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Harry Potter: Where Was Voldemort During The First Wizarding War? Explored
In Harry Potter, the lead-up to the First Wizarding War was crucial to Voldemort's rise to power, including his time at Hogwarts and efforts to create Horcruxes.
The Harry Potter world is an extensive universe, with much of the major events occurring before Harry was born. The First Wizarding War was one of the major events; this was when Voldemort, in the form of Tom Riddle, first reigned as King of Hogwarts and opened the Chamber of Secrets. It was also before the war that Voldemort killed his father's family and traveled on down to Albania in order to create the Horcruxes. He gained followers and subsequently initiated the First Wizarding War. This war's date and location were not specified in either the books or movies.
Where was Voldemort?
The First Wizarding War
It was the early life and actions of Voldemort before the First Wizarding War that became a vital part of the Harry Potter storyline. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry and Dumbledore study Voldemort's past in the hopes of finding his Horcruxes. It is through his mother's family and his connection to Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts, that Voldemort starts his research into his ancestry while at Hogwarts.
The Voldemort in Hogwarts went to Little Hangleton to study his family and muggle status. He murdered the Riddle family and moved to Albania in pursuit of the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw. In coming back to Britain, Voldemort was employed at Borgin and Burkes; he refused some offers for him to join the Ministry of Magic. He befriended Hepzibah Smith, who was from Helga Hufflepuff's descent, having Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket. Voldemort then killed Hepzibah because he wished the items for himself and "succeeded in" obtaining the cup and the locket. He then left Borgin and Burkes and vanished for ten years.
Then Voldemort came back to Hogwarts, trying to take a teaching position as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts; he was unsuccessful, though Dumbledore suspected that he had come with the purpose of hiding a Horcrux in the Room of Requirement. A few years later, the First Wizarding War really began.
In 1970, Tom Riddle declared that he was the Dark Lord, or Lord Voldemort, and initiated a campaign to seize power in Britain. Riddle had already gathered a devoted group of adherents, who later became his Death Eaters. The retinue of Voldemort further expanded their level of power through the expenditure of time in the company of despicable creatures and magical beings, including Giants and Werewolves. The First Wizarding War endured eleven years, ending in 1981.
How did the war end?
In 1980, Sybill Trelawney was the great-great-granddaughter of Seer Cassandra Trelawney and was interviewed by Dumbledore for a job at Hogwarts. A turning point in the meeting, Sybill gave a prophecy, sealing the fate of Voldemort and Harry Potter and revealing their relationship in detail.
This prophecy was made by Sybill Trelawney, foretelling the birth of a boy in July of 1980; he was to be the one who would have the power to defeat the Dark Lord and was born to parents who had defied Voldemort three times. Severus Snape overheard the prophecy but did not quite hear it. Trelawney's prophecy led to Voldemort's attack on the Potters; James and Lily were killed on October 31st, 1981. The Killing Curse afterwards killed Voldemort.
The First Wizarding War ended in 1981, but Voldemort survived because he had created Horcruxes. Most of the series of books and films about Harry Potter relate to the start of the Second Wizarding War and the final battle involving the same. However, the First Wizarding War, the actions of Voldemort during this period, and his rise and fall build a substantial foundation toward learning about one of the most powerful Dark Wizards in Wizarding history and the origin of Harry Potter's story.
ALSO READ: Harry Potter: How Were All 7 Horcruxes Destroyed? Explored
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