Grindelwald VS Voldemort – Harry Potter showdown. Let’s get ready to ruubmleeee!

Who would win a wizard duel between Voldemort and Grindelwald? That is the question, no doubt.

We know that the books sort of solve the Voldemort vs Dumbledore mystery for us since they do say Dumbledore was the only one, he was ever afraid of. If there weren’t for Voldemort’s tricky magic and witchcraft, he probably would lose that fight at the ministry.

However, we also know Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald, while Grindelwald had the elder wand no less, so that pretty much secures his position as the most powerful duelist in the story. However, the question of comparing Voldemort and Grindelwald is an unsolved one.

Voldemort’s search for the Elder Wand

Voldemort has had at least one encounter with Grindewald, as far as we know, when he visited him in Nurmengard prison in search of the elder wand. However, at that point, Grindelwald was imprisoned for a long time, a shadow of his former self, and not a proper representative of his potential.

Now, bear in mind that it was not easy for Voldemort to deduce that Grindelwald had the wand. This was not advertised information. He used all his resources and power to get this information by using legilimency and torture firstly Garrick Ollivander, who tells him the rumors about Gregorovitch, then he tortures Gregorowich to finally get Grindelwald’s name.

We see all this in Harry’s flashbacks and visions of Voldemort’s actions, but it is not explained, and the full scope of this achievement somewhat escapes the average reader or viewer. However, Voldemort already displays incredible tenacity and resourcefulness here.

Voldemort’s talk with Grindelwald

After finally learning that Grindelwald has or has had the wand, Voldemort reaches him in his cell at Nurmengard with ease. At that precise moment, or at least approximately close, Harry tries to focus on taking a peek at what Voldemort is doing. He was at this point aware of their connection.

This happens while he, Ron, and Hermione are held at Malfoy Manor. Harry closes his eyes and focuses on the pain from his scar, wanting to know what Voldemort was feeling and doing.

Harry looks from Voldemort’s eyes and sees a figure under a thin blanket. The man sits up and smiles at Voldemort (Harry) revealing he virtually has no teeth left. This is the state of Grindelwald at this point, a crumpled old man.

Grindelwald, however, is not surprised and tells Voldemort that he knew he would come one day, but that his journey is pointless. He tells him that he “never had it”.

Voldemort doesn’t believe him. Grindelwald taunts Voldemort to go ahead and kill him but tells him that there is much he does not understand. At this point, Hermione screams, but Harry shuts her out and continues to push further into seeing what happens.

He sees things from Voldemort’s perspective again as Grindelwald laughs even harder at him. Voldemort is furious and kills him with the killing curse. At the time of his death, Grindelwald was 115 years old.

After this, the audiences were left to wonder what the duel between these two dark wizards would look like if Grindelwald was not just a crumpled old man, sunken to the point he looked more like a skeleton than a human being. Would he be so defenseless then?

Voldemort’s spells

When Voldemort uses a spell other wizards use, his is obviously incomparably stronger and infinitely more powerful. This is shown in the movies by the stronger colors and jets of green when he uses his signature Avadakedavra.

Voldemort was also able to fly, cast spells while in apparition form, use unparalleled legilimency, create Horcruxes, and cast a plethora of offensive and defensive spells at a master level. He is seen using fiend fire during the duel with Dumbledore at a whim.

However, what the books and the movies also seem to strongly point out is that Voldemort’s true danger came from his persistence, his relentlessness, and his devious intellect. He could sense someone lying to him unmistakably and he could even enter another’s body and mind, as he does in the mentioned duel with Dumbledore.

Voldemort seems to be more psychopathic and an agent of destruction, compared to Grindelwald, who used destruction only as a means to an end. Grindelwald’s motto was “the end justifies the means”, while Voldemort was all about the means, making them as brutal and as powerful as possible, which is possibly what gives him the edge.

Grindelwald’s spells

Grindelwald is not a simple character to pin down. His complexity, ideals, and talent certainly make him dangerous, and he has achieved high levels of power, nearly those of Voldemort and Dumbledore, as it is commonly said in the wizarding world.

As Voldemort, Grindelwald also had mastery over the unforgivable curses, which are Cruscio, Imperio, and Avadakedavra. Furthermore, they were born excellent at transfiguration. But Grindelwald seems to have had a wider spell pallet, creating some spells himself.

He was the elemental magic master, as is shown in the Fantastic Beasts movies, where he uses lightning, ice, fire, and such. However, Grindelwald’s signature spell is arguably one of the strongest spells in the history of the Harry Potter universe, which is:

Protego Diabolica

Protego Diabolica is a dark charm incantation that enables the wizard or witch to create a black fire ring that protects them by instantly incinerating anyone who enters and serves for offense as well. The ring only incinerates enemies, while allies are not affected.

Furthermore, Grindelwald is seen expanding the fire from the Protego Diabolica ring to attack enemies outside the ring, creating all sorts of shapes, tendrils, missiles, and even a dragon-shaped demon that chases targets. He is seen using it in the Lestrange mausoleum and it outclasses any other offensive or defensive spell used in the well-known Harry Potter story.

So, who is stronger, Voldemort or Grindelwald?

While performing his incredible feats of magic in films, Grindelwald has the Elder Wand all the time. Voldemort only gets it towards the end of the story and even then, it is not truly his, so we can’t know what he could have done with it if he ever got its allegiance.

Grindelwald, with all his power and Elder Wand in hand, lost a fair duel against Albus Dumbledore, while Voldemort’s and Dumbledore’s duel ended in a draw when Dumbledore had the wand.

The previous sentence is the strongest argument in favor of Voldemort, for it shows that not only was he able to pull a draw against the most powerful wizard of his age and Elder Wand in his opponent’s hand, but we know not what would have happened if Voldemort had the wand.

Also, Voldemort was more purposeful than Grindelwald, or at least he had less connection with his own humanity, which he turned to his advantage. Grindelwald was more human, he even found love at one point, so it is possible that there were moments of inner conflict there.