Warning: This write-up contains spoilers for books 1-7.
Another name for Voldemort is the "Dark Lord" , used mostly by the Death Eaters (Voldemort's servants) ("'Why do you call Voldemort the Dark Lord, I've only ever heard Death Eaters call him that.'"-Harry Potter to Professor
Severus Snape).
Voldemort has been trying to kill Harry because of a prophecy made by Professor Trelawney (
Divination teacher) to Hogwarts headmaster
Albus Dumbledore at Trelawney's job interview. Partway through the prophecy, Snape (then a Death Eater) was caught eavesdropping on the conversation on Voldemort's behalf, and was thrown out of the building. It turns out he only heard part of the prophecy, the part which suggested the person who would had a chance of killing Voldemort would be born at the end of July to parents who had escaped his clutches three times. Voldemort knew that the prophecy could refer to either one of two boys, Harry Potter or
Neville Longbottom. He chose to try to kill Harry, and Harry suggests that Snape knew Harry was one of the boys and he had something to do with Voldemort going after Harry rather than Neville. He suggests to Dumbledore this is due to Snape hating his father. Dumbledore tells Harry that Snape, then a Death Eater, made a mistake, and is very sorry for what he did.
Almost all wizards refuse to call him/hear him be called Voldemort, because of the
stigma attached to that
alias. Oddly enough, Death Eaters seem to be just as reluctant as others to hear the name Voldemort. It should be noted that when Harry discovers the message in the faux locket
horcrux in
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince it is addressed to the Dark Lord. Some people think the note writer's initals (RAB) at the end of the
faux horcrux message stand for Regulus Black,
Sirius Black's brother. The fact that almost all of the people who call Voldemort the Dark Lord are Death Eaters seems to support this theory (Regulus Black was a Death Eater).
Voldemort is the heir of
Salazar Slytherin, and as a result is a
Parseltongue. He apparently transferred this talent as well as others to Harry when his attack on the Potters backfired. Tom's
familiar is Nagini, a serpent (which represents the Slytherin house at Hogwarts). Dumbledore hints to Harry in a private lesson that he thinks Nagini might be a horcrux. Voldemort is also skilled in Legilimency, which allows him enter the minds of others, and learn their memories and feelings as well as determine if they are telling the truth.
Merope Gaunt, Voldemort's mother, was a witch and a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. Voldemort's father, a muggle, shared the name Tom Riddle with his son. In
HPATH-BP we learn that Merope, desperately in love with Tom Sr., used a magic potion to coerce him into marrying her and having a son. The magic eventually wore off and Tom Sr. went back to live with his parents: Merope came to an orphanage where she had her baby (who would grow up at the orphanage) and died soon after his birth. Merope had lived with her brother (Morfin) and father (Marvolo) until they were sent to prison, where Marvolo died. When Tom Jr. learned during his days at Hogwarts that his father had abandoned his mother, he took on the name Lord Voldemort, and he went to his father and grandparents' house and killed all three of them. To cover up the murder, Tom Jr. visited his mother's house and tampered with Morfin(back from prison)'s memory to make him believe he had killed Tom Sr. and his parents. He took his grandfather's ring from his uncle before leaving, and eventually made it into a horcrux. After Morfin had been sent back to prison, Voldemort took the horcrux and left in in the ruins of the Gaunt's house, where it eventually was found and destroyed by Dumbledore.
It is revealed in
HPATH-BP that Dumbledore visited Tom Riddle Jr. at the orphanage where Tom lived, in order to tell him about Hogwarts and invite him there. When Dumbledore visited the orphanage, Tom realized that Dumbledore was well aware of his cruel and evil deeds at the orphanage, and he learned to become wary of Dumbledore, and that he couldn't fool him.
Among He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's servants, besides Death Eaters, are giants, werewolves,
dementors, a serpent (Nagini),
inferi, and wizards who are forced to unwillingly do Voldemort's
work (whether by the
Imperius curse or otherwise).
It seems to me to be ironic that "'Voldemort likes to operate alone, remember. I believe that he would have found the thought of being dependent, even on the Elixir, intolerable.'" -Dumbledore. If we see Dumbledore as being on the money, and Voldemort really does despise having to rely even a little bit on anything or anyone else, than we would probably find it ironic. Why? Throughout his life, Voldemort has had to rely on many people and things. In
HPATS'sS//
HPATP'sS, Voldemort arrives at Hogwarts bound by magic to Professor Quirrel, who has rescued him from being a powerless, lowly being, who resembles nothing even close to a human. It is Professor Quirrel who must attempt to seize the Sorcerer's stone on Voldemort's behalf (he fails). In
HPATCOS, it is Lucius Malfoy (Death Eater and
Draco Malfoy's father who must deliver Voldemort's horcrux diary into Harry's hands to carry out their plan.
HPATGOF, anyone? To get back his powers, the Dark Lord has to rely on, wow, let's see...his father, his servant Wormtail, his snake Nagini, and Harry! But surely Voldemort would kill Dumbledore himself, right? Wrong! He delegates that task to Draco Malfoy. Last but not least, let us not forget about his six horcruxes, which his immortality depends on.
Note: After reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it has come to my attention that their are actually seven horcruxes.
The Dark Mark is a kind of
intangible and
transparent symbol that is sent into the air over a place where Voldemort or his servants (mostly used by Death Eaters) have killed someone. The symbol is entirely green, and is a snake wrapped around a (?)human(?) skull. The Dark Mark is also burned into the arms of all Death Eaters. When Voldemort touches the Dark Mark on one Death Eater's arm, all other Death Eaters feel their mark burning and are supposed to come to Voldemort by apparating (traveling nearly instantaneously from one place to another). I don't recall reading anything in the books about how the Death Eaters know where he is (perhaps some form of telepathy?). The Dark Mark (the one indicating a murder site) can be seen on the back jacket cover of
HPATH-BP, and as the chapter art for chapter 27 of the same book. These may not appear on your copy of the book (I used the "First American edition, July 2005" version of the book for research).
Analysis of the name Voldemort: see Character Names in Harry Potter
Movie Actors (so far, up to the movie for the fifth book, with the exception of the third movie where Lord Voldemort isn't included (nor is he included in the third book)):
HPATS'sS/
HPATP'sS-(Voice of Lord Voldemort) Richard Bremmer
HPATCOS-(as Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr. in the Horcrux diary's
manifestations) Christian Coulson
HPATGOF and
HPATOOTP-(as Lord Voldemort) Ralph Fiennes
Quotes:
"'Lord Voldemort has never had a friend, nor do I believe that he has ever wanted one.'" -Dumbledore
"'There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!'"-Voldemort
"'...he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen.'" -Dumbledore
Harry speaking to Voldemort's horcrux diary manifestation: "'You're not...'Not the greatest sorcerer in the world,'...'the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore.'"
"'...more knowledgeable than half the staff, you are.'" -
Horace Slughorn ("Professor Slughorn") to Voldemort
"'Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of.'" -Professor McGonagall to Dumbledore
You may want to check out these websites:
http://lord-voldemort.org/: This has general information about Lord Voldemort. It appears that information from the seventh books hasn't been added.
http://www.mugglenet.com/: I personally recommend this website. It covers practically every element of the Harry Potter books and movies, covers the video games, and has its own forums.
http://www.jkrowling.com/: J.K. Rowling's official website.
Sources: Some of the
Harry Potter Books (1-2, 4-6, 7), all of the books I used were U.S. editions (it should be noted that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is also called Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in English in some other countries).
Dedicated to e-lainey: If you had been Tom Marvolo Riddle's sister, he wouldn't have become Lord Voldemort. I know you'd give him love aplenty (particularly your most excellent hugs) and he would go on to become a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries (a magical hospital), and save many lives (and heal many troublesome injuries).