Harry Potter's Scar

• Type: Cursed Scar; Accidental Horcrux fragment
• Owners: Harry Potter
• Maker: Lord Voldemort (unintentionally)

Located in the middle of Harry Potter's forehead, the scar is a thin, distinct mark shaped precisely like a bolt of lightning. It is the only visible mark left on Harry from the rebounded Killing Curse cast by Lord Voldemort on 31 October 1981. For most of his life, it served as his most famous and defining physical feature, instantly identifying him to the wizarding world. After Voldemort's final defeat, it became an ordinary scar.

The scar was far more than a simple mark; it possessed profound and unique magical properties stemming from its dark origins.

• Connection to Voldemort: The scar acted as a direct, two-way connection to Lord Voldemort. It would prickle, burn, or cause sharp, stabbing pain in Harry Potter whenever Voldemort was nearby, felt a surge of powerful emotion (typically murderous rage or elation), or when his power was growing. This served as an involuntary warning system for Harry.
• Visions and Legilimency: The connection allowed Harry to see into Voldemort's mind, experiencing his thoughts, emotions, and even witnessing events through his eyes. This occurred both in dreams and, with increasing frequency, while Harry was awake. Albus Dumbledore explained that this connection was a form of uncontrolled Legilimency, which Voldemort eventually learned to exploit.
• Horcrux Fragment: The scar's magical properties existed because it housed a fragment of Lord Voldemort's soul. When his Killing Curse rebounded off the infant Harry, Voldemort's soul, already unstable from the creation of other Horcruxes, split apart, and a piece latched onto the only living thing in the room. This made Harry an unintentional Horcrux.
• Parseltongue: As a result of carrying a piece of Voldemort's soul, Harry gained the rare ability to speak and understand Parseltongue, the language of serpents. He lost this ability after the soul fragment within him was destroyed.
• Symbol of Protection: While created by Dark Magic, the scar was also a physical testament to the powerful, ancient magic of love. It was the mark of a failed curse, proving that Lily Potter's willing sacrifice had saved her son.

The scar was created on 31 October 1981, in Godric's Hollow. When Lord Voldemort murdered James and Lily Potter, Lily's sacrifice created a magical shield around the infant Harry. Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse rebounded upon himself, destroying his body and imprinting a piece of his fractured soul into Harry's forehead, leaving the lightning-bolt scar. Throughout Harry's Hogwarts years, the scar played a crucial role:

• In his first year, it burned painfully in the presence of Professor Quirrell, who was secretly sharing his body with the spectral form of Voldemort.
• In his fourth year, the scar began to hurt more intensely than ever before, signaling Voldemort's gradual return to power. It caused Harry blinding pain during Voldemort's rebirthing ceremony in the Little Hangleton graveyard.
• In his fifth year, the connection became dangerously strong. Voldemort used it to plant a false vision in Harry's mind, luring him to the Department of Mysteries. This prompted Albus Dumbledore to reveal the full truth of the prophecy and insist on Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape to help Harry close his mind.
• In his seventh year, Harry finally learned from Dumbledore (through his memories in the Pensieve) that the scar made him a Horcrux that Voldemort had never intended to make. To render Voldemort mortal, this soul fragment had to be destroyed. Harry willingly walked to his death in the Forbidden Forest, and Voldemort's own Killing Curse destroyed the piece of soul within Harry without killing him.

Following the final defeat of Lord Voldemort, the scar's magical connection was permanently severed. As noted in the epilogue, it had not pained Harry in nineteen years.

The scar is one of the most important symbols in the entire series. It functions as:

• A constant physical reminder of Harry's tragic past and his survival.
• A plot device that signals Voldemort's presence and provides Harry with crucial, albeit dangerous, insight into his enemy's plans.
• A representation of the central theme of love conquering death, as it is a mark left by a curse that failed due to love's sacrifice.
• The key to the final conflict. Understanding the scar's true nature as a Horcrux empowers Harry to make the ultimate choice of self-sacrifice, leading directly to Voldemort's downfall.

• J.K. Rowling has stated she chose the lightning-bolt shape because it was “cool” and looked suitably dramatic. She described it as “a mark of what felled him” (J.K. Rowling interview).
• In the film adaptations, the scar is an iconic part of Harry's visual identity, though its exact placement sometimes shifts from the center of his forehead to slightly off-center for visual effect (film).