Who is the smartest character in Harry Potter?

Answer 1

Either Albus Dumbledore or Lord Voldemort.

Dumbledore can use wandless magic and can perform spells that most cannot. Although Lord Voldemort performs spells which could be considered more advanced - Dumbledore no doubt could perform them if he were interested in the dark arts. Not to mention that Dumbledore is also a lot older than Voldemort and spent many more years researching and learning, his knowledge of the wizarding world far surpasses Voldemort's. Dumbledore knows and understands certain types of magic that Voldemort never could - for example the power of love and the protections it provides.

Lord Voldemort is also very clever although he was never clever enough to discover his weakness and learn why he was being thwarted by Harry, this was something Dumbledore knew. Voldemort also never figured out that Harry was a Horcrux - whilst Dumbledore did. Not knowing this lead to Voldemort's defeat. Voldemort was always considered a brilliant student - but he also always feared Dumbledore because he knew his past and understood that he wasn't a good person.

However, even with the Elder wand, Dumbledore struggled to fight against Voldemort. yet he managed to defeat Grindelwald when he was the owner of the wand. It should be noted though that by this point Dumbledore was really old, even in wizarding terms which no doubt had an impact on his ability to fight.

The two of them are brilliant in their own ways. A lot of Lord Voldemort's down falls came from not a lack of intelligence, but his sheer determination to be in power. Perhaps if he had thought things through more he would have been more successful in his goal.