Hey everyone, welcome back to Harry Potter theory!
Today we’re going to be discussing a question that I’m sure is at the forefront of many
Harry potter fans minds: Who is more powerful, Voldemort or Dumbledore?
Voldemort and Dumbledore are the yin and yang of wizards, each extremely powerful and a
strong representative of the classic relationship between good and evil.
Each one acting as a symbol for the invariable struggle between light and darkness.
We know how Harry Potter ends, we know that Voldemort is unsuccessful in securing a shrowd
of darkness over the world, but that doesn’t mean that he couldn’t have been the most
powerful wizard of all time, and the fact that light prevailed doesn’t mean that Dumbledore
was the most powerful wizard.
We’ve got to look deeper.
Many assume that because Voldemort ultimately lost, and because Dumbledore is ‘good’,
that Dumbledore is the more powerful figure.
However, this is not a sound argument, whether you’re good or evil has nothing to do with
your inherent power.
From an extremely young age, Tom Riddle showcased intensely powerful innate magical abilities,
he was a magical prodigy if you will.
As he grew older, and he began to harness his abilities, Riddle became unimaginably
powerful, performing feats of magic that people thought previously impossible.
And he knew it too, proclaiming to Harry in The Heir of Slytherin that he was ‘The greatest
sorcerer in the world’, to which Harry retorts ‘Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer in
the world’, reminding Riddle of Dumbledore and subsequently angering him.
In my view, this anger showed insecurity in Riddle.
Harry’s statement reminding him of Dumbledore’s power forced him to consider his own magical
ability in relation to Dumbledore’s.
I think that he A. knows that Dumbledore is more powerful, and became angry because he
resents it, or B. is just completely unsure of whether or not Dumbledore is more powerful,
and fears it as a possibility.
While Voldemort showed extreme magical prowess from a young age, he was not alone.
Dumbledore’s magical abilities consistently turned heads at Hogwarts as well, particularly
his skills surrounding charms and transfiguration.
He also did exceptionally well on his N.E.W.T.S and Griselda Marchbanks, a professor working
for the Wizarding Examinations Authority, remarked that Albus was able to do things
with a wand that she had never seen before.
Not only that, but Dumbledore befriended Grindelwald at a very young age, and I believe that this
had a profound impact on Dumbledore’s skill.
The two spent lots of time together practicing magic, and Grindelwald was known to have come
from a powerful magical bloodline, his great aunt Bathilda Bagshot publishing ‘a history
of magic’, a magic book used to teach students at Hogwarts.
Dumbledore, who always outshone everyone magically, was challenged by another for the first time,
and I believe that this resulted in even greater power for the both of them.
So we know that both of them were powerful right from the start, showing an innate capability
for magic and an affinity for learning new skills and abilities.
So where does this leave us?
How can we definitively determine WHO was more powerful.
Dumbledore was known for being all too modest, and in the first book there is a moment where
I believe it is partially suggested that Dumbledore is the more powerful sorcerer, or if not more
powerful, possessing the inherent capability to be more powerful if he so desired.
Mcgonagall says to Dumbledore:
“But you're different.
Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."
"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly.
"Voldemort had powers I will never have."
To which Mcgonagall replies: "Only because you're too - well - noble to use them."
To me this hints that perhaps Dumbledore has a higher overall threshold for power than
Voldemort, but that he is perhaps not willing to make the same sacrifices, and for that
reason never achieving QUITE the same level of power.
Voldemort’s level of power was achieved by any means possible, with no exceptions.
His pursuit of power was filled with ignorance, showing disregard for the consequences of
the pursuit of dark magic.
He delved further into the darkness than anyone before him, and became powerful because of
it, but perhaps at too great a cost.
In the pursuit of power, he lost himself.
However, even though he plunged himself into magic as much as possible, Voldemort at no
point in the books/films appears to exhibit magical ability that far exceeds or outweighs
Dumbledore.
The only real point of reference that we have comes from their duel in the Ministry Atrium.
But, this also sort of complicates things further.
I say this because the duel is depicted very differently from book to film, with film Dumbledore
coming across as a bit of a frail old man, and book Dumbledore absolutely wiping the
floor with Voldemort.
When they fight in the ministry atrium in the FILM it’s left very open.
They actually seem evenly matched for the most part, though I would argue that Voldemort
slightly edges him out.
When they meet each other in the Atrium, Dumbledore and Voldemort instantly enter in to a magical
power struggle.
With one flick of their wands, Dumbledore’s red jet of light met Voldemort’s green jet
in mid air, and the two held their ground as sparks flew and the room began to fall
to pieces-unable to contain the sheer magical power being produced.
The pair BASICALLY appear to be evenly matched.
I’d also like to add that during their duel in the film there isn’t much talking.
This is another point that deviates quite a lot from the book, and I think that it’s
a piece of evidence that would suggest Dumbledore’s superiority.
Throughout their duel, the books continuously describe Dumbledore’s nonchalant attitude
toward everything going on.
Here he is, faced head to head with one of the darkest and most powerful wizards of all
time- but..he’s so calm.
In the passage describing their duel, when he walks toward Voldemort, it’s constantly
reinforced that he’s ‘calm’, and that he ‘had not a fear in the world’.
Dumbledore’s demeanour toward Voldemort during their duel was even described ‘as
though they were discussing the matter over drinks’.
The books would lead us to believe that Dumbledore is FAR superior to Voldemort, and that Voldemort
was completely outmatched.
HOWEVER, there are a few things to consider here.
1.
Dumbledore was in possession of the Elder Wand.
The Elder Wand was the most powerful wand in existence, and it’s entirely possible
that this could have accounted for the difference in power between them.
In fact, based on how film Voldemort performed against film Dumbledore, I’d venture to
say that FILM Voldemort is stronger.
However, it is certainly difficult to quantify just how much of a BOOST you get from the
powerful magical artifact.
2.
EVEN Book Voldemort had a moment where he made Dumbledore look a bit silly.
“'Look out!'
Harry yelled.
But even as he shouted, another jet of green light flew at Dumbledore from Voldemort's
wand and the snake struck
Fawkes swooped down in front of Dumbledore, opened his beak wide and swallowed the jet
of green light whole: he burst into flame and fell to the floor, small, wrinkled and
flightless.
This part is particularly interesting, because it actually seems to paint Dumbledore in a
little bit more of a vulnerable state and I think that it suggests that Dumbledore was
perhaps too confident at the beginning of the duel.
In the film adaptation, at no point does Dumbledore need Fawkes’ to show up and save him from
one of Voldemort’s attacks-but what the text shows us is that, had Fawkes not been
there, Dumbledore would have either been hit with Avada Kedavra OR the fiery snake spell,
as both were being directed at him at once.
I feel that this is of particular importance, as it MAY even indicate that Dumbledore was
the loser of their duel.
Fawkes blocked a spell from hitting him, and, unless Dumbledore really didn’t need Fawkes
to do that, it suggests that he may have been the loser.
But, bearing the 2 points above in mind, we do also have to remember that both versions
of Dumbledore weren’t trying to DEFEAT Voldemort, simply ward him off.
I think that if we had these wizards duel 100 times, we’d get some pretty interesting
outcomes, particularly if we tossed an Elder Wand in to Voldemort’s hands as well.
I also think that the answer to this question sort of goes both ways.
I’ll give you the FILM answer and the BOOK answer.
The film answer is that Voldemort is more powerful.
I say this because in the film Voldemort appears to have been slightly edging out Dumbledore,
despite Dumbledore’s possession of the Elder Wand.
BUT, I will add that Dumbledore wasn’t trying to kill him, so it’s plausible that a proper
duel between both men would likely result in a stalemate.
The BOOK answer is almost definitively that Dumbledore is more powerful.
I say this because, even though Voldemort got a decent shot at Dumbledore, and even
though Dumbledore was saved by Fawkes, the book passages are unwavering in their claims
that this duel wasn’t a big deal for him.
I think that Fawkes ‘saving’ him probably wasn’t really necessary, and it can probably
be chalked up to a touch too much overconfidence on Dumbledore’s part.
HOWEVER- with these two answers in mind, I do have a HOT TAKE- which is that Voldemort
(had he lived longer) could have become more powerful than Dumbledore.
Voldemort had access to an entire other side of the magical spectrum- dark magic, a side
that Dumbledore (who dabbled in his youth) wouldn’t dare delve in to again.
In this respect, Dumbledore is limited, whereas Voldemort has access to anything and everything.
This is also based on an EXTENDED timeline, where Voldemort gets to live longer.
But, if Dumbledore suddenly decided to be EVIL as well, I think Voldemort would be out
of luck.
And in reality, in the EXISTING timeline, Dumbledore didn’t need dark magic- he was
able to exhibit unsurpassed magical ability while remaining entirely himself and with
no sacrifice to his soul.
Ultimately, if we consider that Dumbledore chose a PURER path, then I think that we can
reasonably infer that Dumbledore only scratched the surface of his power, whereas Voldemort
was already capitalizing on pretty much everything he could.
This is why I think that Voldemort always feared Dumbledore, the unknown threshold of
Dumbledore’s power.
This is why the subject of Dumbledore’s power was always a bitter pill for Voldemort
to swallow.
I hope that you guys enjoyed the video.
What do you think?
Who do you believe is more powerful?
Let me know down in the comment section below.
ALSO- For a comparison between Grindelwald and Voldemort check out my video which I’ll
show on screen.
Until next time
Remember
It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!