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What Happened to Lord Voldemort’s Nose?

Oh, Voldemort. You used to be a good-looking guy. So what the heck happened to you – particularly to your nose?

Nope, old Voldy didn’t always look like a slimy snake-man hybrid. He used to be just your run-of-the-mill human. But as he ventured further and further into the forbidden realm of the dark arts, things took a turn for the freaky. I’m talking shape-shifting like you’ve never seen before.

His once-normal nose? It transformed into slits, like he’d borrowed a pair of nostrils from a snake. And his face? Well, let’s just say he started rocking some serious serpent features.

You might be wondering, “Hey, aren’t there other wizards tinkering with dark arts? Why don’t they look like they’re auditioning for a snake circus?” Ah, my friend, you’ve hit the nail on the head. It seems Voldy has a monopoly on the whole extreme makeover thing among his wizard buddies.

If you’re dying to know why, and what Voldemort looked like before he turned into a creature from a slithery nightmare, keep reading. You won’t believe your eyes – or your noses, for that matter.

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Table of Contents

Why Doesn’t Voldy Have A Nose?

As he dabbled deeper into the dark arts, Voldemort’s body went through a wild rollercoaster ride of changes. And let me tell you, it wasn’t pretty.

For every Horcrux he created, his soul got a serious case of the mutilation blues. And his body took a serious hit, too. It’s like it was saying, “Hey, Voldy, you want to split your soul into pieces? Well, I’m gonna split your looks into pieces, too!”

His once-regular nose turned into two creepy little slits. Thanks to this, his appearance went from “scary” to “oh Merlin, hide the children!” Evidently, even his nose couldn’t escape the wrath of the dark side.

And this transformation was no overnight sensation – it was a slow burn of disfigurement. This just goes to show that playing with dark arts might give you power, but it’ll also give you a face only a mother could love.

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What Did Voldemort Look Like Beforehand?

Before he became the stuff of snake-themed nightmares, Voldy went by a different moniker: Tom Riddle, the handsome heartthrob of Hogwarts.

Even Albus Dumbledore couldn’t help but note the young Tom’s dashing looks. With his chiseled jawline and dreamy eyes, he was basically the heartthrob of the wizarding world. I bet he had witches and wizards swooning left and right. Move over, Gilderoy Lockhart!

As Tom Riddle, he wasn’t just a pretty face – he had charisma for days! It’s like he had an enchanting aura that drew people to him. His fellow Hogwarts students, and even some of the teachers, couldn’t resist his magnetic charm. “Follow me and my flawless complexion,” he probably whispered seductively. And thus, the Death Eaters were born.

When Tom’s path took a sharp turn into the dark arts, he became so obsessed with creating those pesky Horcruxes that he chucked his old name out the window. “Tom Riddle? Pfft, that’s so last season,” he probably said, as he strutted into the mirror and practiced his evil laughter.

This led to the epic rebranding of Tom Marvolo Riddle into the grand and mighty Lord Voldemort. Ta-da: he rearranged the letters of his name like a wizarding game of Scrabble gone wrong. You have to admit, though: it does have an evil ring to it.

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Who Was Tom Riddle?

A fatherless Tom was born near the Wolf’s Orphanage – and his mom kicked the bucket there soon after, leaving him clueless about his magical heritage.

Even without knowing he was a wizard, Tom had a sneaky knack for magic. And boy, did he put that mischief to use! Before Dumbledore swooped in like a wizarding superhero, Tom had a grand old time tormenting his fellow orphans with his magical shenanigans.

Then, out of the blue, Albus Dumbledore whisked Tom away to Hogwarts. Once there, Tom seemed like the perfect student on the surface. But behind closed doors, he was determined to be anything but ordinary. He gathered followers like a kid collecting Chocolate Frog cards and even formed a wicked club — the Death Eaters. Forget about trading Quidditch cards, these folks were into much darker things.

And did I mention that Tom pulled off one heck of a magic trick? He opened the legendary Chamber of Secrets and tamed a colossal Basilisk like it was his pet Pygmy Puff. That snake wreaked havoc throughout the school, and nobody suspected our budding Dark Lord as the mastermind. Slytherin’s heir? More like Slytherin’s sneaky snake charmer!

But when Dumbledore caught wind of Tom’s tricks, he decided to keep a watchful eye on him. Tom got so paranoid about getting caught that he decided to give the Chamber a rest.

But our ambitious Tom wasn’t satisfied with just a sneaky snake and a dormant Chamber. No, no, my friends. He took things to the next level by creating his very first Horcrux — the diary. Little did he know that this diary would be the starting point for his dark descent and the catalyst for his disfigured body – including the loss of his nose.

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When Does Voldemort Lose His Nose?

in the first movie, you might have noticed something rather odd – Lord Voldemort still rocked a nose like a regular ol’ human. But fear not, my friends. There is an explanation for that nasal mystery.

The thing is, Voldy’s transformation into the snaky disaster we all know wasn’t quite complete back then. It’s like he got stuck in a half-nose limbo, neither fully snake-faced nor schnoz-free. Poor guy was probably thinking, “I’ve got the robes, I’ve got the evil laugh, but where’s my nose memo?”

The tale takes a twist in the fourth installment, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In his quest for a complete makeover, he decides to unleash his pet snake’s venom upon himself. I guess he figured, “Hey, if snake venom can kill, maybe it can also make me look totally rad!”

And lo and behold, that venom-filled experiment did the trick! It completed the transformation process and gave us the final, nose-less nightmare that haunted our dreams.

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Lia is a professional writer and editor who is passionate about films and literature.