29

Harry noted to Dumbledore that he had a number of things in common with Voldemort.
And it was later revealed that some of Voldemort's power was transferred to Harry when Voldemort tried to kill him.
So, what powers did Harry get from Voldemort (i.e. Parseltongue and others) and did they all leave him when he stopped being a horcrux?

Update
In the Chamber of Secrets Dumbledore states that Harry has many qualities that Salazar Slytherin values in his hand picked students. Parseltongue - resourcefulness - determination - a certain disregard for rules.

So, does anyone know what specific powers Harry got from Voldemort and is there anyway to tell if he lost anything else besides Parseltongue?

4
  • 8
    Some might consider this title to be a spoiler
    – joshbirk
    Commented Mar 10, 2014 at 22:36
  • So does anyone have an answer to the second question, what other specific powers Harry got from Voldemort and if there is any way to tell if he lost anything else besides parseltongue?
    – SQB
    Commented Mar 28, 2014 at 10:07
  • Notice that resourcefulness, determination and a certain disregard for rules are not just Slytherin traits. They are also seen in James Potter and in the Weasley family (most notably Fred and George but the others as well)
    – Celebrian
    Commented Dec 29, 2016 at 11:17
  • Other than parseltounge, he shared none of voldemorts powers and knowledge of magic other than the ability to see inside his head.
    – ava
    Commented Oct 4, 2021 at 15:25

3 Answers 3

35

Harry was never an official Horcrux, according to J.K. Rowling. And, yes, once the fragment of Voldemort's soul that Harry contained was destroyed by Voldemort, Harry lost the ability to speak Parseltongue. I'm not sure what other powers you're referring to, but JKR has stated that Harry did lose the ability to speak and understand Parseltongue.

Nigel: Can Harry speak Parseltongue when he is no longer a Horcrux?

J.K. Rowling: No, he loses the ability, and is very glad to do so.

(J.K. Rowling Interview, The Deathly Hallows Web Chat,July 2007)

ETA: 3.28.14 In Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore and Harry converse about Voldemort transferring some of his powers to Harry the night he tried to kill Harry:

‘Unless I’m much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I’m sure ...’

‘Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?’ Harry said, thunderstruck.

Chamber of Secrets - page 245 - Bloomsbury - chapter eighteen, Dobby's Reward

As noted in the question, the "powers" transferred from Voldemort to Harry include Parseltongue, resourcefulness, determination, and a certain disregard for rules. Parseltongue, though, is the only item mentioned at this point in the story that is a bona fide power; the other three are character traits.

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head that qualifies as another power of sorts would be the connection between Harry and Voldemort's minds, which allowed them to, at times, read and/or "see" the other's thoughts. This is related to Harry's scar -- the more frequently Voldemort and Harry's minds connected, the more pain Harry would feel in his scar. In the epilogue in Deathly Hallows, it mentions Harry's scar didn't pain him after Voldemort's death. If you want to call their mind connection a power (of any level or sort), then it was lost once Voldemort died.

5
  • I would like a source for your statement please. +1 though.
    – Kalissar
    Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 19:45
  • @Kalissar - the first statement - see the linked answer. The second statement - see the quote I edited in. Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 19:57
  • @DVK Thx for the link, there are a lot of nice answers in this chat :D. Please note that I didn't downvote this answer, as note in my comment above
    – Kalissar
    Commented Jun 22, 2013 at 22:19
  • 4
    I think it's a bit too strong to claim that the ‘powers’ transferred include resourcefulness, determination, and a certain disregard for rules. We really don't know at all if Harry possessed any of those character traits due to his connection with Voldemort, or if he'd have possessed them anyway—unlike Parseltongue, they're not exactly rare qualities. The Weasley twins possess great quantities of all three as well, for instance, and towards the end (when she stops being such a goody-two-shoes), so does Hermione. It would be more accurate to say that they may include those traits. Commented Mar 6, 2016 at 14:38
  • 3
    James Potter was also resourceful, determined and broke many school rules, so it would be logical to assume Harry inherited these trait from his father
    – TimSparrow
    Commented May 5, 2017 at 12:46
1

He did lose the ability of speaking Parseltongue when Voldemort was defeated but regained the power in The Cursed Child because of Delphini aka Delphi, Voldemort's daughter. It is unknown if he retains the ability due to the fact that she was imprisoned and and is still alive in Azkaban.

1
  • 2
    Do you have any evidence you can edit in?
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Commented Nov 28, 2018 at 23:41
-2

Harry Potter did lose his power of being a parsletongue when he stopped being a horcrux. But when Harry talked to Dumbledore in the 2nd book he noted that he had many things in common with Voldemort. All these magical similarities (Parseltongue and seeing each other at times for example) Harry had with Voldemort were gone after Harry stopped being a horcrux because Harry no longer had a part of Voldemort in him. Any other things Harry had in similarity with Voldemort was still with Harry because he could of gotten those traits from his parents.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.