Editing Lord Voldemort (section)

== Appearances ==
=== ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' ===
[[File:Voldemort in Movie 1.jpg|thumb|right|Voldemort, voiced by [[Ian Hart]], on the back of [[Professor Quirrell]]'s head in ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'']]

Voldemort makes his debut in ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]''. In this story, Rowling introduces him as the Dark Lord who tried to kill Harry Potter because the boy was prophesied to destroy him. Voldemort murdered Harry's parents, [[James Potter (character)|James]] and [[Lily Potter|Lily]], but as a result of his mother's love and willingness to sacrifice herself for him, baby Harry survived when Voldemort tried to murder him with a [[Avada Kedavra|Killing Curse]]. Voldemort was disembodied, and Harry was left with a mysterious, lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead as a result.

In the book, Voldemort unsuccessfully tries to regain his dissolved body by stealing the titular [[Sorcerer's Stone|Philosopher's Stone]]. To achieve his objective, Voldemort uses [[Professor Quirrell]]'s aid by latching onto the back of the latter's head. However, at the climax of the book, Harry manages to prevent Voldemort from stealing the stone.

=== ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' ===
In the second installment, ''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]'', Rowling introduces Voldemort's true identity, former Hogwarts pupil and Slytherin prefect Tom Marvolo Riddle, who appears as a manifestation of the Dark Lord's teenage self that resides inside a magical diary found by [[Ginny Weasley]]. In this book, Ginny is written as a shy girl with a crush on Harry. Feeling anxious and lonely, she begins to write into the diary and shares her deepest fears with the sympathetic Tom. However, at the climax of the story, when the manifestation of Riddle rearranges the letters in his name to write "I am Lord Voldemort", it is revealed that Tom and the Dark Lord are just one person and that he is a descendant of one of the school's founders, Salazar Slytherin. Riddle states he has grown strong on Ginny's fears and eventually [[demonic possession|possesses]] her, using her as a pawn to unlock the [[Locations in Hogwarts#Chamber of Secrets|Chamber of Secrets]], whence a [[Basilisk (Harry Potter)|basilisk]] is set free and petrifies several Hogwarts students. Harry defeats the manifestation of Riddle from the diary and the basilisk.<ref name="HP2ch17"/> In ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'', [[Albus Dumbledore]] reveals to Harry that the diary was one of Voldemort's [[Horcruxes]].

=== ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' ===
Voldemort does not appear in the third book, ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'', either in person or as a magical manifestation. He is, however, heard when Harry passes out from the harsh effects of a [[Dementors|Dementor]]. Towards the end of the story, [[Sybill Trelawney]], the Divination professor, makes a rare genuine prophecy: "The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight, the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever before."<ref name="HP3ch16">{{HPref|book=3|chapter=16}}</ref> The servant is eventually revealed to be [[Death Eater#Peter Pettigrew|Peter Pettigrew]], who, for the 12 years since Voldemort's fall, has been disguised as Ron's pet rat, Scabbers.

=== ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' ===
In ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]'' (2000), Voldemort reappears at the start and the climax of the book. Rowling lets many seemingly unrelated plot elements fall into order. It is revealed that Voldemort's minion [[Barty Crouch Jr]], disguised as Hogwarts professor [[Mad-Eye Moody]], has manipulated the events of the [[Triwizard Tournament]] in Harry's favour. Voldemort's goal is to [[Teleportation|teleport]] Harry under Dumbledore's watch as a reluctant participant to the [[Little Hangleton]] graveyard, where the Riddle family is buried.<ref name="HP4ch32333435" /> Harry is captured and, after Pettigrew uses Harry's blood to fulfil a gruesome magical ritual, Voldemort regains his body and is restored to his full power.<ref name="HP4ch32333435">{{HPref|book=4}}</ref> For the first time in the series, Rowling describes his appearance: "tall and skeletally thin", with a face "whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was as flat as a snake's with slits for nostrils".<ref name="HP4ch32333435" /> Rowling writes that his "hands were like large, pale spiders; his long white fingers caressed his own chest, his arms, his face; the red eyes, whose pupils were slits, like a cat's, gleamed still more brightly through the darkness".<ref name="HP4ch32333435" /> It is revealed that with Pettigrew's help, Voldemort had created a small, rudimentary body, corporeal enough to travel and perform magic, and formulated a plan to restore his own body by capturing Harry. A portion of the plan had been overheard by [[Frank Bryce]], a gardener, whom Voldemort then killed.<ref name="HP4ch1">{{HP4ref|book=4}}, chapter 1</ref> Voldemort then completes his plan and returns to life in his full body as a result of the ritual with Harry's blood. He then summons his Death Eaters to the graveyard to witness the death of Harry as he challenges Harry to a duel. However, when Voldemort duels Harry, their wands become magically locked together due to the twin phoenix feather cores of the wands. Because of a phenomenon later revealed as [[Priori Incantatem]], ghost-like manifestations of Voldemort's most recent victims (including Harry's parents) then appear and distract Voldemort, allowing Harry just enough time to escape via [[Portkey]] with the body of fellow-student, [[Cedric Diggory]], who was murdered by Pettigrew on Voldemort's orders.<ref name="HP4ch36">{{HPref|book=4|chapter=36}}</ref>

=== ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' ===
Voldemort returns near the end of ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]'' (2003). He engineers a plot to free [[Bellatrix Lestrange]] and other Death Eaters from Azkaban and then embarks on a scheme to retrieve the full record of a prophecy stored in the [[Department of Mysteries]] regarding Harry and himself. He sends a group of Death Eaters to retrieve the prophecy, where the [[Order of the Phoenix (organisation)|Order of the Phoenix]] meets them. All but Bellatrix are captured, and Voldemort engages in a ferocious duel with Dumbledore. When Dumbledore gets the upper hand, Voldemort attempts to possess Harry but finds that he cannot; Harry is too full of that which Voldemort finds incomprehensible, and which he detests as weakness: love. Sensing that Dumbledore could win, Voldemort disapparates, but not before the Minister for Magic sees him in person, making his return to life public knowledge in the next book.<ref name="Fry2005">{{cite web |title=Living With Harry Potter |url=http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2005/1205-bbc-fry.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090602092002/http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2005/1205-bbc-fry.html |archive-date=2 June 2009 |access-date=15 August 2007}}</ref>

=== ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' ===
In ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'' (2005), Voldemort continues his rise to power. He murders [[Amelia Bones]] of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and begins to target members of the Order of the Phoenix. In a series of flashbacks, it is revealed that Voldemort was the son of the witch [[Merope Gaunt]] and a Muggle named Tom Riddle. Riddle abandoned Merope before their child's birth, soon after which Merope died.<ref name="HP6ch10" /> After living in an orphanage, young Riddle met Dumbledore, who told him he was a wizard and arranged for him to attend Hogwarts.<ref name="HP6ch13" /> Riddle was outwardly a model student, but inwardly took sadistic pleasure in using his powers to harm and control people. He eventually murdered his father and grandparents as revenge for abandoning him.<ref name="HP6ch17" /> The book also discusses Riddle's hatred of Muggles, his obsession with [[Horcrux]]es, and his desire to split his soul to achieve immortality.<ref name="HP6ch23" /> Rowling stated that Voldemort's conception under the influence of a love potion symbolises the coercive circumstances under which he was brought into the world.<ref name="AfterBook7">{{cite web|url=http://the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/7/30/j-k-rowling-web-chat-transcript
| title=J.K. Rowling web chat transcript| date=30 July 2007|access-date=15 August 2007}}</ref>

In the main plot of the book, Voldemort's next step is to engineer an assault on Hogwarts, and to kill Dumbledore. This is accomplished by [[Draco Malfoy]], who arranges transportation of Death Eaters into Hogwarts by a pair of Vanishing Cabinets, which bypass the extensive protective enchantments placed around the school.<ref name="HP6ch27">{{HPref|book=6|chapter=27}}</ref> The cabinets allow Voldemort's Death Eaters to enter Hogwarts, where battle commences and Dumbledore is cornered. Hogwarts professor (and re-doubled agent) [[Severus Snape]] uses the [[Magic in Harry Potter#Unforgivable curses|Killing Curse]] against Dumbledore when Draco could not force himself to do so.<ref name="HP6ch27" />

=== ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' ===
In ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'' (2007), Voldemort furthers his quest for ultimate power. He disposes of the Minister for Magic and replaces him with [[Pius Thicknesse]], who is under the [[Imperius Curse]].<ref name="DH121315">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=1}}</ref> Establishing a [[totalitarian]] [[police state]], he has Muggle-borns persecuted and arrested for "stealing magic" from the "pure blood" wizards.<ref name="DH121315" /> After failing to kill Harry with Draco's father [[Lucius Malfoy]]'s borrowed wand (to avoid the effect of [[Priori Incantatem]]),<ref name="DH4">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=4}}</ref> he goes on a murderous search for the [[Elder Wand]], the most powerful wand ever created, seeing it as the weapon he needs to overcome Harry's wand and make him truly invincible. His journey takes him to [[Nurmengard]], the prison where [[Gellert Grindelwald]] is kept, and he kills Grindelwald as well. He finally locates the Elder Wand and steals it from Dumbledore's tomb.

Later, Voldemort finds out that Harry and his friends are hunting and destroying his Horcruxes when informed of their heist on the Lestranges' vault at Gringotts in search for [[Helga Hufflepuff's Cup|Hufflepuff's Cup]].<ref name="DH27">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=27}}</ref> After offering the occupants of Hogwarts mercy if they give up Harry, he assembles a large army and launches an invasion of the castle, where Harry is searching for [[Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem|Ravenclaw's Diadem]].<ref name="DH31">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=31}}</ref> Voldemort orders his pet snake [[Nagini (Harry Potter)|Nagini]] to execute Snape, believing it would make him the true master of the Elder Wand, since Snape killed Dumbledore.<ref name="DH32">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=32}}</ref> He then calls an hour's [[armistice]], in exchange for Harry.<ref name="DH34">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=34}}</ref> When Harry willingly walks into Voldemort's camp in the [[Hogwarts#Forbidden Forest|Forbidden Forest]], Voldemort strikes him down with the Elder Wand.<ref name="DH34" /> However, the use of Harry's blood to resurrect Voldemort's body proves to be a major setback: while Harry's blood runs in Voldemort's veins, Harry cannot be killed as his mother's protection lives on now in Voldemort too. Instead, Voldemort unknowingly destroys the part of his own soul that resides in Harry's body. 

Voldemort forces [[Rubeus Hagrid]] to carry Harry's apparently lifeless body back to the castle as a trophy, sparking another battle during which Nagini, his last Horcrux, is destroyed by [[Neville Longbottom]]. The battle then moves into the Great Hall, where Voldemort fights [[Minerva McGonagall]], [[Kingsley Shacklebolt]], and [[Horace Slughorn]] simultaneously. Harry then reveals himself and explains to Voldemort that Draco became the true master of the Elder Wand when he disarmed Dumbledore; Harry, in turn, won the wand's allegiance when he took Draco's wand. 

Refusing to believe this, Voldemort casts the Killing Curse with the Elder Wand while Harry uses a Disarming Charm with Draco's, but the Elder Wand refuses to kill its master and the spell rebounds on Voldemort who, with all of his Horcruxes destroyed, finally dies.<ref name="DH36">{{HPref|book=7|chapter=36}}</ref>

Rowling stated that after his death, Voldemort is forced to exist in the stunted infant-like form that Harry sees in the [[London King's Cross railway station|King's Cross]]-like limbo after his confrontation with Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. Rowling also mentioned that, despite his extreme fear of death, he cannot become a [[Magical creatures (Harry Potter)#Ghosts|ghost]].<ref name="bloomsbury">{{cite web |url=http://bloomsbury.com/jkrevent/content.asp?sec=3&sec2=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031070152/http://bloomsbury.com/jkrevent/content.asp?sec=3&sec2=1 |title=Webchat with J.K. Rowling |archive-date=31 October 2007 |url-status=dead |access-date=8 July 2014}}</ref>