The darkest wizard in the Wizarding World, Voldemort is one of the most interesting characters in Harry Potter. Born from a love potion used between a muggle who later abandoned him and a witch from a long-line of wickedness and depravity, Voldemort has never had the ability to understand or practice real love. What’s even more interesting than his uncountable dark acts are the effects that his life choices have had on his body, his mind, and his soul.
The malevolence within Voldemort manifests through not only his actions, but the way he looks, and the way he practices magic, too. Keep reading to find out these 20 facts about Voldemort’s anatomy, and how he came to be so different from other wizards.
20 His Blood Isn’t Pure
From all the fuss the Malfoys and other similar wizarding families make about the importance of being pureblood, you’d think the Dark Lord came from a pure line. But actually, Voldemort is half muggle since his father, Tom Riddle Sr., didn’t have a magical bone in his body. His father abandoning him contributes to his later disdain for Muggles.
19 He Is The One Who Deformed His Own Body
By the time Tom Riddle transforms into Lord Voldemort, he looks completely different. A far cry from the boy he once was, his body becomes full of scars and deformities, and this is due to him experimenting with various Dark Arts spells. His experiments deform his eyes, hands, and nose.
18 His IQ Is Extremely High
Though Voldemort doesn’t have a great propensity for compassion, he does have a very high IQ. He does have great leadership skills, despite having been an outcast at the orphanage he grew up in, and he was one of the most brilliant students to ever attend Hogwarts. It’s just a pity that he uses that brilliance for the dark side.
17 He’s The Victim Of His Own Spell
Many are left wondering what exactly happens after Voldemort sets out for Godrick’s Hollow to take out the child that was possibly prophesized to end him, and loses his life in the process. As it turns out, it's Voldemort’s own Avada Kedavra spell that obliterates him, since Lily Potter casts a protective spell on the young Harry.
16 His Wand Isn’t All-Powerful
A wizard’s wand is so important that it can be considered an extension of his anatomy, and though Voldemort is the world’s most feared dark wizard before his death, his wand isn’t all-powerful. Not against Harry Potter, anyway. Because both their wands contain feathers from Fawkes, they are unable to truly hurt each other.
15 He Can Control All Other Minds But Harry’s
Voldemort is especially skilled at invading the minds of others and controlling them, but this never works with Harry. Because he was born out of a love potion, Voldemort is sickened at the mere thought of true love, and can’t stand to even sense it. Harry, whose memories are full of love, is, therefore, able to keep the Dark Lord out of his mind.
14 His Soul Goes To Limbo When He Passes Away
The first time Voldemort is defeated, his soul remains in the Horcruxes he attached it to beforehand. But when he falls after the Battle of Hogwarts, there are no Horcruxes left and so Voldemort’s soul passes onto limbo, where it remains as a scourged infant, unable to move on.
13 Thanks To Lily Potter, He Can’t Touch Harry
Voldemort can do a lot of things, but until he takes the potion made with Harry’s blood, he isn’t able to physically touch Harry. This is because the backfired Avada Kedavra curse makes it so Voldemort won't be able to touch Harry without feeling intense pain. We can see this in the Sorcerer’s Stone when Quirrel tries to touch Harry.
12 His Duelling Skills Are Almost Unprecedented
Voldemort is a master dueller, and during his time, is able to win duels against some of the best duellists of the age including Horace Slughorn, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Minerva McGonagall. He is also able to win fights against Amelia Bones and Alastor Moody, thanks to unpredictable and aggressive fighting style.
11 He’s Been Through A Number Of Transformations
Voldemort’s body has been through transformation after transformation on his journey. In the Goblet of Fire, Voldemort returns in the form of a hairless infant. To regain his desired form he takes a bone from his father, the blood of his enemy and the flesh from his servant. But in the end, he returns to the body of a baby in limbo.
10 He’s Skilled At Possessing Others
Part of what makes Voldemort so successful is his ability to possess others. The most obvious example is his use of Horcruxes, which is magic that plants a piece of his soul into another person or object. He also lives in Professor Quirrell and sometimes sustains himself through possessing living animals before he makes a full return.
9 His Eyes Are Sunken Due To His Involvement In The Dark Arts
Dabbling in the dark arts alters Tom Riddle’s appearance over time. The first part of him to transform are his eyes, that go from dark and handsome to sunken and blood-shot. Dumbledore knows straight away when he sees his old student that he’s been involved in the dark arts, and so denies him the job of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
8 His Anatomy Is Different In The Books Than It Is On The Screen
Both the book and the film versions of Voldemort emanate a sense of villainy, but he is described as being a little different in the books from the way he’s portrayed in the movies. In the books, Voldemort has red eyes with slits for pupils. In the movies, he has blue eyes.
7 He’s In His Seventies When Harry Finally Beats Him
If you count all the time that Voldemort spends as a ghostly form after his spell backfires in Godrick’s Hollow, he’s into his seventies by the time the Battle of Hogwarts rolls around. Aging in the Wizarding World isn’t as significant as it is in ours, though. Dumbledore is still the world’s best wizard at the age of 150!
6 He Inherited Parseltongue
One of Voldemort’s most renowned abilities is Parseltongue, and that’s because it’s something he shares with Harry Potter, who is unknowingly housing a piece of his soul. Voldemort actually inherited his snake-talking abilities from his ancestor on his mother’s side, Salazar Slytherin. In most cases, being a Parselmouth is a hallmark sign of a bad witch or wizard.
5 He's A Genius At Transfiguration
Another one of Voldemort’s enviable skills? He’s a genius at transfiguration, which is a type of magic that alters the appearance of a body or an object. He does this when he transforms his snake Nagini into Bathilda Bagshot and back at the orphanage when he transforms Dumbledore’s fire-rope into a snake.
4 He Was Easy On The Eyes In His Youth
It’s hard to imagine when we see him as a skeletal and snakelike dark wizard, but Tom Riddle is actually very attractive in his youth. This makes up part of his charm and helps him to win over a number of the staff at Hogwarts. J.K. Rowling confirmed that as a young boy, he looked like his father.
3 He's Sustained On Unicorn Blood
Before Voldemort makes his official return, he tries a number of methods to sustain himself. While he possesses Professor Quirrell, he orders him to drink unicorn blood, as this is said to have the power to heal. Later after he regains his body, he continues to drink unicorn blood mixed with venom from Nagini.
2 He Can Fly Without A Broom
Harry Potter is one of the most impressive flyers at Hogwarts, but of course, he flies via broom like the majority of other wizards and witches. Voldemort, on the other hand, is able to fly using magic only, without the help of any objects. This is a skill he passed along to many of his Death Eaters.
1 His Magic Needs No Wand
Voldemort can fly without a broom, and he can also cast spells without a wand. The first time he does this is when he’s a boy before he even knows he’s a wizard. He’s so naturally powerful that he can rely on his mind only to do magic, although he becomes an even greater threat when he has his wand.