Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory, in this video I’m going to be addressing
a question that was requested in the comment section quite a bit, and that is ‘Was Voldemort
able to produce a Patronus?’.
This is a good question, because even though Voldemort was immensely powerful, he wasn’t
necessarily able to perform every type of magic. In order to delve in to this further,
I’m first going to explain what a Patronus is. In essence, a Patronus is the result of
a witch or wizard casting the Patronus charm. There are two types of patronus charms, corporeal
and incorporeal. The more basic form of the spell is the incorporeal patronus, which assumes
no animal form and simply resembles a burst of white vapour or smoke. The more advanced
form of the spell is the conjuring of a corporeal patronus. The ability to successfully cast
a corporeal patronus is considered an impressive feat in the wizarding community. The corporeal
patronus assumes the form of the witch or wizards ‘spirit animal’, and varies extensively
from witch to witch or wizard to wizard. Harry’s is a stag, Ron’s is a jack russel terrier,
and Hermione’s is an otter, etc. While casting spells that create your very own spirit animal
is probably fun, there is a purpose, and that purpose is to ward off dementors or lethifolds-
dark creatures that feed on human happiness and incite a feeling of despair in anyone
that gets close to them. They are among the foulest creatures around, and represent nothing
but darkness, depression and decay. The patronus charm is the ONLY known way of dealing with
a dementor, and so it’s a gravely important thing for a witch or wizard to know. The patronus
represents everything that a Dementor doesn’t: hope, happiness, survival and purity. As the
patronus itself does not feel despair or hopelessness, as a human might, the dementors can’t hurt
it and are repelled by its presence.
Which brings me to Voldemort. Surely a wizard as powerful as him with seemingly endless
magical capabilities was able to conjure a Patronus. Surely The Dark Lord himself would
have been able to handle a couple of Dementors. This is where you may be surprised. The successful
casting of a patronus is not only reliant on magic ability, but also love, and happiness-
things that he has no concept of.
Voldemort was doomed from the start, and by far his biggest flaw as a person is the way
that he was unable to feel love. It was the fuel for the fire that set Voldemort off on
his path of villainy. I really wonder what type of man he would have become if he was
simply able to understand emotion, or the concept of love. He was truly destined for
evil - and had no escape.
Voldemort is just as dark and evil as a dementor, and so it makes sense that he would not be
able to produce something that could combat them. Voldemort’s only joy came from doing
terrible things. He was never happy, even in childhood, and never got to experience
true love or happiness- leaving him with no concept of either.
This is perfectly depicted in a quote from Dumbledore in a discussion with Harry:
“If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize
that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark.”
When JK Rowling was asked if Snape was the only death eater who could successfully produce
a Patronus, she responded:
“Yes, because a Patronus is used against things that the Death Eaters generally generate,
or fight alongside. They would not need Patronuses.”
Voldemort, and other dark witches and wizards, saw no use for the spell because they were
entirely desensitized to dark creatures and dark things. The spell was simply not something
that made any sense for them to use or learn. It would not help them.
So, dark wizards see no use for casting a patronus, but..What happens if they actually
try to do it. What happens if they try to cast the spell? There is actually a tale of
a dark wizard called Raczidian that attempted this very thing. In the tale, it is stated
that Raczidian hastily tried to cast the spell, failing to remember that ‘only the pure
of heart can produce a patronus’. He was the first wizard in history to try it, and
while he was an accomplished wizard, it did not end well for him. After casting the spell,
it is stated that ‘maggots shot out of his wand’ which ‘quickly devoured him as they
engulfed his body’. Ouch.
So, it’s pretty safe to say that Voldemort couldn’t and wouldn’t ever have been able
to produce a patronus. But, if he DID somehow cast a Patronus, if he could somehow understand
love, even if only briefly, then what form would his Patronus take? We know that the
form of patronuses Are uniquely tied to each witch and wizard
that casts them. When initially casting the corporeal patronus, the witch or wizard will
have no idea what animal they are conjuring until they’ve done it for the first time.
There is no explanation for how a certain patronus animal is tied to a witch or wizard.
It is speculated that the shape of the patronus produced is significantly influenced by the
personality of the caster, and so when we see characters with the same Patronus (Harry
& his father), Snape & lily potter, we can infer that they had similar personality types.
It is also worth noting that the corporeal patronus of a wizard can actually change according
to life events. The patronus is recognized as an extension of the identity of a witch
or wizard which means that in many cases you will know who is trying to contact you through
their patronus alone. So, what was Voldemort’s Patronus? Surely it must have been something
very powerful and evil- something that could complement his nature.
It turns out that a Patronus can actually be almost ANYTHING, and the limits are fairly
undefined:This is supported with the following information from Pottermore:
"No reliable system for predicting the form of an individual's Patronus has ever been
found, although the great eighteenth-century researcher of Charms, Professor Catullus Spangle,
set forth certain principles that are widely accepted as true.
The Patronus, asserted Spangle, represents that which is hidden, unknown but necessary
within the personality... []... Here, says Spangle, is the explanation for the appearance
of Patronuses in forms that their casters might not expect, for which they have never
felt a particular affinity, or (in rare cases) even recognise....
It is usual, but not inevitable, for a Patronus to take the form of an animal commonly found
in the caster's native country. Given their long affinity with humans it is perhaps unsurprising
that among the most common Patronuses (although it must be remembered that any corporeal Patronus
is highly unusual) are dogs, cats and horses. ...
Extinct Patronuses are very rare but not unknown. Strangely, given their long connection with
wizardkind, owl Patronuses are unusual. Most uncommon of all possible Patronuses are magical
creatures such as dragons, Thestrals and phoenixes. ... While a rare and magical Patronus undoubtedly
reflects an unusual personality, it does not follow that it is more powerful, or will enjoy
greater success at defending its caster."
Extinct Patronuses are very rare but not unknown, and strangely, given their long connection
with wizardkind, owl Patronuses are unusual. Most uncommon of all possible Patronuses are
magical creatures such as dragons, Thestrals and phoenixes. ... While a rare and magical
Patronus undoubtedly reflects an unusual personality, it does not follow that it is more powerful,
or will enjoy greater success at defending its caster.
I’d like to think that Voldemort’s Patronus animal would be a snake, this would be a reflection
of Vodemort’s relationship with his companion, Nagini.
Nagini, in snake form, was first introduced in the Goblet of Fire, where she is described
as eating the body of muggle Frank Bryce. Though we don’t have an exact date, it’s
speculated that Nagini and Voldemort met in the forests of Albania, sometime in the 1980s.
At this point, Nagini would have likely fully-assumed her snakelike form, and Voldemort would have
been hiding in his disembodied state.
It’s hard to say how their initial interaction would have gone, but we know a couple of things
about Voldemort that would help him in interacting with a giant snake. First: Voldemort is able
to possess animals, and we know that later on in the films/books he can possess Nagini,
so I would imagine that possession was part of their original interaction. Secondly, Voldemort
is the descendant of Salazar Slytherin- this means that his connection to snakes is strong,
and that he can even communicate with them because of his ability to speak parseltongue.
If we are supposed to be immediately recognized by our patronuses, then it would make sense
that Voldemort’s patronus would be a snake like Nagini, as the two are commonly associated
with one another. Additionally, Nagini was perhaps the only person that Voldemort ever
seemed to show SOME level of genuine affection toward.
Dumbledore had this to say of Voldemort’s relationship with Nagini:
"I think he is perhaps as fond of her as he can be of anything. He certainly likes to
keep her close and has an unusual amount of control over her, even for a Parselmouth."
Alternatively, I think that Voldemort’s Patronus could be something completely over
the top, highly physically intimidating, and very unique. Something like..A basilisk. As
we know from the Chamber of Secrets, the gigantic basilisk, aka the serpent of slytherin, was
a creature placed inside of the chamber by Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders
of Hogwarts. The Basilisk was originally placed there to pure the school of all muggle-borns,
and could only be controlled by the rightful heir of slytherin, who we know to be Tom Riddle.
Though Harry could speak to the basilisk with parseltongue, he had no control over it.
Throughout the chamber of secrets we see Hogwarts students dropping off like flies, this is
because the Basilisk is loose from the chamber of secrets. When these students were found,
they were in a petrified state. To be petrified means that you are basically turned to stone
- you are completely immobile and unresponsive. One frightening capability that the Basilisk
has is the ability to turn people to stone by indirectly looking at them- similar to
the old sailors tail of Medusa, or KILL them, by directly looking at them.
Something as immense and intimidating as a basilisk just seems, fitting, as a Patronus
for Voldemort. However, we have to remember that Voldemort would never be able to produce
a Patronus - as he does not possess the capacity to feel love. What do you guys think? What
would Voldemort’s Patronus be? Let us know down in the comment section below.
And that’s it for this video! I hope you enjoyed it. If you enjoy the content, please
remember to like the video and subscribe to the channel. Until next time, YER A WIZARD
ARRY.