Mister Harry-James-Potter's Scars

Template:Dialogue a-bHarry Potter obtained a number of **scars** over his lifetime, as well as a few injuries that may have resulted in scarring. The one he was most well known for, and the first he received, was on his forehead and was shaped like a lightning bolt (possibly the shape of the wand movement required for the killing curse); it was the result of a Killing Curse striking him when he was an infant, and played a role in his conflict with, and eventual defeat of, Lord Voldemort.Template:Object

## Lightning-bolt scar

### Scarring

> Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That’s what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh — took care of yer mum an’ dad an’ yer house, even — but it didn’t work on you, an’ that’s why yer famous, Harry.
>
> Rubeus Hagrid regarding Harry's forehead scar, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

   A scar on Harry Potter's forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt was the result of a failed murder attempt by Lord Voldemort on 31 October 1981, when he struck 15-month-old Harry with the Killing Curse. Harry was the only known person to survive the ***curse***, surviving because his mother's loving sacrifice protected him. Unbeknownst to Voldemort, the incident also inadvertently made Harry into a Horcrux, as a piece of the Dark Lord's soul embedded itself in Harry.

The scar on Harry's forehead prompted his enemy Draco Malfoy to come up with and use the mocking nickname of "Scarhead" for Harry, which he first uttered during the ***Quidditch*** match of ***Gryffindor vs Slytherin*** in ***1992***, and used multiple times afterwards too.

### Realising the connection

> I guessed, 15 years ago, when I saw the scar on your forehead, what it might mean. I guessed that it might be the sign of a connection forged between you and Voldemort.
>
> Albus Dumbledore regarding Harry's lightning-bolt scar, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This incident was what highlighted the need for Harry to learn to block the connection that existed, as this vision was more intense then previous ones. To try to prevent Voldemort from invading Harry's mind, Dumbledore had him take ***Occlumency*** lessons with Severus Snape, though they were ultimately unsuccessful, because Snape and Harry could not put their animosity towards each other aside and perform the necessary steps required in teaching and learning this art.

 File:Voldemort possessing Harry's mind.gif  In ***June*** ***1996***, Voldemort used the link to send Harry a false ***vision*** of his ***godfather*** being tortured with the ***Cruciatus Curse*** in order to lure him to the ***Department of Mysteries***. Once within the department he and his friends were attacked by ***Death Eaters*** and a ***battle*** ensued. Voldemort briefly possessed Harry at the end of this battle, but when Harry focused on feelings of grief for his beloved, murdered godfather, Voldemort experienced great pain and pulled out from his mind. Dumbledore theorised that Voldemort would never attempt to enter Harry's mind again.

### Using and destroying the link

> The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well.
>
> The connection with Voldemort was destroyed, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Although Harry never mastered ***Occlumency***, he did eventually learn to exert moderate control over the connection between himself and Voldemort. While ***searching*** for the Horcruxes with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, he felt his scar burn many times, on the occasions when Voldemort was angry, and was able to glimpse his thoughts and perceptions at those times. For example, when Harry questioned ***Mr Ollivander*** about the existence of the Elder Wand, he had seen a vision from the past in which Ollivander was telling Voldemort that ***Gregorovitch*** had the Elder Wand. He also saw Voldemort ordering Draco Malfoy to torture ***Thorfinn Rowle*** through Voldemort's eyes. When Harry focused on feelings associated with love, such as his anguish over Hermione being ***tortured*** by ***Bellatrix Lestrange*** or his grief over ***Dobby***'s death, he was able to block out his link to Voldemort.

After Harry learned that he was a Horcrux, he willingly went to what he believed would be his death. Voldemort's Killing Curse, however, only destroyed the piece of his own soul that was inside of Harry, thus eliminating their link. Harry survived, and went to ***defeat*** Voldemort once and for all. Since the pain from his scar was caused by the portion of Voldemort's soul within him trying to escape, Harry did not feel any more pain from the scar once Voldemort had eliminated that portion of soul.

## Other possible scars

There are some injuries which Harry received that may have left scars.

### See also

* Harry Potter
* Tom Riddle
* ***Dark Mark***
* Horcrux
* Sybill Trelawney's first prophecy

## Behind the scenes

* According to ***J. K. Rowling*** during a web chat, the lightning scar no longer burnt or hurt after Voldemort's defeat.
* J. K. Rowling stated that the pain from Harry's scar on his forehead was caused by the piece of Voldemort's soul trying to leave his body through the wound it entered to rejoin its master's soul.
* ***J. K. Rowling*** during a web chat stated that she could not sport her hero with a doughnut-shaped scar and so she gave Harry the lightning bolt scar on his head because she felt it was cool.
* In the films, Harry's scar is off-centre on his forehead. This was done at J. K. Rowling's insistence, because many fans believe that the scar is in the middle of his forehead, since this is where illustrations in the American books depict it; however the British books depict it off-centre, but the scar's location is never mentioned in the books' text. It is, however, hinted to be on the right side of his forehead (in Template:OOTP it says Harry received pain above his right eye). It was also mentioned that it was in a location easily covered by his hair.
* Prince William, Duke of Cambridge revealed that he has a scar similar to Harry Potter's on his forehead. He calls it his "Harry Potter scar" because it glows sometimes, and some people notice it, while at other times they do not notice it at all.
* Before Template:DH was released, J. K. Rowling stated that the last word of the book would be "scar." She changed her mind in the end, and the last word is "well", although Harry's scar is mentioned in the penultimate sentence of the book.

## Appearances

Template:Imagecat

* Template:PS Template:1st
* Template:COS
* Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azkaban (film)
* Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire (film)
* Harry Potter and the Order Of-The Phoenix (film)
* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

## Notes and references

Template:Reflist

1. ↑ Template:GOF
2. ↑ Template:PS
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Template:PS
4. ↑ Template:PS
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Template:DH
6. ↑ Template:COS
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Template:OOTP
8. ↑ Template:OOTP
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Template:OOTP
10. ↑ Template:OOTP
11. ↑ Template:OOTP
12. ↑ Template:DH
13. ↑ Template:DH
14. ↑ Template:DH
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Template:DH
16. ↑ Web chat with J.K. Rowling
17. ↑ *J.K. Rowling PotterCast Interview*
18. ↑ Webchat with J.K. Rowling
19. ↑ *Who gave Prince William his 'Harry Potter scar'? Royal reveals friend hit him with golf club*
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 A Last Word, Revised, on Harry Potter - The New York Times