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Controversial Harry Potter Theory Says Voldemort Is Actually a Hero

Controversial Harry Potter Theory Says Voldemort Is Actually a Hero
Image credit: Warner Bros.

Shedding light on the Dark Lord and his mission to free the pure Wizarding World from its constraints.

Summary

  • Voldemort's actions could actually be justified.
  • The Harry Potter series was told from Harry's perspective, not a neutral one.
  • The Wizarding world could have benefitted under his rule.

Voldemort was portrayed as the ultimate villain but what happens when we (reluctantly) consider that there are two sides to every story?

The whole premise of Harry Potter comes down to the harrowing fight between Good and Evil as the increasingly powerful Dark Lord fights to take control of the wizarding world. Some fans even went as far as to compare Voldemort to Hitler.

On the surface, Voldemort seemed intent on death and destruction, but there was a strong bias that came with the series being told from Harry Potter's perspective. To those on the 'Good Side', Voldemort is easily the most hated character, but to his followers, he was a hero, fighting to eliminate the growing threat of the muggle world and unite the purebloods of the wizarding world.

Voldemort's True Intentions

Instead of looking at Voldemort as an evil pure-blood supremacist, this theory paints him as a misunderstood wizard fighting for what he believed in.

One Redditor explained 'To establish Voldemort's crusade against the Fudge Regime as righteous, it is important to highlight how the Fudge Regime has oppressed and abused the magical world. The Fudge Regime has employed segregation, racism and dictatorial powers to take absolute control.'

Voldemort's army may have attracted murderers, criminals and cold-blooded supremacists, like Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy but that's not all. It also drew in centaurs, giants and dementors, who had been cast aside by the wizarding community.

Whilst most Harry Potter fans will argue that Voldemort's ultimate goal was immortality and ultimate power, there were other intentions.

His desire to wipe out the Muggle world, would mean protecting the Wizarding world.

Voldemort was a hero to his people

By uniting wizards and magical creatures, Voldemort sought to bring power to Pureblood wizards and eliminate the threat of the Muggle world, who had historically persecuted magical beings. With the evolution of technology and weapons of war, it was naive for any to believe that the magical world would remain a secret, or that there would be a peaceful coexistence between the two worlds.

In Voldemort's eyes, there was oppression and impurity in his world, and an ever growing threat from muggles.

During the final Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort proved that his goal was not destruction, by holding back his army and giving Hogwarts the chance to surrender before lives were lost. Additionally, after his first victory, instead of killing the survivors, he offered them forgiveness should they join his side, the 'dark' side.

Good vs Evil was never black and white

Delving deeper into the movie series uncovers some uncomfortable truths about those we once considered to be 'good.' The Wizarding World was full of toxicity and unfair power dynamics, with the exclusion of 'lesser' magical beings from politics, the treatment of half-bloods and warped ideologies of the Ministry of Magic, leading to corruption and manipulation.

Professor Dumbledore, the respected and trusted principal was revealed to have knowingly put Harry in grave danger, whilst Severus Snape's intentions were always to protect Harry, when we believed he wanted to harm him.

In the same way, Voldemort could be a tragically misguided hero labeled as a villain. At the end of the day, it’s nearly impossible to deny the evil in him.

Shedding light on the Dark Lord

Voldemort, once the brave and determined Hogwarts Head Boy, Tom Riddle, was a victim of circumstance. As a bastard child whose mother died during childbirth, the half-blood wizard grew up in a gloomy orphanage, and displayed sociopathic tendencies due to his upbringing. After all, he never knew love.

Harry, on the other hand, was raised with the intention that he will be the one to eventually kill Voldemort. Harry's hatred stems from the murder of his parents at the Dark Lord's hands, rendering it impossible for him to ever consider the legitimacy of Voldemort's ultimate mission.

What would Hogwarts look like if Voldemort had won the final battle? Would the Wizarding World have freed itself from oppression and conquered the Muggle world? Would there be unity between wizards and magical beings and beasts? We'll never know.

At the same time, we can't disregard Voldemort's cold-blooded tendencies, but this doesn't eliminate him as a hero to his followers.

If Harry Potter was written from Voldemort's perspective, it would not have been as difficult as we may think to portray Voldermort as the heroic leader, fighting for freedom and everlasting life.

If you were a Pure blood wizard, wouldn't that be what you want too?

Source: Reddit.