Editing Lord Voldemort (section)

=== ''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" />