If I'm not mistaken Voldy did not know about the Elder Wand till kidnapping and torturing Olivander. So he would not have feared DD for having the Elder Wand.

I like your opinion on the Voldy/DD 50/50 comment. Although if we are talking pure power of using magic especially powerful dark magic I think Voldemort would edge DD out. But DD would definately win in the understanding of the powers of magic and what influences magic, such as Love.

Snape was also a very powerful in that he understood how to deal with dark magic and to later in life use it for the good side of the magical community. Snape was the best actor and played his part well. I would liked to of seen a duel between Voldy and Snape to see Snapes power against Voldy. Snape showed great loyalty and was very brave playing his part in the destruction of Voldemort.

Lord Voldemort
 

Voldemort was the most magically gifted wizard to ever live!! The only one close to him in skill was Dumbledore. However, not even with the elder wand could Dumbledore finish off Voldemort. I know, you are going to say that Dumbledore didn't try to kill him. Well why wouldn't he? He didn't find out about the horcruxes till HBP, and even if he did, why wouldn't he try to kill Voldie and force him to go through that period of trying to find a way to get his body back again. At the very least it would of bought them some time!! Also, the other response I get is that Dumbledore knew the dark arts magic that Voldemort did. How exactly would he know that, if he is so scared of what it can do? To know it you have to practice it, and he didn't. And there was no prophecy saying that Dumbledore was the one to kill Voldemort, because he couldn't. I understand that the wizard with the better morals is Dumbledore, but that isn't the question. This question is who is the most "powerful" wizard, and there is really no point in the series that I question Voldemort is exactly that!! Oh yeah, I almost forgot the other response I get. That Voldemort feared Dumbledore. Yes, this is said quite a few times in the series, however Voldie feared him because Dumbledore is the one who showed him magic!! He is the one who took him to hogwarts and always looked over him. The reason that he "feared" him, is not because of his skill, but rather because he was the one who always seemed to have him figured out. Dumbledore states himself that Voldemort's knowledge of magic is more extensive than any wizard alive, and I'm pretty sure he is alive when he says it!! Then people want to say that Dumbledore only said this because he is humble. Why would he lie? It would only make it harder to face Voldemort if everyone was told false things. Dumbledore knew that if Voldemort ever reached full power, he would not be able to stop him. This is why he has to set up all these plans for Harry. Though I found it quite strange that he would be stupid enough to try and put on Marvolo's ring? He had to of known what would happen. Wouldn't it have made more sense to just go out fighting, and take as many death eaters with you as possible?

:voldie1::vadersbr::dementor::maulsbr::sauron:

If you are talking about pure magical skill, I don't think anyone can match up to Voldemort. I mean, he knew so much magic and had so much potential. Dumbledore is the only one close to him, but I think that if Dumbledore was more powerful than Voldemort wouldn't have been able to last so long.

I think Dumbledore is the most powerful. I would say that Voldemort and Harry tie for second. I think Dumbledore would have lived longer, but given the situation, he chose to die to keep Snape in the loop rather than fight. I think while Voldemort was incredibly powerful his biggest flaw ended up costing him his life. He gave so much credit to Harry, when really Harry wasn't a knock your socks of kind of wizard, and took so much store in a prophecy that could of have been useless if he hadn't given it so much power and credit. I don't count Harry out as a great wizard though because he was so resourceful. Harry was able to figure things out and was so observant of the people and things around him that it made him a force to be reckoned with and kept him alive.

The question is not who is the most "resourceful". It is who is the most powerful. This is obviously between LV and Dumbledore, definetly not Harry. I know you are thinking about Harry being brave, but courage is not power. What I am saying is that if Dumbledore was clearly more powerful than LV, like most of you have been saying, how exactly would Voldemort have lasted so long and caused so much fear in everyone? Don't get me wrong I like Dumbledore and Harry a lot more than Voldemort, but I'm just trying to be realistic and not bias.

Woah. That's long.

But anyways, I gotta say, nice reasoning there. But about the 50/50 between Dumbledore and Voldie( Don't kill me Voldemort. Please! ) , I'm .... so not sure. Like you said, Dumbledore was a expert in love, and Voldie a expert in the Dark Arts. they are completly different so it's hard to say 50/50. But Love is supposed to be more powerful... so... yeah. Not sure.

And Snape! God. I think that he should be the most powerful. Loyal through and through, even though every body literally hated him. *shudder* I would have a hard time if I was him. :xd:

I think Dumbledore's wise, and that gives him great power.
Voldemort is powerful because of his great handle with magic.
Snape can do most things because he knows a lot of potions.
Harry is very brave, that gives him power.

All of them is powerful in their own ways, so I don't think Dumbledore's the definitive answer. =)

All of the ones listed are very powerful. But im gonna say Voldemort. I think he overpowered Dumbledore i their duel they had in the Battle of The Department of Mysteries. :voldie1:

Watch the scene in the URL

YouTube - Dumbledore Vs Voldemort (HQ)


Also,with Snape being an expert in the Dark Arts...in my opinion..I think he probably could beat Dumbledore in a duel *Prays..Oh god im about to get flamed...*

I don't think that Snape could beat Dumbledore in a duel. I think that Voldemort and Dumbledore are in a whole other league when it comes to dueling and magical ability. I do agree with you that Voldemort could take Dumbledore in a fair duel (Dumbledore without the elder wand) quite easily....

Dumbledore (i think), just because he can make other follow him in belief.

It is who is The Most Powerful wizard, not the best leader. Give me one example that shows how Dumbledore is nearly twice as powerful as Voldemort since the votes are 139-75...and please don't say love, bravery, or leadership because they aren't based on magical ability....

Dumbledore.

Although i have not read the books i come to my conclusion based upon the fact that Riddle constantly tried find sneaky ways to have Dumbledore killed outside of just a straight duel. Furthermore, when you look at the wizards and their respective attitudes and characters there is one facet that separates them the most. And that is emotion vs logic. Riddle is very impulsive and loses his cool very quickly. While Dumbledore continues to out think his opponent as if it were a chess game.

Again, this is The Most Powerful, not the smartest or least emotional. Raw power favors Voldemort easily. Just imagine if Voldemort had the elder wand and Dumbledore didn't in their duel. Dumbledore would have been crushed quite easily, as he was stalemated when he had it. Voldemort was also gone for 14 years trying to get back to his body, while Dumbledore had that long learning more magic! Just think how rusty he must of been for that duel. If Dumbledore was so much more powerful and smart then why was everyone so scared for their life, why didn't Dumbledore just eliminate him before Harry's parents were killed?

Having raw power does not make you the most powerful. Being powerful means having the complete package and total control. If you have very little control of your emotions it does not make you powerful, but a fool.

I dont think they were stalemated. I was laughing my *** off when Dumbledore had Riddle in the water bubble and was tossing him around like a ragdoll. At no point did i ever see Riddle overcome Dumbledore. As for the wands, doesnt the wand choose its master? This is where my knowledge of the series (the books) comes into question. How Dumbledore came to own the Elder wand i do not know but if Riddle was truly that powerful he wouldnt of had a problem with Dumbledore wand or no wand.

People were scared because Riddle was indeed a very powerful wizard, especially a dark one. And Dumbledore wouldnt purposely kill a boy as it was against his pedigree. The general consensus of Dumbledore was that there was good in everyone and he believed that he could help direct Riddle to being a better person and wizard. This was evident when he had Snape kill him rather than Draco as he didnt want to the see the boy go down the same path. If Dumbledore had one regret was that he took Riddle from the orphanage and gave him the means to learn the dark arts.

If you had actually read the books, before entering a thread about the books, you would know that Dumbledore would have died in their duel if it weren't for fawkes. Also, the elder wand doesn't chose its master, it gives its loyalty to whoever beats the previous master in a duel. Dumbledore had 100+ years to figure this out, compared to Voldemorts 50. And what are you talking about with "the complete package"? In this question, "the complete package" is power because that is what the question is!

I forgot about the wands going to their respective masters after a duel so great point. Does the book ever say how Dumbledore came upon the Elder wand? However, I still stand by my statement regarding the true meaning of power though. We will just have to agree to disagree on that aspect. You can have all the power in the world but if you dont know how to utilize that power it makes you and that power useless. Perhaps, had Riddle chose to spend more time learning he may have become a more powerful wizard in the end.

Voldemort didn't even have half the time Dumbledore had to learn magic and he still probably knew more. Dumbledore himself said that if Voldemort returned to full power he would not be able to stop him with his best spells. Plus Dumbledore had his own weakness for power, proven by the ring and by his childhood "weirdness" plan to kill all the muggles...

Again, knowing more and able to utilize it are two different things. This is why emotion plays a part in making one "powerful". But, to each his own. Im not nor will i ever be sold that Riddle was the most powerful. Too many things go into being a wizard that go beyond the books of spells. Good debate though.

So by your definition, Neville was more powerful than Voldemort? I will never even consider Dumbledore even close to Voldemort either. If Voldemort was given his full potential like Dumbledore was (time and the elder wand), he would have conquered the world and killed all the people with your "emotion" factor...

No, Neville wouldnt of been more powerful that Riddle. But again, you fail to see the bigger picture. Having "power" goes beyond just the knowledge. You say that Riddle wasnt at full potential but make the claim he was already more powerful than Dumbledore. You cant seem to make up your mind on this. If Riddle was indeed more powerful (whether he was at full strength or not) he should of been able to wipe everyone out without any problems. So what was holding him back?

Answer: Emotion

Riddle's biggest weakness was his inability to think clearly because of his hatred. That was his ultimate downfall and why he was consistently outsmarted by both Dumbledore and Harry Potter. Its always a common theme with "bad guys" that hatred clouds the mind and makes you vulnerable no matter how tough or powerful you may think you are. In the end you will always be defeated because there is one who has a "complete" understanding of said powers which makes them more powerful than you. In the end it doesnt matter how much Riddle knew because he was constantly unable to outsmart his opponents.

He was about to wipe out everyone before the prophecy made him try to kill Harry. When he finally got his body back he was weaker than before and by the time he was back to strength Dumbledore had already killed himself by foolishly trying to see his sister again. And of course all books and movies have the villains lose. Who would read or watch something where the villains win?

Yes, Riddle was defeated by the one thing that he could not see or defeat. LOVE. When you heart and mind is full of hatred you cannot think clearly thus limiting you and any power you may have.

Which confirms my point about good triumphing over evil. There is a reason for that and its that villians never think clearly, only going on emotion. For me personally, i have no problem with villians winning in the end. The question becomes is it believable and most likely that villian would have to have balance to their logic. Riddle was off on the deep end and consumed by hatred so he had already lost before he had begun. It was ultimately what he couldnt see that took him down.

I didn't know we moved from the most controlled emotion ability question to the best ability to love question, oh yeah we were never at either seeing as this is the Most Powerful Question. Good triumphs over evil in story's. Doesn't mean it works that way in real life though...

Isnt that what we are talking about? A story? Its ok, your entitled to your opinion. But for me, there's more to being more powerful than simple knowledge.

Power is power, not a combination of all these different things. What you are giving examples of is Dumbledore having a better view towards life. I want you to give me some kind of evidence that proves Dumbledore was more powerful in Magic...

No, what i am giving you is MY interpretation of what "power" is. Its all based on perception and opinion. Basically, this is what it all comes down too. You can either accept that we agree to disagree or we can simply keep going back and forth which serves no purpose. You believe that Riddle was the most powerful, awesome, knock yourself out. However, when it comes to power i believe more things play into it. So with that, we move on and accept that we have differing opinions. Kosher?

Definition of Power - great or marked ability to do or act; strength; might; force.

Or in Vargaroth's opinion. Emotional control.

My bad, I must've misworded my sentence or forgotten that part from DH. :blush: What I meant was that Voldemort probably feared Dumbledore in part because Dumbledore could not (or very rarely would) lose a duel, even though Voldemort did not know this was partly due to Dumbledore's possession of the Elder Wand.

Ditto. :) A Snape vs. Voldemort duel would've been really cool to see.

Good point there. Love is generally more powerful than the Dark Arts (Lily's love protecting Harry, for example), so Dumbledore's understanding of it makes him stronger/more powerful than Voldemort when it comes to that area.

Don't worry, hun, no one's going to flame you here. :)

I do have to say that I disagree with you though. Dumbledore, if he wasn't holding back or restraining himself at all, would definitely defeat Snape, though Snape would put up a pretty good fight. They're both very skilled wizards, but Dumbledore has more experience than Snape does, considering Dumbledore was about 78-79 when Snape was born - loads of time to learn many advanced spells, including defeating another very powerful dark wizard named Gellert Grindelwald.

Sure, I can agree with you there. But I also agree with Vargaroth that to be considered the most powerful you have to also know how to use that power. For example, so what if Voldemort could create Fiendfyre if he did not also have the ability to control it and stop it from killing him as well as his intended victim? Dumbledore would be the more powerful of the two if he could control the Fiendfyre. The same applies if Dumbledore could cast Fiendfyre, but Voldemort could control it while Dumbledore cannot.

That is just a hypothetical example, as I have no idea whether Voldemort or Dumbledore could cast/control Fiendfyre since to my knowledge they never do so in the books, but that is essentially the difference between just having raw power and actually knowing how to use that power, which would make that person more powerful than one who has only raw power.

If it were that simple, perhaps Dumbledore would indeed have killed Voldemort. But it isn't. It's not like Voldemort boldly walked down the streets of Diagon Alley waiting for people to kill. He likes to operate in secret, to hide in the shadows, to make people think he could simply appear and wipe them all out at any moment. Neither is he going to go find Dumbledore himself and politely ask, "Hey, you wanna duel?" He feared Dumbledore, or at the very least, feared the possible risk of failure and defeat (perhaps even worse) at Dumbledore's hand. Arrogant though Voldemort is, he's nothing if not cautious and fearful when it comes to his own death. Further, even if Dumbledore didn't actually kill Voldemort if he picked a fight with him, who would follow Voldemort if he was thoroughly defeated by someone like Dumbledore? Only a few Death Eaters followed him out of true loyalty (Bellatrix Lestrange, for example), while the rest were either Imperiused, threatened with death to them or their family, or assumed they were joining the winning side.

Again, as for Dumbledore "eliminating" Voldemort before he killed the Potters, Dumbledore didn't exactly know where Voldemort was at any given time because again, Voldemort doesn't just walk out in the open, skipping around killing ever person he sees and risking his own attack/capture/death, and it's not like Dumbledore had a little tracking device to put on a Death Eater to find out Voldy's secret location. And as intelligent as Dumbledore is, he is not all-knowing.

Plus, by the time he heard the prophecy from Sybill Trelawney and then Snape told him that Voldemort knew the part of the prophecy that he'd overheard, Dumbledore realized that it wasn't he who was supposed to take Voldemort down. It would be whoever Voldemort chose to "mark as his equal," which turned out to be Harry Potter.

Quote please?

I don't believe the plan was to kill all Muggles. At the very least, it wasn't Dumbledore's intention. His and Grindelwald's plan was to lead the wizarding world out of hiding a rule over the Muggles. To be sure, they might have had to kill some Muggles in the process to obtain that, but they did not intend to kill every single Muggle living on the Earth.

I don't believe the prophecy made Voldemort try to kill Harry or Lily or James. It was his own choice, through and through. If he had left it alone, Snape would not have begged him to spare Lily, Voldemort would not have ended up killing her anyway, he would not have lost his body, Harry would not have become a horcrux, and Voldemort, eventually, might possibly have gained complete control of the wizarding world and later the Muggle world. But because he chose to believe the prophecy was true and because he felt threatened and paranoid about someone (other than Dumbledore) being able to defeat him, he went after the Potters.

And we all know the rest of the story.

Dumbledore did not kill himself. He put on the horcrux ring, yes. He was foolish for doing so, yes. But it specifically did not kill him. Snape managed to prevent that, but Dumbledore asked him to kill him when the time was right. And indeed, at the end of HBP, it was Snape, not the horcrux, that killed Dumbledore.

Generalizations are rarely ever correct. There are plenty of books/movies/shows/etc. where the bad guy(s) win. I'd link you to some examples right now, but some of the language on the site they're on is, I don't think, appropriate according to SS rules. If you would like to see it though, you could send me a message through msn messenger and I'd be happy to give it to you that way. :)

Technically, it does have a purpose, as these threads are here for discussion, and what better way to do so than with fellow SSers who have differing views? ;) And for what it's worth, I quite enjoyed reading through yours and Sordane's discussion. :)

So then, by that definition, for this poll/thread we're discussing each wizard's physical or magical power? I just want some clarification to make it easier to figure out exactly what we're all trying to say here because there are many different areas in which a person can be the most powerful - magical, physical, mental, emotional, to name a few.

Absolutely agree. However, when a discussion has basically ran its course in terms of a pair of individuals who cannot see eye to eye you essentially come to a standstill. Sordane believes that power rests in talent alone regardless if one can harness it without losing control, etc. I believe that emotion plays a intergral part in how one becomes powerful but it would seem that neither of us will budge on our views so it does become pointless to that degree. But, i like and agree with a lot of your other points in your last post as i share those same views. Perhaps you may add more to the discussion to where myself and Sordane cannot. :)

If you look through all of the posts on this thread, most of them are relating to magical power. That is what the majority of people are thinking of. Now I understand that Dumbledore may have been smarter, although he did have more than twice as long to learn, and he was more in control. However, even with this he still couldn't beat Voldemort off at the ministry even with the elder wand. Plus the prophecy says that Harry is the only one that can defeat him, not Dumbledore. By Harry, of course meaning that Voldemort himself is really the only one that can kill Voldemort.

Lord Voldemort
 

What I have been trying to say through all these past entries, is that Voldemort had more potential in magic than any wizard in the series. Rowling, however, made love the strongest magic in the series and made it so that Voldemort had none of it. If Tom Riddle had been the good guy and played the "Dumbledore" role in the series, while Dumbledore played the bad guy with no ability to love, it wouldn't of even been close in comparison. As with the real way, where it was a stalemate, even when Albus had the elder wand. I understand what you guys are saying with the emotions playing into it, and when it comes to emotions Voldemort would be last (which is not his fault). However, in terms of raw potential, the one who possessed the most was hands down Lord Voldemort.

:voldie1::vadersbr::yodasbr:

Dumbledore, because his power is much more expansive than Voldemort's.

You keep bringing up raw power/potential, and yes Voldemort has a lot of it. But what else? There is love, which Voldemort doesn't have. Then there is the saying "Knowledge is power". Dumbledore knows more about Voldemort than Voldemort knows about him.
Influence is also power. Dumbledore is able to influence people in positive ways, which are more powerful, and more effective in general, than negative ways. He doesn't rely on dominating and instilling fear in others.
And of course, he's no slouch in magical skill. Remember the examiner in OotP who said that Dumbledore did things with a wand she'd never seen before -- and he did that when he was still a student.

Speaking of magical skill, I disagree with this point. The duel could've gone longer; the reason it didn't was because Voldemort changed tactics and tried to possess Harry.

Do I really have to keep repeating myself? I am only talking about potential. Not about love. If you want to define power by who can love the most then go right ahead. The truth is Voldemort, given the time Dumbledore had and the elder wand, he would have truly been unstoppable. If Dumbledore was so much more powerful why didn't he defeat him at the ministry. At that point Voldemort was no where near his full potential and Dumbledore was very close to his (including the elder wand) and Dumbledore still couldn't finish him. And of course Dumbledore knows more, he had more than twice the time Voldemort had to learn magic. Also, when Riddle was in school they said the same things about him, and that was after Dumbledore...

Well, Harry is the only one up there still alive, so I picked 'other' Hermione.

You gotta say that, in terms of magical ability, Voldemort was the most powerful. Only one close to him was Dumbledore, but he had the elder wand which is the only reason he could compete at Voldemort's level.

I think Harry because he has defeated voldemort twice, and he could probably defeat dumbledore of he was an enemy.

In the chapter "The Only One He Ever Feared," even Voldemort comments about how Dumbledore is holding back and not aiming to kill. Dumbledore responds that there are worse things than death. It's obvious that Dumbledore wasn't throwing everything he had at Voldemort, and it seemed he was casually defending himself until the ministry came and saw Voldemort was really back. I believe he knew that killing Tom there would just delay the final war even more, since his horcruxes weren't destroyed (even if he had no proof yet, he had a hunch that horcruxes are what kept Tom alive). And he was saved by the statue and Fawkes not by luck, but by magic Dumbledore invoked. It was Voldemort who fled the fight after almost being crushed by the water, and decided to possess Harry instead of dueling. Also, Harry described Dumbledore as giving off a feeling of electricity in the room whenever Dumbledore got serious.

TheExodus brought up a good point by referencing the examiner who said Dumbledore did things with his wand that they never saw before, when he was 15 or 16 years old and WITHOUT the Elder Wand. That sounds like raw power to me. The entirety of the seven books show us that Dumbledore was an extremely talented, intelligent, and powerful wizard who commanded the respect and even fear of others. I don't know why you are discounting knowledge as not being pure power; Dumbledore always seemed to know what was happening and how things would play out. That ability gives any person extreme power. Also, we never got to see many examples of Dumbledore as a young man, but we do know that he defeated Grindewald in a duel while Grindewald was the master of the Elder Wand! That's pretty powerful, eh?


I understand you have a right to an opinion, but so does everyone else, and you're kind of being argumentative for the sake of arguing. When it comes down to it, I'll say that you might believe Voldemort is the most powerful (and you have your reasons), but I'll say that J.K. Rowling sees Dumbledore as being the most powerful. For starters, Dumbledore's soul didn't end up doomed for eternity. But most importantly, Rowling wrote after Dumbledore died that he was, "the greatest wizard Harry had ever, or would ever, meet."

Summarizing based on your definition of power:

Great or marked ability to do or act: Dumbledore orchestrated the whole war against Voldemort, and his plan worked out; Dumbledore won.

Strength, might, force: Dumbledore made Tom flee during the Ministry battle, even though he was holding back. He did things with a wand that no one else had ever seen. He won awards for exceptional spellcasting. He defeated Grindewald, the owner of the Elder Wand and the most powerful dark wizard ever until Voldemort. He gave off an electricity from his power that others could feel, including Snape who was very afraid of him on the hillside when he found out Lily was to be killed.

^ You have to understand though that Dumbledore had the elder wand and that Voldemort wasn't even close to his full potential during that fight...

^^I will agree with you on that. Dumbledore was way more powerful then Voldemort was. Dumbledore did have an excellent mind and yes he had the elder wand, which would dominate anyone.

But also, I believe that Harry would be the over all most powerful wizard. Harry had courage and love way more than anyone could ever come close to having. He was able to have everyone believe in him and 'follow' him (not like Voldemore where he got people to do that because of the fear they had towards him, not to mention he threatened them as well) but with Harry he had pure love and confidence. I mean he was able to have someone create the D.A and still have the D.A go on in memory of him after he left school to find and destroy the horcruxes.
Harry was a fearless wizard too, which made him even more powerful. He never stoped and thought 'oh this is too dangerous I can't do it. OR what's in it for me', which I feel made him extremely powerful.

^ Yeah why don't you give Voldemort the elder wand and an extra 80 years to learn magic, while giving Dumble a regular wand and 80 less years of magic and then we will see how that battle goes.....

Power isn't based on what-ifs. Teddy Roosevelt's slogan based on an African proverb was, "Walk (edit: or I think it's actually "speak") softly and carry a big stick." I think that's kind of fitting for Dumbledore - a man who used intelligence and reason most often, but also backed it up by tremendous power and, literally, a big stick! You could say the peasants with pitchforks would be more powerful than an invading army who has guns if only they had guns too, but unfortunately the people with the guns currently have the most power and will win. As it stands in the books, Dumbledore has age, wisdom, and the allegiance of the elder wand from defeating Grindewald, and what-ifs won't change that fact.

Definetly Voldemort, if it was dumbledore then he would have destroyed Voldemort easily and he wouldn't of been a problem.

Obviously Dumbledore... and that's just from referring to the scene in the cave...

How was the cave impressive? Voldemort did such a bad job protecting that horcrux, that some average ex-death eater was able to get to it.

I definitely know it's Albus Dumbledore!

I'd say Harry because dumbledore didn't conquer voldemort did he? But harry did twice. Once by accident when he was one, then one purpose when he was eighteen. Dumbledore didn't conquer him once, so therefore Harry is. IMO anyway. :)

Voldemort hands down.

ANYONE who has the Elder Wand

It was hard to pick between Voldemort and Dumbledore. Voldemort is said to have powers that Dumbldeore never dreamed of, but I picked Dumbledore, because Dumbledore defeated him.

I think it's a misconception that anyone with the Elder Wand automatically becomes unbeatable. The wand has a history of bloody battles and being passed from person to person, meaning the master could truly be beaten.

Dumbledore beat Grindewald, who had to Elder Wand, which is definite proof that whoever has the wand isn't the most powerful.

I think that Harry is the most powerful it was him who saved Sirius from the dementors, him who found the horcuruxes, him who finally killed Voldemort.

Dumbledore, because he knows everything about the strongest magic of all: love:loved:

Yeah your right :yes:

I vote for Harry because... He's still so young when he killed Voldemort, who knows what he can do when he's 25?
:luvpot:

I'd say Dumbledore because he was always calm and you'd think he would have no idea but he's just so powerful!

In terms of "raw" potential in magic, it is not even close. Voldemort.

I put the obvious - Dumbledore, but Harry can't be ignored as a future 'Very Powerful' wizard. But where Dumbledore outshines Harry and the others is his intelligence. And in that area there would only be one other who could challenge Dumbledore is Hermione.

:sevribbon: Snape. Just because....he's Snape. :sevribbon:

Dumbledore, no question. Voldemort had many things on his side, but he didn't acknowledge love as much as he should have. He thought of it only as a weakness and didn't see how much strength it can bring. Harry did do unbelievable things at a young age, but he had help throughout the years. I think we finally see how powerful of a wizard he is in the battle of Hogwarts.

Voldemort. Not Even Close. DD couldn't even beat him with the elder wand with Voldemort at 50% cause he had just gotten his body back.

In terms of sheer power, Dumbledore would win. But all excel in their own categories.

Dumbledore would win in who has the most feelings, not sheer power. What are you talking about?

Lord Voldemort has more power than Dumbledore could ever dream of. It took the combined effort of the whole wizarding world and dumb luck to defeat Voldemort. All it took to defeat Dumbledork was a lame ring cursed by Voldemort himself.

I think Dumbledore it is. But then again once you jump down the rabbit hole of "how do you define power?" your chances of coming out with one clear answer diminish significantly. I suppose I see him as more powerful because of his ability to orchestrate everything to suit his purposes over such a long period of time. Even when Harry faces Voldemort it appears to me that he is only able to do so effectively because Dumbledore had the foresight to guide him and teach him certain skills beforehand. It is true that Dumbledore wasn't able to just defeat Voldemort in a duel and sweep him under rug. But Dumbledore had some significant limitations on what he was willing to do because of his values. Voldemort was willing to do whatever was necessary to achieve his own ends, regardless of the consequences. Dumbledore was not, and had to be more restrained in order to avoid unnecessary casualties (and all that nastiness).

It is clearly subjective, but I chose Dumbledore. Voldemort was robbed of power by his own mother, being born under the influence of Amortentia and having the inability to love. So, in this respect he is inherently trumped by Dumbledore.

Both Harrry and Severus have lesser power. Much of Harry's power is vicarious, derived from the women in his life (his mother's sacrifice and protective love, Hermione's intellect and loyalty) and the support of friends.
Severus is talented and power hungry. Dumbledore and Voldemort recognise him as a valuable commodity, but ultimately he lives on his knees as a pawn for them both.

I agree that in terms of actual magical power, it's Voldemort hands down. There might be many ways to define "power," but I think that both magically speaking and speaking as a leader/manipulator, Voldemort beats Dumbledore.

Regarding magical power, Voldemort defeated Dumbledore pretty soundly in OotP. He would have actually murdered Dumbledore right there, except that Dumbledore had the help of his immortal familiar to pull his butt from the fire by swallowing the curse for him at the last second. Without Fawkes, Dumbledore was dead in Book 5.

I know that it says that Dumbledore is the only person Voldemort was afraid of, but two things: 1) This doesn't necessarily mean he was afraid of Dumbledore magically speaking. He had reasons to be afraid of Dumbledore in terms of Dumbledore being the only person who really knew his secrets and also the icon that Voldemort's opponents rallied around. But he never acknowledges or even appears to acknowledge that he's afraid of Dumbledore's magical power. 2) The only people we ever hear say that Voldemort is afraid of Dumbledore are Dumbledore's biggest supporters, namely Hagrid and Harry (who heard it from Hagrid) for the most part. If Rowling was trying to make it a fact, as opposed to just a character's opinion, then she failed by only having the most biased Dumbledore supporters say it.

Regarding leadership/manipulation, I think it's important to keep in mind that Voldemort was soundly defeating Dumbledore in the first war. Dumbledore himself tells us in the beginning of Book 1 exactly how little success they'd been having in defeating Voldemort for the past ten years, and Sirius tells us later on in Book 4 that during the first war nobody knew who was a Death Eater and who wasn't, not even closest friends and family, because Voldemort's reach stretched that far. Dumbledore's leadership and knowledge didn't defeat Voldemort in the first war; some accidental magical sacrifice triggered by Lily's and Voldemort's actions defeated him.

In the second war, it's true that Dumbledore had knowledge of Voldemort's Horcruxes and that's what allows him to be finally killed (as opposed to just vanquished again or something), but it's important to keep in mind that Voldemort wasn't ultimately defeated by Dumbledore's knowledge. Dumbledore's plan had very little to do with Harry's victory! Dumbledore's plan was for Snape to have the Elder Wand physically but for its power to die with Dumbledore himself, and he didn't anticipate that Draco would become the master and then ultimately Harry would be the master and that's why he'd win the big final show down in the Great Hall. If Dumbledore's plan had succeeded (if Draco hadn't been the master of the wand, against Dumbledore's wishes), then we don't know whether Harry would have won, but certainly he wouldn't have been able to win by casting a simple Expelliarmus and would have had to actually try to duel properly or at least to catch Voldemort by surprise, because the Elder Wand wouldn't have backfired on Voldemort.

Dumbledore definitely understood love better than Voldemort, but Dumbledore's knowledge of love isn't what defeated Voldemort either the first time or the second time. For that matter, Harry's love or Lily's sacrifice also isn't what really defeated him, but it was all mostly luck and chance all aligning perfectly so that Harry was master of the Elder Wand when Voldemort tried to use it against him. So Harry's also out. As for Snape, he's creative, intelligent, and magically gifted, but there's no indication that he's more powerful than Voldemort in any capacity.