Tom Riddle Vs. Harry Potter

       In the book series "Harry Potter", Tom Riddle (Later known as Lord Voldemort) and Harry Potter grow up in the same environment, but turn out VERY differently. They are both orphans who lost their parents (or one of them) during infancy. Riddle's mother died after giving birth to him, while Potter's parents were both killed by Voldemort when he was barley one years old. They were both raised with the feeling that they were a burden or unwanted in a muggle ( non-magical) society. Riddle was brought up in a muggle orphanage where his superiority was scorned, in contrast to Potter who was raised by his aunt Petunia (from his mother's side) and her husband who would do anything to "snuff the weirdness out of him". Both of them didn't know about their magical abilities or the existence of the magical world till months before their enrollment to Hogwarts (a magical school for underage wizards and witches) at the age of eleven. They both met a representative from the school to teach them about the magical world and rules. Unlike Potter who was very surprised when he leaned about his abilities, Riddle first reaction wast that OF COARSE he was a wizard, why else would he be better than all the other orphans in the orphanage? he was born superior then ALL of them. They are both parseltongues (they posses the rare ability to communicate with snakes). Indecently, both are half-bloods (pure-blood; with a long solid family line of wizard on one side and mud-blood; muggle or being born in a muggle family with magical abilities). Riddle's mother was a pure blood descendant from the proud Salazar Slytherin; one of the three great founders of Hogwarts, who fell in love with a muggle,Tom Riddle and eloped with him but later he abandons her. Riddle resented his mother for her poor choice of partner and HATED his name. Potter's father James Potter was a pure blood descendant from Godric Gryffindor; another founder of Hogwarts, while his mother Lily Evans is a witch born in a muggle family. Unlike Riddle, Potter takes pride of the name his parents who sacrificed their lives to give him a chance to live. Both Riddle and Potter share the same wand core, a phoenix feather. It is a very rare wand core, and whats more is that both featheres are from the same phoenix! In the sorting ceremony (where  students are sorted to be in one of the four houses in the school, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin in their first year) the sorting hat (a magical hat that reads a students character and decides which house would suit them best) wanted to place both in Slytherin, so they would be "great". Riddle was thrilled to be admitted in the house that ONLY accepts those of pure family and pride. In contrast to Potter who wished to be placed in anywhere BUT Slytherin! He was later reluctantly placed in Gryffindor. They were both expected to be great by their professors and peers. The more Riddle spent in the magical world the more he resented the muggles that once looked down on him. On the other hand, Potter learned to forgive them and later sympathize and support them. Riddle was very popular in his school years; he was smart, charming, good looking and had a commanding air about him which made him the center of attention from both instructors and students and he enjoyed it very much. Potter who was a nobody in the muggle world, but he was famous as "The boy who lived" in the magical world, and the lightning scar on his forehead didn't help him to blend in, he avoided unnecessary attention whenever possible. Riddle was very arrogant and the group of students who he refers to as his "followers", later known as "death eaters", nicknamed him "Lord Voldemort", but they addressed him as "the dark lord" out of respect didn't help deflate his ego. Potter on the other hand was humble and would become uncomfortable when students approached him wanting to be close to "the chosen one", he didn't even like being called that as a joke! At some point in Riddle's school years, he tracked down his muggle father's whereabouts and murdered him then framed the murder on his grandfather (from his mother's side), thus finishing off all his remaining relatives and any reminder of his past suffering. On the other hand, when Potter's relatives safety was in danger, he helped protect them and hide them from the death eaters. The biggest difference between Riddle and Potter is their view of death. Riddle feared death and went to extremes to lengthen his life. He used a black magic method prohibited to wizards and it is to split ones soul into two, but Riddle was not satisfied with just one spare soul. He successfully managed to split his soul into SIX (and later seven) parts! Although Potter feared death at the beginning, he later willingly "embraces death as an old friend" for the sake of the people he loves. And last but not least,Tom Riddle had definitely met people's expectations of "greatness", but in a horrifying manner. However, Potter's "greatness" was achieved by destroying the former's greatness and putting an end to the once powerful Dark Lord. 

Hogwarts is divided into four houses, each bearing the last name of its founder: Godric Gryffindor (Red), Salazar Slytherin (Green), Rowena Ravenclaw (Blue) and Helga Hufflepuff (Yellow)