Throughout the entire story, Voldemort tries to kill Harry.
He constantly thinks of him and tries different ways to end his life.
So you might ask:
“What’s with Voldemort’s obsession?”
“Why was he so unsuccessful in his attempts?”
After all, he’s supposed to be the most powerful wizard alive.
Read on to learn:
- Why Voldemort wanted to kill Harry.
- How Harry managed to survive twice.
- Why Neville Longbottom could have been the hero of the story.
- And more…
Why did Voldemort want to kill Harry Potter?
Voldemort has always been out for power.
So, anything that would become a threat to him had to be destroyed.
But where does Harry come into play?
For that, we need to go back a few years.
It all started when Dumbledore was looking for a new Divination teacher.
He interviewed Sybil Trelawney, but he wasn’t convinced she was the right fit for the job.
But as he wanted to leave, Sybil uttered a prophecy:
“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… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies….”
According to this prophecy, a person would be born to become a threat to the Dark Lord.
You would think that Dumbledore would keep this to himself…
And he did.
However, Snape overheard the conversation. And at the time, he was still devoted to Voldemort.
He then told the Dark Lord about this. Though, only a portion of the prophecy was reported to him.
Nevertheless, Voldemort found 2 young boys who fit the description:
Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom.
Why kill Harry first
Voldemort ultimately decided on Harry, as he resembled himself.
Neville was born to 2 wizard parents, making him a pure-blood.
But Harry wasn’t.
Yes, his parents were both magical. But on his mom’s side, there was Muggle blood present.
Voldemort was in a similar situation. He, too, was a half-blood.
It’s quite ironic when you come to think of his motives. He’s highly racist against Muggles but has Muggle blood himself.
Now, Harry’s parents disguised themselves with the use of a ‘’Fidelius charm’’.
This spell required a ‘’Secret Keeper’’, in whom the location was stored. Only when the Secret Keeper reveals the location can the hiders be found.
Initially, James and Lily wanted to make Sirius Black their Secret Keeper.
But he refused…
He thought he would be too weak. And was afraid he would give away the location.
So, they settled on the next best friend, Peter Pettigrew.
He, however, was far weaker, both in spirit and power, than Sirius.
And it was he who betrayed the Potter’s. He gave up their location to Voldemort. And as soon as he knew where they were hiding, he set off to take them out.
Before killing them, Snape begs him to spare Lily. And he obliged.
But Lily sacrificed herself to save her son.
This lead to Harry being protected by the ultimate protection…
Causing the Killing Curse to backfire on Voldemort.
He was now defeated. But not entirely.
He still lived on in his Horcruxes.
So with Voldemort still alive, he now wanted to kill Harry for another reason…
Revenge.
When he got his body back in the 4th book/film, his ultimate goal was to conquer Harry.
This study shows us why revenge can drive us to do horrible things.
And it perfectly sums up the Dark Lord’s motives.
How many times did Voldemort try to kill Harry?
Since there were so many attempts, here’s a list of ways he tried to end Harry’s life:
- Ordered Quirrell to have Harry fall off his broom (book 1).
- Made Quirrell strangle Harry (book 1).
- Had the Basilisk go after Harry (book 2).
- Tried to kill Harry himself in the graveyard (book 4).
- Attempted to kill Harry again during the battle with Dumbledore (book 5).
- Shot many Killing Curses during the 7 Potters chapter (book 7).
- Planned to kill Harry in the forest when Harry wanted to sacrifice himself (book 7).
- Dueled end of the Battle of Hogwarts (book 7).
Unfortunately, all attempts failed. And this is because Lily’s protection charm still protected Harry.
While most tries can be explained…
There’s one that sticks out.
It’s the second time Harry has survived the Killing Curse.
The spell destroyed the Horcrux inside Harry. So he once again managed to survive it.
Watch this video to find out more:
And this is something Voldemort could have expected.
After all, the prophecy said:
“And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal. But he will have power the Dark Lord knows not”
Voldemort could have deduced that he made Harry his equal.
In other words, he turned Harry into a Horcrux.
Why did Voldemort try to kill Harry as a baby?
The prophecy foretold that someone who could oppose the Dark Lord would be born.
When Harry was still a baby, he couldn’t stand against him.
Literally and figuratively.
He was no threat.
So Voldemort wanted to take him out as early as possible.
It’s kind of reminiscent of Brian Tracy’s book ‘’Eat that frog’’.
It states that you should get the worst things over with as soon as possible.
And killing Harry as a baby was the easiest.
Of course, someone like Voldemort has no issue killing an infant.
So this was his best option. And he took it.
It can also be speculated that after killing Harry, Voldemort would also target Neville as a baby.
Both boys fit the description of the prophecy.
While he suspected Harry to be the one, Neville was a possibility.
The main reason for him suspecting Harry was because of Dumbledore…
As he told the Potters to go in hiding.
And since Dumbledore was one of the few who heard the prophecy, he must have had a reason.
Well, it’s a logical conclusion for Voldemort to think it would be Harry Potter.
Why else would the Potters suddenly disappear?
Did Voldemort fear The Prophecy?
The prophecy said that someone would be born that could stand up against the Dark Lord.
So far, the only real threat to Voldemort was Dumbledore.
But in all fairness, both wizards were on a pretty equal level.
Still, Voldemort feared Dumbledore already.
One of the chapters in the 5th book is titled:
“The only one he ever feared”.
This was a reference to the chapter where Voldemort and Dumbledore dueled.
Voldemort was scared when he learned of the prophecy.
Someone would be born that would be an even larger threat than Dumbledore…
And he feared that.
Couldn’t Voldemort just kill Harry without magic?
A common question people have is why Voldemort didn’t just kill Harry without magic.
It’s a valid thing to ask.
But when you think of it, it just doesn’t make sense for him not to use magic.
Throughout his entire life, the Killing Curse worked as it should.
You say 2 simple words, Avada Kedavra, and your victim falls lifeless to the ground.
It has never failed him. Nor anyone else.
So why would he use any other method?
Besides, using a gun or any other Muggle method is often looked down upon.
It’s shown in the films as well. Punching someone is considered out of place. You solve things with magic.
Also, when Voldemort killed Lily, she put a protection spell on Harry.
This charm is not just limited to magic means of killing. It also works for bullets or strangulation.
We even caught a glimpse of that in the first book/film.
When professor Quirrell tried to strangle Harry, he instantly combusted.
This is Lily’s spell at work.
Since Voldemort was part of Quirrell, he could not touch Harry.
Whatever way you spin it, Harry was protected.
Why did Voldemort kill Harry instead of Neville?
Throughout the story, Neville is portrayed as a clumsy and shy boy.
He never really shines anywhere. He’s subpar in wizardry. Only herbology was his true strength.
But his story is much more important than we’re led to believe.
See, Neville could just as easily have been Harry.
If Voldemort decided to kill the former first, everything would be different.
Or maybe not. Maybe Neville’s parents could protect him the same way Lily and James protected Harry.
That’s mainly speculation. But it’s definitely plausible.
As mentioned in the prophecy
We need to look at a few specific sentences from the prophecy.
The first one is:
“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies….”
Neville was born on the 30th of July. While Harry was born on the day after.
Both around the time the 7th month dies. But Harry is closer to that point than Neville.
The next sentence from the prophecy is:
“Born to those who have thrice defied him’”
This can be interpreted in many ways. Several people fit this description, including Harry’s and Neville’s parents.
Both were part of the Order of the Phoenix. An organization against the Dark Lord.
Again, Harry and Neville fit the description.
So this is where Voldemort stands. He has 2 young boys that he needs to choose from.
Personally, I believe he would kill both anyway. But he didn’t. Or he just didn’t get the chance to.
Dumbledore told the Potters to go into hiding.
And the Headmaster did so because Snape begged him. He was appalled by Voldemort’s decision to kill Lily. And went to Dumbledore for help.
Snape promised he would stay loyal to him if he protected the Potters.
So the Potters hid.
Pretty convenient for Voldemort. He was looking for 1 of 2 boys. And the family of 1 suddenly disappears.
Yep, who would be the one he needed to take out?
Obviously, he thought it was Harry.
Neville would be more difficult to control
Another theory is that Harry would be easier to control than Neville.
See, the latter comes from a family of wizards. And most importantly, he had a family that cared about him.
Harry did not have that luxury. His family was dead. And his relatives didn’t care what happened to him.
He painted them as a target by telling the Potter to go into hiding.
Lily and James would be killed. But this meant that he would have an easier time controlling Harry. And doing so would help him defeat Voldemort.
Personally, I think Snape asking Dumbledore for help is the more plausible story.
After all, he cared so much about Lily. And he was broken when he found her body.
So Voldemort went after Harry first.
And we all know what happened there. The Killing Curse backfired…
Taking out Voldemort.
But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t planning on killing Neville next.
His parents were even tortured to the point where they lost all touch with reality. The Longbottoms were already a target.
We know that Voldemort does not particularly care about how many he kills.
And for him to leave such a loose end is unlikely.
But he simply never got the chance to kill Neville. His plan failed when he tried to kill Harry…
Which eventually saved Neville’s life.