Lord Voldemort

Lord Voldemort is the main antagonist in the Harry Potter novel series written by British author J. K. Rowling. Voldemort first appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which was released in 1997. Voldemort appeared either in person or in flashbacks in each book and film adaption in the series, except the third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, where he is only mentioned. Voldemort has been voted number one in polls for literary and film villains.

In the series, Voldemort is the archenemy of Harry Potter, having been directly responsible for the murder of his parents, James and Lily. He also, according to a prophecy, has the power to defeat Harry, albiet the first time he failed. He aims to conquer not just the Wizarding world, but the Muggle (non-magical) world as well. He is so feared that almost no one dares to say his name, instead referring to him as "You-Know-Who" or "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Even his followers only refer to him as the "Dark Lord". He was born Tom Marvolo Riddle, the last descendant of wizard Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

According to an interview with Rowling, "Voldemort" is pronounced with a silent 't' at the end, as is common in French. This was the pronunciation used by Jim Dale in the first four U.S. audiobooks; however, after the release of the film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, in which the characters who dared refer to him by name pronounced it with the "t", Dale altered his pronunciation to that in the films. The pronunciation has since been used in the other films as well.