The bond between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort goes far beyond their feud. They are bound together by both blood and magic. Their common heritage through the Peverell family connects them through the past, and their magical ties through the Horcrux seal their destinies. Ultimately, Harry’s power to choose love and give his life for others made him the real antithesis of the Dark Lord, showing that family connections do not control one’s fate—the decisions they make define them in the end.
Harry Potter And Voldemort’s Blood Ties
Harry Potter and Voldemort, who was born Tom Riddle, share a distant connection that can be traced to the Peverell family tree. The Peverells were three brothers who owned the Deathly Hallows. Harry is a descendant of Ignotus Peverell, who inherited the Invisibility Cloak in his lineage. Voldemort is connected to Cadmus Peverell, the owner of the Resurrection Stone, via the Gaunt family, his mother’s lineage.
This is to say that both Harry and Voldemort are bonded through their heritage, even though their families diverged—Harry’s towards the good and honorable Potters, while Voldemort’s ancestors went to the dark and twisted Gaunts.
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The Magical Connection
Apart from their bloodline, Harry and Voldemort also have a special, yet dark magical connection. When Voldemort attempted to kill infant Harry with the Killing Curse, it rebounded and left Harry with a fragment of Voldemort’s soul lodged within him. This accident made Harry an unintentional Horcrux, and it gave him certain powers associated with Voldemort, like Parseltongue (being able to communicate with snakes) and a telepathic connection that enabled him to see through Voldemort’s thoughts and actions.
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Due to this connection, neither of them could fully defeat the other since Harry still carried a fragment of Voldemort’s soul. This was ultimately resolved when the Dark Lord himself unknowingly destroyed the Horcrux inside Harry during the Battle of Hogwarts.
The Prophecy That Binds Harry Potter To The Dark Lord
Apart from ancestry, Harry and Voldemort are bound by a prophecy uttered by Sybill Trelawney, who is hired as the professor of Divination by Hogwarts headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.
The prophecy reads: “The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not.”
Voldemort, thinking that the prophecy referred to Harry, attempted to kill him as a child. This choice caused the big bad wizard to unconsciously mark Harry as his equal, binding their destinies together forever. The unsuccessful killing curse gave Harry a lightning-shaped scar and unwittingly imparted part of Voldemort’s soul to him. While he managed to kill the Potters, Harry survived and emerged as his Horcrux.
Commonalities And Parallels
Even though they were enemies, Harry and Voldemort had several important similarities. Both grew up without love and as orphans—Harry with the very neglectful Dursleys and Voldemort in an orphanage.
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Both were Parselmouths (Harry was one because he was the Horcrux). The two also had connections to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and were extremely gifted wizards.
Additionally, both Harry and Voldemort had the potential to be great, but they chose to go in vastly different directions—Harry toward love and friendship, while Voldemort ultimately chose fear and power.
