Short Answer
Harry Potter and Voldemort are best understood as distant symbolic relatives rather than close family members. Their ancestry intersects through old wizarding bloodlines, especially the Peverell legacy and the Gaunt family's claim to Slytherin descent.
The Peverell Connection
Harry descends from Ignotus Peverell through the Potter line, which explains his inheritance of the Cloak of Invisibility. Voldemort's maternal family, the Gaunts, descends from Cadmus Peverell, tying him to the Resurrection Stone.
The Gaunt Line
The Gaunts are crucial because they connect Voldemort to Salazar Slytherin and to one of the Deathly Hallows. Their ruined family history shows the collapse of blood purity as an obsession rather than a source of strength.
The Potter Line
The Potters are old and respected, but Harry's story is not about blood superiority. His family tree matters because it sets up inheritance, sacrifice, and the contrast between chosen love and inherited ideology.
Why the Relationship Matters
Harry and Voldemort mirror each other through ancestry, prophecy, orphanhood, and magical objects. The important difference is not whether they share a distant ancestor; it is how each character responds to family, love, and power.
Explore the Trees
Use the Potter and Gaunt pages together to compare the two lines, then explore the Black family for another example of inherited ideology being challenged by personal choice.