Lord Voldemort

image=This fan-made poster for the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie pictures Lord Voldemort (played by Ralph Fiennes) when he has returned to power. It is not yet known what Voldemort will actually look like in the film, although a swedish newspaper recently showed a picture showing Voldemort which they claimed was from the movie. See more here.

Early history

:Main article: Tom Riddle

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Lord Voldemort was born Tom Marvolo Riddle (in the English version of the book; see below for other language editions) on New Year's Eve 1926 to Tom Riddle Sr. and Merope Riddle (née Gaunt). Through his mother, he was the last descendent of Salazar Slytherin.

Related Topics:
English - Below - New Year's Eve - 1926 - Tom Riddle Sr. - Merope Riddle (née Gaunt) - Salazar Slytherin

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Riddle was abandoned by his father, and his mother died shortly after his birth, so he was raised in an orphanage. He was discovered by Albus Dumbledore, who invited him to study at Hogwarts. Even as a child he had developed some control over his abilities, a sign of his immense potential as a wizard. By the time that Dumbledore met him, he could move things with his mind, make animals do his bidding, talk to snakes, "make bad things happen to people who annoy", and even cause people pain. However, he also displayed cruelty, a disregard for others, a tendency to abuse his magical abilities, and a lack of moral judgement.

Related Topics:
Albus Dumbledore - Hogwarts - Move things with his mind

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While a student at Hogwarts, Riddle was generally successful in concealing his motives and was a talented student. He began using the name Lord Voldemort among some of his followers, and would later go on to abandon his real name and use his adopted name openly. While Riddle was at Hogwarts, he surrounded himself with a group of fellow Slytherin students whom he referred to as friends, but for whom he felt little or no compassion. Many of these people became Death Eaters, including Avery and Rodolphus Lestrange. During Riddle's fifth year at Hogwarts, he opened the Chamber of Secrets and killed Myrtle, a Muggle-born student. Only Professor Dumbledore even suspected him {{HP2}}, even though Riddle had exercised his considerable charm over most of the other staff including Potions master Horace Slughorn {{HP6}}.

Related Topics:
Slytherin - Avery - Rodolphus Lestrange - Chamber of Secrets - Myrtle - Potions - Horace Slughorn

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After completing his education, Voldemort sought to become a teacher at Hogwarts. Dumbledore speculates that this was in order to obtain an object belonging to Godric Gryffindor or Rowena Ravenclaw. He was turned down by then-headmaster Dippet on account of his youth. Later, he was turned down again by Dumbledore because he had proven untrustworthy. Instead, he temporarily took a job with shopkeepers Borgin and Burkes, but left upon acquiring, by theft and murder, Salazar Slytherin's locket and a goblet bearing the Hufflepuff badger, probably to use as Horcruxes. He then disappeared and was not seen again for many years.

Related Topics:
Godric Gryffindor - Rowena Ravenclaw - Borgin and Burkes - Theft - Murder - Hufflepuff - Horcrux

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