The Untold Truth Of Voldemort

Many characters went on epic journeys throughout the "Harry Potter" series, but arguably none more so than Lord Voldemort himself. Apart from his emotional journey from an orphaned childhood to wizarding adulthood, Voldemort also underwent an intense physical journey that horrifically transformed him appearance forever. 

At first, Tom Riddle Jr. was an intensely handsome young man who knew how to use his good looks to charm others. But gradually, after embarking on many solo journeys around the world, Riddle's appearance began to undergo a terrifying change. His handsome visage appeared to melt and rearrange into a barely-human semblance that came to be Lord Voldemort's terrifying look. As readers learned in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the reason for Riddle's changed appearance was due to the creation of his six horcruxes. 

The magical items could grant a wizard immortality, but at the expense of ripping the user's soul to shreds. According to Dumbledore, with each new horcrux he made, Voldemort's soul grew more feeble and damaged from being continuously ripped apart, which also resulted in his frightening physical transformation into a less-than-human creature. 

"Lord Voldemort has seemed to grow less human with the passing years," Dumbledore points out in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," adding, "the transformation he has undergone seemed to me to be only explicable if his soul was mutilated beyond the realms of what we might call 'usual evil.'"