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Only 5 Harry Potter Characters Are More Powerful Than Lord Voldemort
Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is the primary antagonist of the Harry Potter franchise of films, based on the original novels by J. K. Rowling. He is a dark wizard intent on exterminating Muggle-born witches and wizards from the world, beginning two wizarding wars over it in the 1980s and 1990s. One thing that Voldemort is always seeking to aid him on his path is more power. He is always looking for some new object, concept, creature, or edge to make him rise above the rest, which he frankly doesn’t need, since he’s already a super powerful wizard.
However, there have been multiple witches and wizards throughout the lore that could easily overpower him or toss him aside like a wet paper towel. Most of these people are dead by the time the main story rolls around, though. Still, there have been a few, albeit only a small handful, of magical folk that can and have bested Voldemort. These are the only characters more powerful than Voldemort. For this list, only characters who have physically appeared in the films will be considered. You’d be here all day if this list were a deep dive into the lore.
Fawkes
Fawkes is undeniably more powerful than Voldemort, even though he’s just an animal and not an actual magical wizard. The thing about Fawkes is that he is a phoenix, which makes him completely immortal. Every time Fawkes dies, he bursts into flames, only to be reborn from the ashes. This phoenix also happens to be the very same bird that lent its tail feathers to the wands of both Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Voldemort himself.
Even casual fans will know that Voldemort is a big fan of the killing curse. In fact, it’s practically his go-to spell for every situation. This spell is an Unforgivable Curse, meaning there is no counter-curse and no way of reversing its effect. However, since Fawkes is immortal, the killing curse is completely useless; if it hits him, he’ll just be reborn again and again and again, no matter how many times Voldemort uses it. Another important thing about Fawkes is that, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the Dark Lord tries to weaponize a basilisk against the students of Hogwarts. The basilisk is known for being able to kill with just a look, but again, it would be worthless against Fawkes. The Phoenix was even able to peck out the snake’s eyes so that Harry can properly fight it. On top of that, Fawkes’ tears have healing powers, and he can also teleport in a flash of fire. Fawkes might not be able to take on Voldemort in a fight, but there’s nothing Voldemort can do to actually harm Fawkes, which makes the phoenix more powerful in a lot of ways.
Aurelius Dumbledore
Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), who is actually Aurelius Dumbledore, is a wizard who appears in the Fantastic Beasts trilogy of films. His magical abilities aren’t discovered until later, and when they are discovered, they are revealed to be immensely powerful. The very first spell he casts destroys an entire mountainside, which, needless to say, is pretty impressive for a first-time magic user. Even though he often used his powers for ill, Aurelius had a lot of it, true to his family lineage. But that isn’t the only thing that makes him strong in the ways of magic.
See, the reason Aurelius is called Credence is that, as a baby, he and his family were leaving the UK to live in the US. During the voyage, the ship sank, with his mother perishing in the accident. Aurelius was put up for adoption in New York, where he was accepted into an anti-witchcraft orphanage. There, he was severely abused, and his magical abilities were repressed, creating a rare form of creature called an Obscurus, a destructive entity that serves as a physical manifestation of trauma. Aurelius not only has access to magical abilities, but he can also control a highly aggressive spirit of pure chaos, able to ruin city blocks in the blink of an eye. It’s something that Voldemort simply does not have, so it arguably makes Aurelius more powerful.
Albus Dumbledore
Albus Dumbledore (Sir Michael Gambon and Richard Harris) is the uncle of Aurelius, and is known for being the greatest living wizard of his time. He is the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and is well over 100 years old. He actually brought Voldemort to the school when he was a child, nurturing his magical abilities, and eventually witnessing the monster that the young boy would become. Dumbledore possessed the Elder Wand, which is known for being the most powerful wand in existence, crafted by Death himself, meaning that his spells were exceptionally strong, and that doesn’t even factor in his innate ability with magic.
Throughout the franchise, Albus is referred to as the only one that Voldemort was ever afraid of, and rightfully so. Albus is not only smart and knows that Voldemort has Horcruxes that need to be destroyed, but he is also an effective magical combatant, as their epic showdown in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix shows. It’s likely that even Voldemort knew he couldn’t best Dumbledore in a fight, preferring to keep his distance from Albus and even running away when he knows the fight is likely to end in defeat. Dumbledore also happens to be Fawkes’ owner. Out of all the magical individuals in Harry Potter, Dumbledore’s power is practically god-like, placing him far above Voldemort in the hierarchy of powerful wizards.
Gellert Grindelwald
Voldemort was far from the first, or even the greatest dark wizard to roam the Earth. In the early 20th Century, another magical threat plagued the Wizarding World, and his name was Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp and Mads Mikkelsen). Grindelwald wasn’t just Dumbledore’s former lover — he was a serious force to be reckoned with. He too carried the Elder Wand, only the wand legitimately answered to him because he won it fairly, unlike what happened when Voldemort tried to use it. Grindelwald came from somewhere in Northern or Central Europe, evidenced by the fact that he attended Durmstrang, yet his influence reached even to North America.
For comparison, Voldemort’s reach never really extended beyond the UK and Ireland. Grindelwald not only had a better wand, but he possessed more raw and destructive power than Voldemort ever could. On top of that, Dumbledore swore a magical oath never to fight with Grindelwald, meaning Voldemort’s most feared adversary effectively could not harm Grindelwald. It’s another thing that Voldemort probably wishes he had access to. When one of the greatest wizards in history is magically protected from attacking you, it allows one to grow even stronger, with any other opposition seeming minor in comparison. Though Voldemort did actually kill Grindelwald himself, one has to understand that Grindelwald was old, frail, and locked away in Azkaban without access to his wand, so it’s not exactly like he could have fought back. For a lot of reasons, Grindelwald is definitely stronger than Voldemort.
Harry Potter
It can be argued that Harry Potter is, in some ways, more powerful than Lord Voldemort. While the Dark Lord is more knowledgeable, has more raw power, and is more skilled with his craft, Harry has a lot of extra perks that his primary adversary simply doesn’t. For one, Harry is the only person to have survived Voldemort’s killing curse not once, but twice, thanks to the sacrificial protective spell placed on him when his mother cast herself between him and Voldemort. It was actually enough that the spell was able to deflect off of Harry, hitting Voldemort instead, which led to 13 years of peace, where Voldemort was barely clinging to life by way of the Horcruxes. Geez, if Harry can defeat Voldemort as a helpless baby, he’s bound to be even more skilled as a teenager.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Harry is able to amass the eponymous Deathly Hallows: the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and his father’s Invisibility Cloak. Thus, Harry becomes the master of Death itself, a title that Voldemort desperately sought because he thought it would help him live forever. While Harry only holds this title briefly, breaking the Elder Wand and intentionally losing the Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden Forest, the fact that he held the title for even a moment means he was likely stronger than Voldemort. Not only that, but Harry’s allies are defined by love and trust, not by ideology and an uneasy alliance, which is much more of an asset. Put simply, Harry is everything Voldemort wishes he was and can definitely be considered stronger than the Dark Lord.
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