Extra Credit - Harry and Voldemort

     When we first meet Harry, he is this insecure little boy who has suffered from torture and discrimination by the Dursleys. We see him growing extraordinarily throughout his years attending Hogwarts. Every year, Harry and his friends face an insurmountable problem. We finally begin to understand why this is Harry’s reality in book 5.

     Voldemort heard of the prophecy that a boy born in July would be his downfall. This prophecy would never have passed if Voldemort hadn’t acted upon it. This one event caused Harry’s life to be turned upside-down. Voldemort created his own worst enemy.

        

     We see a great deal of responsibility emanate from Harry as he sets out on his quest to find and destroy Horcruxes. Though he may not hold all the answers at first, he is given the tools to discover them. He becomes a great leader to Voldemort’s opposition consisting of the D.A. and the Order of the Pheonix. He shows courage and intellect on how to proceed to find the Horcruxes. When he discovers that a Horcrux is in the Lestrange vault, he devises a plan to break into Gringotts and obtain it, something that is said to be impossible. Then we see his clever ability to find a solution to escape by releasing the dragon and escaping on its back.

     We also see his bravery shine through when he discovers, through Snape’s memories, that he must willingly die to finally destroy Voldemort. This resolution comes to him easily because deep down, he always knew that his journey would succumb to this. We see him repress his urge to do show Voldemort that he hadn’t killed him and waited until the time was right to be able fight back. Harry grows so much through the series and especially the last book as every truth about who he is and who he knew comes to light, giving him the knowledge that people are imperfect and through this realization, he learns why Voldemort thinks the way that he does.

          

     We also learn a lot about Voldemort in the final book. We learn why he is as evil as he is. Voldemort’s biggest fear is death. This is the reason he has gone through so much effort to make sure he will live forever. He becomes power hungry so that no one can defeat him. These weren’t his initial goals when he studied at Hogwarts. Originally he believed that wizards should not be hidden and should be known as a superior species. However he foresaw opposition with his plans. He had to protect himself at all costs and by doing so, he created many enemies, including his demise Harry.

     We learn that when Harry sacrificed himself, he did something that Voldemort feared above all else, and that I believe is why Harry ultimately succeeded in defeating him. Harry did not fear dying, which allowed him to keep a level head during battle, however Voldemort saw his life crushing before his eyes. First by knowing that his Horcruxes, which he had allotted so much time and effort to create and protect, had been destroyed; and secondly that all that he knew was diminishing before him. All of his followers were being defeated and the fear of death closing in on him drove him to his demise.