly form. Harry saw him in the forest as a spectral form, what Voldemort himself called 'mere shadow and vapour'.
While he could not return in his own body, he was able to possess living creatures and did so with animals on occasion - although he could create little magic as an animal. It wasn't until Voldemort found and possessed Professor Quirinus Quirrell that he found his way back to the Wizarding World and started to regain power.
His Body Became More Snake-Like Over Time
Tom Riddle was an attractive young man as a boy, but over time became more and more snake-like in appearance, as his work with the Dark Arts changed him. He ended up tall but skeletally thin. His face was pale white and his eyes were large and red. His nose became as flat as a snake's, and he developed slits for his nostrils. His hands also transformed. He now had long, spider-like fingers with sharp blue fingernails.
His appearance looked very similar to a snake's, and the symbolism of this is fairly obvious. In this universe, snakes and 'evil' are strongly connected, with the 'bad' House represented by a snake, the most terrifying monster of the Basilisk being a snake, Nagini as a snake... Voldemort's snake-like appearance is representative of his inner evil.
He Could Fly Without A Broom
As shown throughout the Harry Potter series, wizards can't fly without . Most use brooms, which is the classic way for magic s to fly. However, there are other magical objects and creatures that allow wizards and witches to fly. Hagrid has his flying motorbike, and other characters mention magic carpets, and use everything from the Flying Ford Anglia to Thestrals.
Unlike other wizards, Voldemort can actually fly without the use of any . He trained himself to fly just by using magic and thus he doesn't need the help of a broom. He also taught this skill to a number of Death Eaters, which is how they were able to swoop in for attacks without using anything to themselves.
He Could Modify Memories
Voldemort has two major magical powers that help him control other people. These are Occlumency and Legilimency. Occlumency is the ability to shield one's own mind, while Legilimency refers to the ability to penetrate the minds of others. By the time Voldemort was an adult, he was arguably the most powerful Legilimens in the entire Wizarding World.
Snape said that Voldemort could not only read minds, but that he could also control them. He did this to Harry Potter in the movies when he placed realistic visions in Harry's mind to try to lure him to find his prophecy. Very few people are strong enough in Occlumency to shield their minds from Voldemort - Snape is one of the only wizards who is able to do this.
His Child-Form When Resurrected
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, two of Voldemort's followers worked together to help him regain his body. These were the wizard Peter Pettigrew and the snake Nagini. Pettigrew mixed up a potion for Voldemort using unicorn blood and the venom of Nagini. With this potion, they were able to create a new body for Lord Voldemort to finally return to.
However, this body was not what Voldemort needed to return to his fearful leadership form. Instead, it was that of a scaly, hairless baby. He was still cunning and smart and knew what needed to be gathered to bring his body back to its full form - a bone from his father, the flesh from one of his servants, and the blood from an enemy (Harry Potter, of course).
His Mind Was Extremely Sharp
While attending Hogwarts, Tom Riddle used his striking appearance to win over many of his teachers, as he was very convincing in his manipulations. He became one of the top students at the school, and was named both a Prefect and the Head Boy during his time there. He used his leadership skills and charisma to win over followers, both in school and later as the Dark Lord.
When asked about Tom Riddle, Dumbledore said that he was likely the most brilliant student to ever through the doors of Hogwarts, and was possibly only sured by Dumbledore himself. When Riddle left the school and became Voldemort, he proved that to be a fact when he was able to mastermind two of the most devastating wars in Britain's Wizarding World.
He Was The Most Powerful Dark Wizard In The World
Before Voldemort, the two greatest wizards in the Harry Potter universe were easily Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald. As a matter of fact, the greatest wizarding battle in history was reportedly one between the good Dumbledore and the dark Grindelwald. When Voldemort rose to power, he soon sured even the power of Grindelwald - who was spending the rest of his life in prison after his capture.
Voldemort has mastered countless Dark Arts spells and is strong enough when casting them to overpower even the most powerful wizards. For example, he's even able to control Bartemius Crouch Senior for almost half a year. He also cursed all of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers at Hogwarts after he was rejected the job, which involved a spell so powerful that not even Dumbledore could lift it.
