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All the story about how Voldemort feared death and created multiple Horcruxes to avoid it suggest that he yearned to live forever, though this last point is not specifically elaborated in the books.

With his Horcruxes intact, he couldn't be killed as his soul would be anchored to the living world, but would his original body not have deteriorated as it would for any wizard (albeit one of his prowess)? Wizards (like Dumbledore and Griselda Marchbanks) are known to have prolonged life up to 150-200 years. But, how far does it go? I presume that the books implicitly endorse the view that life cannot be prolonged indefinitely (without an unlimited supply of Philosopher's Stone, I mean).

Does the physical body recognise the existence of Horcruxes and synchronise its ageing process in such a way that it deteriorates only asymptotically?

(It cannot be that they stop ageing, as Voldemort made his Horcruxes when he was still young and his body has definitely aged since then.)

Or is it that his original body shall 'die' a natural death and he expected to be resuscitated every time by his followers (possible due to the existence of Horcruxes) using that magic used at the end of Goblet of Fire he invented/perfected?

But the body he gets then is (at least) as old as the body he lost 13 years back. Thus this does not seem to make sense.

Is there any canon information regarding this?

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  • He could posess another body or, at least co-exist such as what happened with Quirrell
    – Oak
    May 25, 2014 at 12:59
  • 3
    This is just a guess, but I think the body Voldemort gained in Goblet of Fire was possibly indestructible, given that it used Dark Magic (Dark Magic is known to cause irreversible damage, so why not impenetrable protection?). This would mean that, had Voldemort not been killed and his Horcruxes not destroyed, Voldemort could have indeed lived forever in the same body that he died in (again, this is a mere guess, hence the comment).
    – Sumit
    May 26, 2014 at 6:56
  • I have now found that there are many closely related questions here (which doesn't show up on search): Could Voldemort have died a natural death with his horcruxes intact? and Would a Horcrux protect against old age?
    – N Unnikrishnan
    May 26, 2014 at 21:26
  • "Only I can live forever." He certainly did. He was hopeful that he could expand the crossing lines of magic and magical world. As Ollivander said in the last book, "He [Voldemort] did great things. Terrible things, yes, but great." He certainly had the potential to achieve such a thing. Good thing others didn't let him.
    – burcu
    Jul 19, 2016 at 5:48
  • @Oak He also could possess snakes (his natural affinity) but he also said that they had a shortened lifespan; iirc rats and other animals stayed away from the area. Unless of course your name was Peter Pettigrew...
    – Pryftan
    Mar 3, 2018 at 2:22

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I don't think his exact strategy was outlined anywhere in canon that I recall.

Remember that he was pretty young by Wizarding standards (around 50 when his body was destroyed - as your question notes, Dumbledore lived much much longer - and 71 when he offed himself with the Death Stick); so he was more concerned with the tactics of surviving an untimely death than old age for the time being.

However, he was aware of existence of Sorcerer's stone; AND Unicorn blood, so it's quite possible he'd have considered resorting to one of those to rejuvenate himself once he got older.

Another option would have been a new body - but I'm skeptical that someone as afraid of dying as Voldemort would voluntarily kill off the old body OR allow it to die!

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    The problem with Philosopher's Stone and Unicorn blood are that they have to continuously consumed, not just once, making one depend on assured supply, something which Voldemort would not have liked, according to Dumbledore.
    – N Unnikrishnan
    May 25, 2014 at 17:39
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    @NUnnikrishnan: Well, what would he have liked more? Dying of old age, or consuming something that he will hope to make obsolete by further "magical research"?
    – PlasmaHH
    May 25, 2014 at 20:12
  • @PlasmaHH What I ask is, was he going about calling himself immortal without any solid plan?
    – N Unnikrishnan
    May 26, 2014 at 10:44
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    @NUnnikrishnan: If I had a good plan to take over the world, I would do it, even if I have no good plan yet to be immortal. Given his attraction to pure bloodlines and that stuff I would also buy the idea that he would have been ok with his bloodline continuing to rule the world.
    – PlasmaHH
    May 26, 2014 at 10:48
  • As for assured supply, Unicorns could have been raised for this purpose, if one is ready to suffer the curse on ones soul everytime. But the Philosopher's Stone doesn't seem to be one whose ingredients are available in abundance, or otherwise Flamel would have had a large supply of them, not just a small one.
    – N Unnikrishnan
    May 26, 2014 at 10:55

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