How Tom Riddle Became Voldemort: 20 Secrets From Harry Potter Villain’s Early Years

Tom Riddle Felt No Love

Albus Dumbledore observed that the most crucial aspect of Tom Riddle's psyche was his complete, innate inability to feel or understand love, stemming from his creation via a love potion and a loveless union.

Childhood Cruelty

Even before Hogwarts, he showed profound signs of psychopathy, using his emerging magical abilities to torture other orphans who had angered him.

Dumbledore’s Visit

Albus Dumbledore was the wizard sent to the orphanage to inform the young, skeptical Tom Riddle that he was a wizard and arrange his enrollment at Hogwarts.

Head Boy Status

Despite his increasingly dark pursuits and studies, Riddle was such a charismatic and seemingly model student that he was successfully named both a Prefect and later the Head Boy during his time at Hogwarts.

The Horcrux Question

He first asked Professor Slughorn about the dark art of Horcruxes while at Hogwarts, disguising the query as an innocent academic question about immortality. Using his popularity with Slughorn as a leverage, Riddle was able to gain crucial information.

Riddle's Professor Dreams Were Crushed

He applied for the coveted Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA) teaching position immediately after graduating, but Dumbledore convinced Headmaster Armando Dippet to refuse him.

The Dark Arts Curse

When Dumbledore became the Headmaster, Tom Riddle returned to Hogwarts and tried to apply for the position for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. However, he was refused by Dumbledore and subsequently in rage Riddle went on to curse the position. It was such that no professor would ever hold the position for more than a year.

First Magic

His earliest documented act of magic was using his power to punish two other children who stole his ball by hanging them from the rafters of a closet.

The Borgin and Burkes Job

Instead of joining the Ministry, Riddle took a job at Borgin and Burkes, a dark arts shop, which he used as a cover to track and acquire ancient, valuable magical artifacts for his Horcrux collection.

His Muggle Father's Murder

Riddle tracked down his wealthy Muggle father and grandparents in Little Hangleton and murdered all three in cold blood shortly after learning about Horcruxes.

First Horcrux

Riddle used the murder of his father to create his first Horcrux, his grandfather Marvolo Gaunt's ring, which he hid in the Gaunt shack before he even graduated.

Acquisition of Hufflepuff’s Cup

While working at the dark arts shop, he successfully charmed and manipulated a wealthy old woman, Hepzibah Smith, into showing him Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup, which he later stole, murdered her for, and used to create two more Horcruxes.

Creating the Diary

His second Horcrux, the diary, was created after the murder of Myrtle Warren. It was his final accomplishment before he left the school grounds and started his journey towards chasing immortality.

Framing Hagrid

After successfully opening the Chamber of Secrets during his fifth year, Riddle framed Rubeus Hagrid for the crime, convincing the staff that Hagrid's pet spider, Aragog, was the monster, thus avoiding the closure of the school.

Voldemort Was A Half-Blood

He inherited his magical ability from his mother's pure-blood Slytherin line, but his given name and half-blood status were due to his abandonment by his wealthy Muggle father, Tom Riddle Sr.

Slughorn's Favorite

He charmed Professor Horace Slughorn and was a favorite member of Slughorn's elite "Slug Club," demonstrating his immense manipulative abilities and social skill.

Trophies of Torment

Riddle stole trinkets and small possessions from his victims at the orphanage, keeping them hidden in his cupboard like "trophies" of his power over others.

Merope's Final Wish

His mother, Merope Gaunt, died shortly after giving birth, having barely clung to life long enough to name him after his father, Tom, and her father, Marvolo.

Tom Riddle's Early Disdain for Muggles

His negative experiences growing up in the dingy, isolated orphanage, completely unaware of his mother's background, quickly fueled his profound disdain and contempt for the Muggle world.

Date and Place of Birth

Tom Marvolo Riddle was born on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1926, at the Muggle-run Wool's Orphanage in London.