Voldemort

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Voldemort (original: 伏地魔); born Tom Riddle 303
Alias(es)	The Dark Lord; He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; Tom Riddle; “Professor Tom”; “Professor Quirrell” while possessing Quirrell 104 129
Species/Race	Human wizard; half-blood, descended maternally from the Gaunt family and Salazar Slytherin 108 303
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Death Eaters; operated at Hogwarts through Quirinus Quirrell 76 129
Occupation/Role	Dark wizard; creator of Horcruxes; former Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor through Quirrell 83 244
Status	Disembodied remnant soul at large. Several Horcrux fragments have been extracted or neutralized, but Voldemort has not been permanently destroyed 129 257 306 310
First Appearance	Chapter 4 (mentioned); Chapter 24 (identified as possessing Quirrell) 4 24

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Tom Riddle, Slytherin student and researcher	242	Identified his descent from Slytherin, opened the Chamber of Secrets through Parseltongue, controlled the Basilisk, and acquired Slytherin’s bloodline research.
Horcrux-creating Dark Lord	81 244	Split his soul into multiple Horcruxes, allowing his soul to survive the rebounded Killing Curse that destroyed his body.
Basilisk-enhanced Voldemort	243	Used Basilisk bloodline transformations to amplify the darkness and power of his magic at the cost of a bald, noseless, inhuman appearance.
Remnant soul possessing Quirrell	74 82	Entered Hogwarts through Quirrell, alternately overriding and merging with his host’s soul; retained lethal spellcasting despite the body’s instability.
Fragmented Horcrux remnants	257 306 309	Soul fragments within Ravenclaw’s Diadem, the Gaunt ring, and Tom Riddle’s Diary were extracted and compressed into Soul Crystals by Li Wei.

Background / History

Origins

Tom Riddle was born after Merope Gaunt used a Love Potion to deceive the Muggle Tom Riddle. When the potion’s effects ended, his father abandoned Merope; she later died after giving birth outside an orphanage. Voldemort grew up at Wu’s Orphanage, the same orphanage from which Li Wei later came 303.

His maternal Gaunt lineage connected him to Salazar Slytherin. Voldemort treated this ancestry as proof of superiority, even though he was deeply angered by reminders that he was a half-blood wizard with a Muggle father 108 285.

Hogwarts and the path to Dark magic

As a teenager, Riddle discovered his Slytherin heritage, opened the Chamber of Secrets, commanded its Basilisk, and studied surviving portions of Slytherin’s bloodline research 242. He later worked at Borgin Burkes, where his charm and persuasive ability helped him acquire rare artifacts from elderly collectors 283.

Riddle sought objects tied to Hogwarts’ founders, including Hufflepuff’s Cup and Slytherin’s Locket. His interest in such relics became part of his Horcrux-making strategy 285.

Fall and survival

Voldemort murdered James and Lily Potter, but the Killing Curse he aimed at Harry rebounded and destroyed his body. His soul survived as a ghostlike entity because of his Horcruxes 81.

He later attached himself to Quirinus Quirrell and entered Hogwarts. The possession was unstable: Quirrell’s timid personality repeatedly resurfaced, while Voldemort feared that continued fusion would make him increasingly like his host 82 86.

Appearance

Voldemort’s appearance varies sharply between his original transformed body, his disembodied state, and his possession of Quirrell.

• Through Quirrell — appears as Professor Quirrell, initially timid, stammering, and turbaned; when Voldemort takes control, Quirrell becomes confident, forceful, and unnervingly composed 82 83.
• During the Chamber confrontation — Quirrell is bald and visibly affected by the fusion of the two souls; Voldemort’s power nearly forces their twisted souls out of the body 125 129.
• Transformed original body — bald, noseless, and described as monstrously inhuman after repeated Basilisk bloodline transformations 243.
• Soul manifestation — can escape as black mist after a possessed body is destroyed 75 129.

Personality

Voldemort is arrogant, calculating, and intensely concerned with dominance. He evaluates talented people as potential servants, shields, or expendable tools; he attempted to cultivate Li Wei through private Dark magic lessons and expected murder to make the boy easier to corrupt 86 87.

Despite his grandiose self-image, he is psychologically vulnerable. Li Wei’s public attacks on his half-blood origins and conception provoke extreme rage, physical collapse, and loss of restraint 108 109. His fear of Dumbledore also repeatedly surfaces, though he attributes it to Quirrell’s influence rather than admitting it himself 86.

Before becoming Voldemort, Tom Riddle could be charming, polite, and persuasive. Borgin considered him an exceptionally effective clerk, capable of convincing collectors to surrender valuable artifacts 283.

Abilities & Skills

Horcrux creation and soul survival

Voldemort fractured his soul into multiple Horcruxes, allowing him to survive bodily destruction as a disembodied spirit.

• The rebounded Killing Curse destroyed his body but did not kill him permanently 81.
• His Horcrux-protected soul could not be killed normally by Li Wei’s Killing Curse; Quirrell’s soul instead bore the spell’s direct consequences 75.
• His fragmented souls retain will, memories, Dark magic, and the ability to manipulate hosts or artifacts 241 242.
• Horcrux fragments can be extracted through Li Wei’s Soul Extraction Spell, though they resist direct control by the Imperius Curse 242.

Dark magic and dueling

Voldemort is an exceptionally dangerous Dark wizard with mastery of lethal curses and combat magic.

• Casts Avada Kedavra with enough force to threaten Flitwick and match Li Wei’s Holy Radiance 74 129.
• Uses destructive and transfigurative combat magic, including Reducto and leaf-to-animal Transfiguration 74 75.
• Taught Li Wei the curse Intestus Exficio, which violently removes a victim’s intestines and can cause fatal blood loss 87.
• Developed or passed down the only known true Flying Charm, allowing unaided flight 74.

Legilimency and manipulation

Voldemort uses mental intrusion and psychological manipulation to identify weaknesses and recruit followers.

• Read Li Wei’s projected thoughts through Legilimency, though Li Wei’s Occlumency fed him a false image of an eager Dark wizard 87.
• Used a Boggart lesson to expose students to their fears while withholding meaningful guidance on overcoming fear 83.
• Attempted to corrupt Li Wei by presenting Dark magic as a path to self-protection and strength 86.

Bloodline transformation

Voldemort applied Slytherin’s bloodline research to himself through Basilisk-related transformations.

• His transformations made his magic darker, stronger, and more terrifying 243.
• His altered body resembles a “humanoid Basilisk,” though he lacks the creature’s lethal gaze 243.
• Li Wei believes the Voldemort encountered through Quirrell had not reached his complete transformed state 243.

Dark Mark

Morsmordre, the Dark Mark, is Voldemort’s signature spell and a symbol of his authority over the Death Eaters.

• Creates a skull vomiting a snake in the sky to spread terror 257.
• Can be branded on another person’s arm for contact and punishment 257.

Horcruxes

Horcrux / Vessel	Status	Notes
Tom Riddle’s Diary	Soul fragment extracted	Contained a young Tom Riddle fragment and memories of the Chamber of Secrets and Slytherin’s research. Li Wei ultimately extracted its soul fragment before Dumbledore 239 309.
Ravenclaw’s Diadem	Purified	Its curses and Dark magic were destroyed with Purification Holy Water; the soul fragment was extracted into a Soul Crystal 256 257.
Marvolo Gaunt’s Ring / Resurrection Stone	Purified	Voldemort placed an obsession-inducing illusion and fatal curse on the ring. Li Wei purified it and extracted the fragment 306.
Hufflepuff’s Cup	Unrecovered	Voldemort took it after visiting Hepzibah Smith; Dumbledore and Li Wei identified it as a likely Horcrux 285.
Slytherin’s Locket	Unrecovered	Disappeared alongside Hufflepuff’s Cup after Hepzibah Smith’s death and is considered a likely Horcrux 285.
Harry Potter	Suspected accidental Horcrux	Li Wei concludes that Voldemort inadvertently created a Horcrux in Harry when the Killing Curse rebounded 310.

Relationships

• Albus Dumbledore — Voldemort’s former headmaster and most feared opponent. Voldemort’s fear of Dumbledore persists even while he denies it; Dumbledore leads the investigation into the Horcruxes 81 86 244.
• Quirinus Quirrell — Possessed host whose soul gradually merged with Voldemort’s fragment. Quirrell’s fearfulness and Voldemort’s ambition produced an unstable shared identity 82 86.
• Li Wei Wickens — Student, adversary, and attempted recruit. Voldemort considers Li Wei useful but dangerous, while Li Wei repeatedly deceives, provokes, attacks, and exploits him for magical knowledge 86 87 129.
• Harry Potter — Voldemort’s destined enemy and survivor of his attack on the Potters. Harry’s touch is uniquely destructive to Voldemort’s possessed body 81 129.
• Merope Gaunt — Mother. Her use of a Love Potion and death after childbirth form the core of Voldemort’s traumatic origin 303.
• Tom Riddle Sr. — Muggle father, deceived through a Love Potion and later murdered by Voldemort 108 303.
• Salazar Slytherin — Ancestor and ideological influence. Voldemort inherited access to Slytherin’s Chamber, Basilisk, and bloodline research 242 285.
• Death Eaters — Followers who revere Voldemort as the Dark Lord and obey the authority represented by the Dark Mark 129 257.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Possession of Quirrell

Voldemort infiltrates Hogwarts by possessing Quirrell. He alternates between Quirrell’s weak public persona and a confident, capable instructor, using the Defense Against the Dark Arts position to observe and manipulate students 81 83.

He confronts Li Wei and Flitwick in the Forbidden Forest after hunting a Unicorn. Li Wei’s disguised Killing Curse damages Quirrell’s soul while Voldemort escapes as black mist 74 75.

Chamber of Secrets attacks

After recovering, Voldemort uses Quirrell and Tom Riddle’s Diary to launch Basilisk attacks intended to terrorize Hogwarts and pressure Dumbledore politically 104 107. Li Wei’s public humiliation of Voldemort intensifies his rage and contributes to his increasingly reckless attacks 108 115.

Battle for the Philosopher’s Stone

Voldemort confronts Li Wei and Harry near the Mirror of Erised. He matches Li Wei’s Killing Curse until Li Wei disarms and tortures him, after which Harry’s physical attacks burn and destabilize Quirrell’s possessed body 129.

Li Wei finishes the battle with Holy Radiance, a light-based Cruciatus Curse, and Dragon King’s Command. Quirrell’s body is destroyed, but Voldemort’s black mist-like soul escapes 129.

Horcrux legacy

Even after his escape, Voldemort’s Horcruxes continue threatening Hogwarts. The Diary fragment works with Peter Pettigrew to drain life force and attack ghosts before Li Wei retrieves it from beneath Ron’s bed 237 239.

Li Wei and Dumbledore’s later investigation traces Voldemort’s history through Borgin Burkes, Hepzibah Smith, and the Gaunt family, identifying founder relics and ancestral sites connected to his Horcruxes 282 285 303.

Notable Quotes

“I am the great heir of Slytherin, the Dark Lord revered by the Death Eaters, the master who conquered death, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the greatest king of wizards in history—Voldemort!” 129

“Li Wei! I’ll kill you! I’ll roast your soul in the fires of purgatory for ten thousand years!” 129