25 Most Iconic Voldemort Quotes

Even after the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter film, the magical world that J.K. Rowling created throughout her books still remains one of the most popular franchises in cinematic history. We’ve seen some spectacular characters on both good and bad sides, but the most harrowing, impactful one must be the Dark Lord himself, Lord Voldemort.

Potter’s arch-nemesis appeared in every movie in the franchise except the third film, the Prisoner of Azkaban, where Sirius Black served as the main antagonist. Voldemort’s appearance makes him so iconic, sure, but it is his actions and quotes that really drive the point. Here are the 25 most iconic Voldemort quotes from all Harry Potter movies.

Most Iconic Voldemort Quotes From Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone

“There is no good and evil. There is only power – and those too weak to seek it.”

If you didn’t have nightmares from this particular scene, then you probably weren’t a kid when the first Harry Potter movie came out. I was, and the scene of Professor Quirrel removing his head wraps and revealing Voldemort’s face on the back of his head had me shiver for days every time I saw somebody with the back of their head covered.

Here, Voldemort speaks to Harry directly for the first time, trying to manipulate him into giving Quirrel the Stone. He explains that they could be great together because there’s no good or evil – the only real thing is power. Luckily, Potter realizes the manipulation and refuses to give up the Stone, resulting in Quirrel trying to strangle him to death.

Call me crazy, but as scared as I was back then, it was the scene where I really fell in love with Rowling’s magical world and went on to read all the books before the movies got out.

“I have strength enough for this.”

Boom. The first moment we see Voldemort show his face to Harry, living at the back of the head of Professor Quirrel. As Quirrel tries to get Potter to give him the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry tries to lie to him, not revealing the Stone that appeared in his pocket. The Dark Lord knows he lies and desires to speak with the boy.

Quirell says: “Master, you’re not strong enough.” Then, Voldemort states he is strong enough to face the boy, and Quirrel proceeds to take off the bands covering his head, revealing Voldemort’s ghastly face for the first tiny. It was nightmare-inducing.

“Harry Potter. We meet again.”

Finally, near the end of the movie, this was the first time after eleven years that the Dark Lord and Harry Potter came face to face. Well, face to faces, in this case. The quote was so powerful, showing how Voldemort longed for the moment to confront the Boy Who Lived again.

He probably thought this time; the game would change. Well, he obviously thought wrong, as Harry defeated Quirell and Voldemort once again.

Most Iconic Voldemort Quotes From Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

“Surely you didn’t think I was going to keep my filthy Muggle father’s name? No. I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I became the greatest sorcerer in the world!”

In the Chamber of Secrets, we didn’t see Lord Voldemort in his true, evil, serpent-like form. However, we’ve met Tom Marvolo Riddle, a memory living inside a diary once owned by the Dark Lord. You see. Tom Riddle IS Lord Voldemort, or at least was before the Dark Lord fashioned a new name for himself.

After this particular quote from Riddle, Harry reiterates that Albus Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer in the world. That loyalty ultimately brought him Fawkes with the Sorting Hat and Godric Gryffindor’s sword.

“My mother died just after I was born, sir. They told me at the orphanage she lived just long enough to name me – Tom after my father, Marvolo after my grandfather.”

This was another quote from Tom Riddle, only this time, we’ve seen him talk to Dumbledore in a flashback created for Harry by the diary. Tom explained that he was orphaned almost immediately after he was born and that his mother named him after his father and grandfather.

However, Riddle wanted nothing to do with their name. You see, they were Muggles, and Voldemort hates Muggles more than anything else in the world. So, he created himself a new name, one that Must-Not-Be-Named. I loved this quote because it gave us great insight into Voldemort’s past and what made him such a dark person we all love to hate.

“Voldemort is my past, present, and future.”

As Harry speaks to Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets, it is finally revealed that he is, in fact, the Dark Lord himself. I remember the “WOW!” moment I’ve experienced as a kid when I first watched the movie and this particular scene.

Riddle writes his name in the air with his wand: Tom Marvolo Riddle, and then reshuffles the letters that now said: “I am Lord Voldemort.” It was one of the most epic moments of the film. However, being Voldemort only meant Harry would destroy him again. It sucks to be Tom Riddle.

“How is it that you – a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent – managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar while Lord Voldemort’s powers were destroyed?”

Tom Riddle couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that an infant – a child with nothing to suggest he was special – could defeat Lord Voldemort, who was at the top of his power. Little did he know that it wasn’t Harry who defeated Voldemort – but Voldemort himself.

Lily Potter used a piece of old magic – primordial, even – when she sacrificed herself to save her boy. That old magic was love. True, undying, unselfish love that rebounded Voldemort’s curse and almost killed him. He would die had it not been for the Horcruxes, but we learn about that much later in the franchise.

Most Iconic Voldemort Quotes From Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

“Invite him inside, Wormtail. Where are your manners?”

This short but shocking scene comes near the beginning of the movie, when Harry dreams of Voldemort residing within an old, worn-out house, barely clinging to life. His subordinates are with him, including Peter Pettigrew, aka Wormtail.

An innocent man walks in to see what’s going on, and Voldemort uses his serpent, Nagini, to kill the poor man who was completely unaware that he was walking into his own death. The scene shows just how ruthless and unremorseful the Dark Lord is – and he wasn’t even near full power here.

“Welcome, my friends. Thirteen years it’s been, and yet, here you stand before me, as though it were only yesterday. I confess myself… disappointed. Not one of you tried to find me.”

After four movies and a whole lot of sinister planning, Lord Voldemort finally came back and rose to power again. The graveyard scene where Pettigrew literally cooks him up in a cauldron was phenomenal, but even better was the cold-blooded nature of the Dark Lord, presented in the first scene after his resurrection.

Instead of being grateful that his subordinates are still on his side, he scolds them instantly, saying how disappointed he is in them for not trying to bring him back themselves.

“I’m going to kill you, Harry Potter. I’m going to destroy you. After tonight, no one will ever again question my power. After tonight if they speak of you, they’ll only speak of how you begged for death. And how I being a merciful Lord… obliged.”

You could just feel Voldemort’s hatred for Harry Potter bursting out of him with this quote. First, he tortures Harry with the Crutiatus and Imperius Unforgivable Curses before deciding to try and kill him with the Death Curse, Avada Kedavra.

Harry somehow manages to fight him with the help of his parents and other poor souls that perished at the hands of the Dark Lord. It was a brutal scene that could’ve easily been the end of Harry Potter. Instead, it marked the beginning of a war filled with hate, rage, and darkness.

“The Boy who Lived. How lies have fed your legend, Harry! Shall I reveal what really happened that night thirteen years ago? Shall I divulge how I truly lost my powers?”

After everything that has happened, and Voldemort finally managed to come back in his true physical form and power, the Dark Lord reveals that he finally knows how he was defeated by an infant all those years back.

The legend about the Boy Who Lived is a pure lie in his eyes because it wasn’t Harry who defeated the Dark Lord – it was Lily’s love – old magic that Voldemort himself acknowledged he should’ve seen coming, but didn’t. In reality, Harry’s power is just a legend – it was Lily who almost killed Voldemort, not the child.

“Don’t you turn your back on me, Harry Potter! I want you to look at me when I kill you! I want to see the light leave your eyes!”

This was probably the most malevolent, dark, awful quote from Voldemort in the entire franchise. It showed just how blood-thirsty the Dark Lord is. Killing Harry is not enough for him – Voldemort wants to look him in the eyes and watch as life leaves his body, and the light shuts down in the boy’s eyes.

Quotes like this make you hate the guy so much more, which ultimately makes Lord Voldemort such an awesome villain.

“Pick up your wand, Potter! You’ve been taught how to duel, I presume. First, we bow to each other… Dumbledore wouldn’t want you to forget your manners, would he?”

I’ve picked out the most Voldemort quotes from the Goblet of Fire because he was just too epic from the moment he came back to full power. The terror, the evil, and the bullying Harry endured on that graveyard was just too awful but iconic.

This particular scene was a shot at Dumbledore just as much as it was a shot at Potter. Voldemort gives Potter a chance to fight back and urges him to pick up the wand. He probably didn’t know how powerful Harry was already. If he knew how the duel would end at that moment, he probably wouldn’t let Potter ever pick up the wand.

Most Iconic Voldemort Quotes From Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

“You’re a fool, Harry Potter, and you will lose everything.”

In the fifth film, Harry and Tom realize the mental, telepathic connection between one another. During the final battle at the Ministry of Magic, Voldemort enters Harry’s mind and starts torturing him.

With Dumbledore’s help, Harry manages to fight off the Dark Lord and cast him out of his head, saying he pitties Voldemort, for he’ll never know about love and friendship. After being cast out, Voldemort delivers this cold, epic quote before disappearing into thin air as the Aurors come in to witness his return.

“Come out, Harry… come out and play. Then, it will be quick. It might even be painless. I would not know; I have never died.”

The evil behind every word Voldemort says is almost palpable. Also, every word he says has a deeper meaning. With this particular quote, not only did he want to intimidate Harry, but also to assert himself as immortal.

You see, even back then, when Voldemort lost his powers in Godric Hollow and gave Harry the scar, he didn’t really die – yes, he grew weak, but not dead.

Most Iconic Voldemort Quotes From Harry Potter And The Half-blood Prince

“I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want them to do without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want.”

This quote came in the first moments when Albus Dumbledore met Tom Riddle as a kid living in an orphanage. Dumbledore came to recruit him and take Tom to Hogwarts and asked Riddle if he felt different – like he could do things other children couldn’t.

The quote that followed from the young boy should’ve been a red flag for Dumbledore. It started off innocently but quickly turned into a malevolent direction, talking about hurting others who annoy him. Perhaps Dumbledore thought that Hogwarts might change Tom’s nature – he obviously thought wrong.

“I was in the library the other night, in the restricted section, and I read something rather odd about a bit of rare magic. It’s called, as I understand it… a Horcrux.”

During this scene, we see a flashback memory of a very young Tom Riddle talking to one of his professors, Horace Slughorn, about a particular kind of old magic, rarely used and very hard to produce. One must place a piece of his soul into an object, and as long as the object is intact, the soul-owner becomes immortal.

It is here that Dumbledore realizes how Voldemort survived his own Death Curse at Godric Hollow, and also, it is here that dumbledore realized how to destroy the Dark Lord once and for all.

Most Iconic Voldemort Quotes From Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1

“I have seen your heart, and it’s mine. I have seen your dreams, Ronald Weasley, and I have seen your fears…”

When Voldemort attacks, he usually goes right after Potter while letting his “minions” deal with Harry’s companions. However, during this particular sequence, where Ron Weasley interacted with a Horcrux, Voldemort somewhat gets inside his head and delivers this terrifying quote.

Fortunately, Ron had Harry, Hermione, and all the other good people by his side, eventually leading to the Dark Lord’s defeat.

“As inspiring as I find your bloodlust, Bellatrix, I must be the one to kill Harry Potter.”

Voldemort has a big base of followers, even though he was gone for more than a decade. Still, he never gives them any sign of affection, encouragement, or appreciation. Bellatrix Lestrange is the one who seeks the Dark Lord’s approval the most, despite being the one who appears as the vilest.

She offers to kill Harry Potter for Voldemort, but he responds with this particular quote. After all, it was the prophecy – one would eventually have to kill the other because both cannot live. This is probably the closest to showing appreciation that the Dark Lord ever came – saying he finds Bellatrix’s bloodlust inspiring.

“Severus. I was beginning to worry that you had lost your way.”

It took the ultimate sacrifice from Dumbledore – and Snape – to get the Dark Lord to trust Severus once again. After he killed Dumbledore at the behest of Lord Voldemort at the end of the Half-blood prince, Snape reappears in the next film at the meeting between the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters.

With the quote, Voldemort expressed a slight concern about Snape’s loyalty because of his late arrival, but the arrival was enough for the Dark Lord to trust Severus – at least at that particular moment.

Most Iconic Voldemort Quotes From Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2

“Harry Potter, the Boy who Lived… come to die. Avada Kedavra!”

Okay, although I’ve watched the movies, like, twenty times so far, I still shiver when this scene comes along. Harry knew he was a Horcrux and that the only way for Voldemort ever to be truly defeated was for Harry to die.

When he faces Voldemort before the final battle in front of Hogwarts, Harry deliberately lets himself get killed by the Dark Lord for the greater good. Luckily, he manages to come back after speaking to Dumbledore in the afterlife, successfully getting rid of the piece of Voldemort that lived within him.

“The boy has discovered our secret, Nagini. It makes us vulnerable. We must deploy all our forces now to find him. And you, my friend, must stay close.”

This quote came after Voldemort realized that Harry learned about the Horcruxes and is slowly aiming to destroy them. Nagini – Voldemort’s serpent, who is also a Horcrux – can speak to the Dark Lord in parseltongue – an ability that Tom unwittingly transferred to Harry as well.

It was probably the first and only time when Voldemort expressed vulnerability, which is why I found it crucial to be on this list. Yes, he is confident and evil and speaks of Harry like he’s nothing but a stupid kid. However, behind that mask, Voldemort realizes that Harry Potter is the biggest threat he could ever face.

“Give me Harry Potter. Do this, and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have one hour.”

This quote from Voldemort came right before the final battle of Hogwarts. He sought for Harry Potter and promised to leave everybody else intact, including the school itself. Luckily, Harry’s friends and family were more loyal to him than the Death Eaters would ever be to the Dark Lord – he just didn’t know it yet.

“You killed Dumbledore, Severus. While you live, the Elder Wand cannot truly be mine. You’ve been a good and faithful servant, Severus — but only I can live … forever.”

This quote was as heartbreaking as they come. It also showed that the Dark Lord cares for nobody – not even those who are the most loyal to him. You see, Snape killed Dumbledore to gain Voldemort’s trust and did so. However, it resulted in the Dark Lord believing the Elder Wand is now bound to Snape. 

So, he decided to kill him to control the wand. No matter what you do for him, Lord Voldemort only cares about himself and about power.

“Every drop of magical blood spilled is a terrible waste.”

This was a short but sinister quote from the Dark Lord that perfectly sums up his end goal and his attitude towards the relationship between wizards and muggles. He cares not about killing thousands of muggles without remorse because Voldemort sees them as the lesser kind.

He wants to purify the blood of the wizards by eradicating all the “mud-bloods” from the equation – that means unremorsefully slaughtering all the wizards who have any muggle blood in them. However, Voldemort considers it a huge waste to spill magical blood – the blood of pure wizards. 

He doesn’t see the irony in that logic because the blood of “mud-bloods” is also magical blood, but hey, who am I to say what’s right or wrong?