10 Things Harry Potter Fans Probably Didn't Know About Voldemort
His first job? His greatest fear? How much do you really know about the Dark Lord himself?
Every great hero needs a great villain. Luke Skywalker has Darth Vader. James Bond has Ernst Stavro Blofeld. And the nemesis of boy wizard Harry Potter is none other than the evil Lord Voldemort.
He is such a fearsome adversary that there are few wizards or witches who dare even speak his name, lest they bring his wrath down upon their heads. The Dark Lord is not someone who forgives easily and has made a habit of cutting down those who go against him without hesitation.
Naturally, such an iconic villain has become an extremely popular figure both among diehard Potter fans and in wider pop culture. Hell, He Who Must Not Be Named has become so iconic that a giant puppet of him was part of the show at the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
But just because you think you know Harry Potter's greatest enemy, it doesn't mean there isn't more beneath the surface. Do you know where his first job was? Or what his biggest fear is? Can you even be sure that you're saying his name correctly?
Let's take a deep dive into his background and see if there's something new to discover about the man formerly known as Tom Riddle.
10. He Wanted To Teach Defence Against The Dark Arts At Hogwarts
It’s somewhat of a running joke that no Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts can ever seem to stay in the position for more than one school year. Whether because of a mind-wiping spell backfiring or an unfortunate affliction of lycanthropy, the position always seems to be vacant once more come the summer holidays.
What fans might not know, however, is that Voldemort himself was once keen to take up the position. As revealed in The Half-Blood Prince, Tom Riddle petitioned former headmaster Armando Dippet for the job, almost immediately after graduating from Hogwarts. Dippet turned him down due to his young age.
Voldemort returned some ten years later and once again asked the headmaster, who was now one Albus Dumbledore, to take him on. But Dumbledore saw the evil in the Dark Lord’s heart and refused to hire him.
It’s heavily implied that Voldemort cursed the position in response, as Dumbledore himself mused, “We have not been able to keep a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor for more than a year since I refused the post to Lord Voldemort.”. Bit of an overreaction, don’t you think?