Is Voldemort a Mudblood in ‘Harry Potter?’

You’d be hard pressed to find a singular moment in Harry Potter lore where students, teachers, and alumni aren’t judged as to whether or not they’re of pure-blood or not. And when it comes to the eye-popping cast of characters in the fantasy extravaganza, there’s arguably no other character as intriguing as Voldemort — with folks now wondering if the Dark Lord himself is a Mudblood.

In the ever-popular lore, “Mudblood” refers to being Muggle-born, which pertains to a witch or wizard who is born to parents with no magical powers. As a result, many pure-bloods — including members of the Malfoy family — believe that Muggle-born individuals have no business practicing magic or attending Hogwarts.

Seeing as Mudblood is considered to be a derogatory term that is used to insult Muggle-born witches and wizards and implies that their blood is “dirty,” Potterheads have long studied and questioned whether or not a wizard as powerful as Lord Voldemort could actually belong to the Muggle-born group.

So, is Voldemort actually a Mudblood?

While many folks might be convinced that Voldemort is a Mudblood, the truth is that he’s actually half-blood thanks to his mother, who was a witch and a family descendant of Salazar Slytherin. With his mother being a witch and possessing a fair amount of pureblood, Voldemort’s father was Muggle-born, hence the Dark Lord being a half-blood wizard.

Due to his familial connection traced back to Slytherin, Voldemort was undoubtedly chosen as the heir of Slytherin and destined to steer the charge of the Hogwarts House as its ruthless leader. So while being pure-blood in Harry Potter lore is truly seen as the supreme blood, being half-blood is certainly just as powerful — at least, that seems to be the case if your name is Voldemort.