Character Sketch: Lord Voldemort

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 13723

Lord Voldemort (born Tom Marvolo Riddle)
   AKA He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named
       You-Know-Who
       The Dark Lord (mostly by followers)
       Master (by followers)
       Voldy (by his nearest and dearest...well, actually, just by us)

   Harry, Dumbledore, Sirius, and Remus (Those Unafraid to Speak the 
Name) generally omit the "Lord" too.  I mean, come on.  Exactly what 
peerage *is* he a lord in?
   According to his Creator, the "t" is silent.

Physical Characteristics:

   In youth: tall, dark-haired, pale-skinned, handsome.
   Between defeat (Halloween, 1981) and full re-embodiment (June 24, 
1995): first a disembodied "less than spirit" (GF 33).  When he used 
Quirrell's body (1992), had a flat face like a snake's, catlike eyes 
that glow red, slits for nostrils.
   In proto-human form (1994-95): as above, except like a child with 
thin arms and legs; also, hairless, with reddish-black, scaly skin
   Post-return to power: extremely pale (13 years out of the sun, 
don't you know); long fingers; tall and skeletally thin.  Features the 
same as in 1993.
   At any age, has a high, cold laugh.

Biography:

   Most of the following information comes from Voldemort himself, and 
as such should be taken with several grains of salt, though we have no 
particular reason to doubt it (apart from his general 
untrustworthiness).
   Born c. 1927.  His father, a wealthy Little Hangleton Muggle not 
much liked by his townsfolk (he was "rich, snobbish, and rude," GF 1), 
abandoned his mother (also from Little Hangleton), who was pregnant at 
the time, when she told him she was a witch.  It is not clear whether 
they were ever married.  She died giving birth, but not before naming 
her son Tom Riddle after his father, with the middle name Marvolo 
after his maternal grandfather (which might have been his first or 
last name).  Now *why* do some women name their sons after the scum 
who got them pregnant and split?  Fortunately, I don't have to answer 
that, because this is a profile of Voldemort, not his mother.
   He was raised in a Muggle orphanage and attended Hogwarts with 
great success (including becoming head boy), where he began calling 
himself Lord Voldemort among his friends (how egotistical is that?).  
During his 5th year he succeeded in opening the Chamber of Secrets.  
However, when Myrtle was killed by the basilisk, the school was in 
such turmoil that he feared having to return to the Muggle orphanage; 
he sealed it, framed Hagrid (then in his third year), and received an 
Award for Service to the School for his heroism to boot.  Before 
leaving Hogwarts, he created an enchanted diary to give himself 
another shot at opening the Chamber at some future date, and got it in 
1992-93 by enchanting Ginny Weasley, but his diary-self overreached, 
tried to kill Harry, and was destroyed.
   On a summer day c. 1944, he murdered his father and paternal 
grandparents in their Little Hangleton home, presumably with Avada 
Kedavra, by the description of their bodies (GF 1).
   The missing years . . . He reappeared at an unknown date as 
Voldemort, whom few people know is the same person as Tom Riddle.  His 
reign of terror began c. 1970; was marked by mass murders of magical 
and Muggle folk, alliances with the giants, and chaos in the MOM; and 
ended in 1981 with his unsuccessful attempt to kill Harry.
   He fled in disembodied form to the Albanian forest, where he 
inhabited small animals but could perform no other magic; took over 
Quirrell in 1991, came to Hogwarts, and regained strength through 
drinking unicorn blood; hoped to steal the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's 
Stone, but was foiled by (notice a pattern?) Harry Potter, whom, he 
discovered, he could not touch without harming himself.  Four years 
later, thanks to Wormtail, was able to gain proto-human form and 
return to the UK...for the rest, see Chapter 32 and 33 summaries 
(Messages #13116 and #13653).  He can now touch Harry without causing 
himself pain.

Bad qualities

   You name `em, he's got `em.  Power-mad, multiple-murdering, racist 
(vs. Muggles and their descendants), sadistic, sarcastic, vengeful, 
unforgiving, arrogant, manipulative, megalomaniacal, duplicitous; a 
hater of Hitlerian proportions.  He even smells bad (PS/SS 17).  

Good qualities:

   Umm...

Other notable characteristics:

   Speaks Parseltongue and has an affinity for snakes
   Extremely intelligent, charming, and one of the most talented 
students Hogwarts has ever had; capable of advanced magic while still 
in school, despite Muggle upbringing
   Has "powers [Dumbledore] will never have" (PS/SS 1); according to 
McGonagall, however, this refers only to his willingness to practice 
the Dark Arts, not actual ability
   Is the Heir of Slytherin (last descendant, or is it ancestor . . . 
so far)
   According to popular belief, is afraid of Dumbledore, and only 
Dumbledore (although you have to wonder whether Harry has been added 
to the roster now that he's bested him three times)
   Possibly immortal
   Has a knack for inventing anagrams
   His wand (yew, 13.5 inches) has the same core as Harry's, a feather 
from Fawkes
   Has some kind of magical link to Harry, via the scar and perhaps in 
other ways (e.g., Harry can sometimes witness what he's doing through 
"dreams").

Questions:

1. What is Voldemort's primary motivation?  To live forever?  To rid 
the world of the non-pureblood (I know, he doesn't qualify 
himself--racism knows no logic)?  Sheer lust for power?

2. Can he be killed?  Hagrid surmises that by the time he killed the 
Potters, he was no longer human enough to die (PS/SS 4); Dumbledore 
says "not being truly alive, he cannot be killed" (PS/SS 17); 
Voldemort himself surmises that his experiments in immortality were 
successful enough for him to survive a deflected AK, albeit barely.  
However, Voldemort also describes his new (post-1995) life as a mortal 
one, not yet the immortality he's seeking (GF 33).

3. How will having been restored by Harry's blood affect him?

4. Does he have an heir, and does he want one?  (I hate to ask this, 
but it seems obligatory:) Is he going to prove to be related to anyone 
we know?

5. Is he your typical Evil Overlord who repeatedly makes unbelievably 
dumb mistakes, or are we underestimating him?

Amy Z