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.

The years of exile

Voldemort led a shadow of life in a forest, where even continued existence was a struggle for him. His only remaining power was the ability to occupy the bodies of others, and he frequently possessed snakes. Animal bodies made it difficult for him to perform magic, a crucial obstacle to regaining his strength and restoring his physical form.

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Then, in the early 1990s, Professor Quirinus Quirrell, teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, encountered Voldemort in the forest during his travels. Whether tempted by promises of power or overcome by trickery, Quirrell submitted to the Dark Lord's service and allowed Voldemort to occupy his body. He travelled to London and attempted, with the help of his new master, to steal the Philosopher's Stone, which would have allowed Voldemort to regain his former power and to become immortal. Voldemort's plans were, however, thwarted by Harry, now a first-year student at Hogwarts, and his host Quirrell killed.

Related Topics:
1990s - Quirinus Quirrell - Defence Against the Dark Arts - London - Philosopher's Stone - Thwarted by Harry

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Voldemort returned to hiding, angry that his Death Eaters had forsaken him, and afraid that he would not be able to find another wizard to possess. He remained in hiding for two years, for example in Albania. In this interim, Death Eater Lucius Malfoy managed to send one of Voldemort's horcruxes - the diary kept by the young Tom Riddle - into Hogwarts by passing it secretly into the possession of student Ginny Weasley. By means of this sinister diary, the memory of Riddle managed to manipulate Ginny into opening the Chamber of Secrets once again, nearly killing a number of students. Riddle then tried to drain Ginny's life-force to allow himself to regain physical form outside the book. Harry, however, defeated him once again. It is not known what would have happened had Ginny been destroyed by this past version of Tom Riddle, but author J. K. Rowling has noted it would strengthen the present-day Voldemort.

Related Topics:
Albania - Horcrux - Ginny Weasley - Defeated him once again - J. K. Rowling

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Luckily for Voldemort, a series of incidents forced Peter Pettigrew, who had betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort, to leave hiding and to go in search of Voldemort. While seeking his one-time master, he kidnapped Bertha Jorkins, from whom Voldemort learned enough to formulate a plan to create a primitive body for himself, rudimentary but still corporeal, allowing him to perform magic. He then used an ancient ritual of Dark Magic to recreate the body he had before his curse rebounded at the beginning of the first book. Harry's blood formed a part of this process of rebirth, preventing the effect which caused Voldemort almost to die when he first tried to kill Harry. Many Harry Potter fans suspect that this will eventually prove to be Voldemort's undoing, as the blood which now courses through Voldemort's veins is Harry's own. After being reborn, Voldemort summoned the Death Eaters back to him, and attempted to kill Harry — but Harry escaped the Dark Lord yet again (see below).

Related Topics:
Series of incidents - Peter Pettigrew - Bertha Jorkins - The first book - Harry Potter - Escaped the Dark Lord yet again - Below

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