Albus Dumbledore

Template:HP character Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a fictional character within the Harry Potter series written by British author J. K. Rowling. He is the headmaster of the fictional wizarding school Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the majority of the series and founder of the "Order of the Phoenix", a fictional organisation dedicated to fighting the main antagonist of the series, Lord Voldemort.

Rowling's elderly headmaster at St Michael's Primary School, Alfred Dunn, is claimed as the inspiration for Dumbledore.

In the first two film adaptations of the series, Dumbledore was portrayed by actor Richard Harris. Following his death shortly before the release of the second film in the series, the role was re-cast with Michael Gambon, who has portrayed the character in the subsequent films.

Character background

Early life and family

Albus Dumbledore was born in 1881 to Percival and Kendra Dumbledore. Three years after his birth came his brother named Aberforth and after him, his sister Ariana. Three Muggle children attacked Ariana, then six years old, after they saw her using magic. As a result of this attack, she became mentally ill for the rest of her life. Albus's father, Percival, attacked the three young Muggles in retaliation for the attack on his daughter, and was sentenced to Azkaban for life. To prevent Ariana being admitted to St. Mungo's Hospital, Kendra moved the family to the village of Godric's Hollow, and her illness was concealed. Neighbours assumed that Ariana was a Squib.

When Albus attended Hogwarts, he befriended Elphias Doge, who was generally mocked due to his greenish face, legacy of his having previously contracted dragon pox. During his education at Hogwarts, Dumbledore was known as the most brilliant student to have ever stepped into the school. He won many awards and became well connected with the most notable wizards of the day. His essays and research found their way in newspapers such as Transfiguration Today, Challenges in Charming, and The Practical Potioneer. His house affiliation is that of Gryffindor. This information was given to Harry Potter by Hermione Granger in Philosopher's Stone on the Hogwarts Express.

He was joined by his brother, Aberforth, who proved to be quite different from Albus, not possessing the extraordinary magical talent. When Ordinary Wizarding Levels came about in Harry's fifth year, Griselda Marchbanks, Head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority, remarked that the young Dumbledore had "...done things with a wand I'd never seen before."^[HP5] When Dumbledore and Doge left Hogwarts, they planned to take their "then-traditional" tour of the world. On the eve of their trip, the 18-year-old Dumbledore suffered the death of his mother Kendra, accidentally killed by Ariana, during one of her outbursts.

Dumbledore and Grindelwald

Because Dumbledore's parents were absent (his father being in Azkaban and mother deceased), Albus became the head of the family and it became his duty to put food on the table (they were not left with much gold). He was forced to remain in his house with his sister Ariana while Aberforth completed his education. Soon later, a young Gellert Grindelwald arrived in Godric's Hollow to live with his great-aunt, Bathilda Bagshot, author of A History of Magic. The young Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and together they dreamed of ruling the world "for the greater good" by uniting the legendary Deathly Hallows.

Both wizards had the idea that the Wizarding world should take its rightful place on top of the Muggles, and both believed that wizards should rule over them and put them in their rightful place amongst the entire world. Even if they were forced to destroy a few along the way, it would be "For the greater good" and that the sufferings and losses would be rewarded a hundredfold in the end. However, a discussion between Albus, Aberforth and Grindelwald led to a duel that resulted in Ariana's death. For the rest of his life, Dumbledore felt guilty, never certain whether it was his own curse or another that had actually killed his sister.

Grindelwald stormed back to Bagshot's home and departed to begin his own rule. Meanwhile, in Ariana's funeral, Aberforth became enraged during the service and punched Albus in the nose, breaking it, giving its known crooked appearance. Albus later felt great remorse for his mistakes during adolescence. As a result of them, he felt that he was not to be trusted with power and, because of this, never took the position of Minister of Magic, despite having been offered several times. Dumbledore retured to Hogwarts as professor of Transfiguration, and most likely later became Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts as he also served in recruiting students for the school.

Dumbledore finally defeated the now-Dark wizard Grindelwald, who had come to possess the Elder Wand. After Grindelwald's defeat, Dumbledore became true master of the Elder Wand, which has been his wand until his death, regarding it as the least of the three Hallows, and the only one he was fit to wield.

While speaking at Carnegie Hall on October 19 2007, J.K. Rowling was asked by a young fan whether Dumbledore finds "true love". Rowling said "Dumbledore is gay" and that he had fallen in love with Grindelwald; it is unclear whether or not Grindelwald returned his love. That love, she said, was Dumbledore's "great tragedy."

Dumbledore and the rise of Voldemort

Further information: [[:Lord Voldemort]]

Further information: Order of the Phoenix (organisation)

One of Dumbledore's tasks as a teacher at Hogwarts was to find the young wizard Tom Marvolo Riddle and offer him a place at Hogwarts. While Dumbledore was impressed by Riddle's abilities, he was troubled by the boy's admitted fondness for inflicting pain and never trusted him fully. Years later, Riddle attempted to gain a teaching post at Hogwarts, but Dumbledore first persuaded the current headmaster, Armando Dippet, to refuse Riddle's request, and he himself refused a second request several years after that. By this time, Riddle had declared war on his former mentors and adopted the name that would strike fear into the hearts of the wizarding world for years to come: Lord Voldemort.

Taking matters into his own hands, Dumbledore formed the Order of the Phoenix. Throughout Voldemort's ever growing power, the Order fought against Voldemort's forces of Death Eaters and other followers. Throughout the struggle, the Order suffered immensely terrible losses which included the Potters. Before the murders of the Potters, Dumbledore asked to see the Invisibility Cloak , suspecting it to be part of the legendary Deathly Hallows. When James died, Dumbledore kept the cloak and decided to pass it on to Harry Potter, James's son.

When Harry's parents were killed and Voldemort was rendered to a feeble form, it was Dumbledore's decision to place the now-orphaned Harry in the home of Vernon and Petunia Dursley, knowing that Harry would be protected by the special magic caused by his mother's sacrifice, after he evoked the magic of the bond of blood and Petunia Dursley sealed it by accepting Harry into her home. This old magic of binding love made touching Harry unbearable for Voldemort.

Appearances

First three books

Dumbledore as portrayed by the late Richard Harris

In the very beginning of the series in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Dumbledore arrives at number four, Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey, to leave baby Harry upon the doorstep of the Dursley residence with a letter explaining the situation. He departs with the final phrase, "Good luck, Harry."

When Harry arrives at Hogwarts, Dumbledore tells Harry about the secrets of the Mirror of Erised, claiming that when he looks into it, he sees himself "holding a pair of thick, woollen socks." However, he, like Harry, sees his family alive and united. He also is responsible for somehow enchanting the Mirror so that it hid the Philosopher's Stone and that only someone who looked into the Mirror and whose desire was "to find the Stone...but not use it" would actually receive it. He is called out to the Ministry of Magic by a false message on the night when Professor Quirinus Quirrell, Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger enter the dungeons to retrieve the Stone, but realises during the trip that he is needed at Hogwarts and returns in time to rescue Harry from Quirrell and Voldemort. He also has a final conversation with Harry after the events down in the dungeons and tells him that he is too young to comprehend that information about why Voldemort attempted to kill him.

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore suspects that Tom Riddle is somehow involved in the attacks on the students, as he says, when asked who is the culprit, "not who, but how?". A younger Dumbledore appears in Riddle's diary, when Harry sees his memory, and asks Riddle if there's anything he knows about the attacks on the students. During the last half of the novel, Lucius Malfoy had persuaded (through threats) the school's other eleven governors to suspend Dumbledore as Headmaster in the wake of attacks by a basilisk in the school when the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. Dumbledore is reinstated when the governors discover that Ginny Weasley was taken into the Chamber of Secrets and Lucius is found to have coerced the other governors into suspending him.

At the beginning of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore is forced to accept dementors onto his school's grounds for the protection of his students from Sirius Black, the supposed killer that had escaped from Azkaban. After Black's breach into Hogwarts, Dumbledore ordered to close every entrance to the school and grounds. After Harry falls off of his broomstick during a Quiddich match because of the dementors, Dumbledore becomes uncharacteristically angry at them and uses his wand to cause Harry to magically levitate safely to the ground. Later in that book, Dumbledore suggests Hermione Granger use her Ministry-approved Time-Turner to go back three hours to save Buckbeak the hippogriff and Sirius from their unjust executions.

Fourth and fifth books

In the fourth instalment, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore introduces the Triwizard Tournament. He also serves as a judge during the entire event. When Harry's name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore is not enraged but remains calm, simply asking Harry whether he had himself, or had asked an older student to submit his name. When Harry answers no, he believes him. Unlike in the book, in the film version Dumbledore (played by Michael Gambon) becomes rather angry and man-handles him when asking him the question.

By the end of the book, Dumbledore's fears are answered when Harry returns from his encounter with Voldemort clutching the dead body of Cedric Diggory and when Alastor Moody (actually being impersonated by Barty Crouch Junior through Polyjuice Potion) takes Harry away from Dumbledore and to his office inside the castle. Dumbledore immediately becomes suspicious and heads straight towards Moody's office with Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape to save Harry and to interrogate Crouch. Afterwards, Dumbledore listens to Harry's eyewitness account about Voldemort's return. Harry though only wakes up later to find Cornelius Fudge in the wing arguing with McGonagall and Dumbledore, the latter of whom enters into an argument with the Minister Cornelius Fudge. In the end, Fudge and Dumbledore "part ways" after an argument about the situation of Voldemort's return and the consequences that would follow should Fudge remain ignorant.

File:Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.jpg

Dumbledore as portrayed by Michael Gambon

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore is demoted from Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards, and is almost stripped of his Order of Merlin First Class, due to his speeches regarding the return of Voldemort. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Magic does everything they can to discredit him and Harry, mainly through the Daily Prophet. At the beginning of the book, Dumbledore enrages Fudge when he stops by at Harry's hearing with a witness (Arabella Figg) to ensure that he is not expelled. While Harry feels better when Dumbledore assists him, he becomes annoyed to the point of being angry that the headmaster refuses to speak or even look at him.

During the following year at Hogwarts, the Ministry passes Educational Decree Twenty-two, allowing Fudge to place Dolores Umbridge (after Dumbledore failed to find a suitable candidate) to the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Through her, Fudge slowly gains power over Hogwarts and Dumbledore, whom he fears is building an underage wizard army to overthrow the Ministry. Dolores forbids practical defence practice in her classes forcing Harry, Ron, and Hermione to form Dumbledore's Army with fellow friends. It is when the D.A. is discovered by the Ministry that Dumbledore, choosing to accept responsibility, falsely claims that the organisation was his own subversive creation, and allows himself to be removed as headmaster (for the second time) rather than allow Harry to be expelled.

Dumbledore is not heard of again in the book until he arrives in the Department of Mysteries to aid the Order in the battle against the Death Eaters. He then saves Harry from the Avada Kedavra curse conjured by Voldemort and proceeds to engage in a ferocious duel with the Dark Lord. After Voldemort Disapparates, Dumbledore told Fudge what happened and is reinstated as headmaster and retrieves all his distinctions. Towards the end of the book, Dumbledore explains to Harry that Voldemort chose him as his equal and that one must kill the other in the end.

Sixth book

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore fetches Harry from Privet Drive and takes him to persuade Horace Slughorn to join the Hogwarts staff - his right hand, Harry notices, is shrivelled and black. During the school year, Dumbledore meets with Harry in his office to teach him of Voldemort's past because he tells Harry that it is of immense importance. Through their lessons, they visit the thoughts of others, which contained important information about the life of Voldemort, leading to his genocidal rise to power. It is learned that Voldemort created six Horcruxes to gain immortality and that they must all be destroyed before Harry goes after the final piece of Voldemort's soul that resides in the Dark Lord's body. Harry also repeatedly warns Dumbledore in most of their lessons that another student, Draco Malfoy, is working for Voldemort. Dumbledore refuses to take any action against Draco, and instead tells Harry that he already knows more about what is happening than Harry does.

By the end of book six, Dumbledore and Harry set out to the cave where Dumbledore believed a Horcrux resides. In the cave, Dumbledore drinks a potion inside the Horcrux's container; while drinking it, he begins to scream, seemingly enduring mental torture and being weakened. After the Inferi try to seize and drag Harry into the icy depths of the lake in the cave, Dumbledore suddenly recovers and conjures a fire lasso around them. Dumbledore takes the locket within and both make their way back out of the cave and back to Hogsmeade. When they return, Madam Rosmerta informs them that the Dark Mark was conjured over the Astronomy Tower and both Harry and Dumbledore set off on Rosmerta's brooms towards the tower. In the tower, Dumbledore merely converses about Draco Malfoy's plot to kill him. Several other Death Eaters enter the tower and try to persuade Draco to kill Dumbledore. When Malfoy is unable to murder him, Snape appears and immediately performs the Killing Curse on Dumbledore.

It is revealed in the final book that Dumbledore made a terrible error by placing a cursed ring on his right hand, sometime between the fifth and sixth book, forgetting the curses that must be on the ring. The ring held the Resurrection Stone, which Dumbledore hoped to use to allow him to apologise to his sister and parents. Severus Snape was called by him to help lift the curse that night. However, when Snape arrived and assessed the curse, all he can do is contain the curse; Dumbledore knows he has little more than a year to live. This is when Dumbledore asks Snape if he would, when the time comes, kill him, as it would be "less humiliating." Severus agrees, only because he told Dumbledore he would do anything for him.

Shortly after his death, Dumbledore's portrait magically appears in the Headmaster's office. His funeral is attended by students, Hogwarts teachers and staff, members of the Ministry of Magic, ghosts, centaurs, merpeople and others who wish to pay their respects. Shrouded in purple velvet, he is entombed in a white marble sarcophagus beside the lake at Hogwarts, and it is said that he is the only headmaster to be buried on the school grounds.

Final book

Rowling used several chapters in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to reveal two main matters concerning to Dumbledore: his early life and his death. After coming across conflicting stories about Dumbledore's childhood and rise to the position of Hogwarts headmaster, Harry begins to doubt the Dumbledore he thought he once knew. When frustrated, he often finds himself angry at Dumbledore for making his quest for the Horcruxes difficult and not relaying enough information. Trying to piece together the true story of his disturbing past, Harry finally learns the true hardships of his youth from Aberforth and from Albus himself.

Dumbledore appears one last time to Harry Potter towards the end of the book, after Harry is struck with the killing curse. Rowling used that conversation to reveal the truth about the link between Voldemort and Harry. The boy comforts Dumbledore as he confesses all of his many regrets. Dumbledore then informs Harry of the choice he still has; of moving on to the next life or returning to his body to face Voldemort one last time. After returning from limbo and defeating Voldemort, Harry has a short conversation with Dumbledore's portrait in the Headmaster's office about the fate of each of the three Deathly Hallows. In the epilogue, it is revealed that Harry names his second son Albus Severus Potter after Dumbledore and Snape.

Attributes

Outward appearance

The books describe Dumbledore as a classic wizard; tall and thin, with long silver hair that looks long enough to tuck into his belt and a long beard. He has twinkling, blue eyes, a very long and crooked nose (looking as if it had been broken at least twice, and one of these was violently caused by his brother Aberforth) and long fingers. He wears half-moon spectacles. Also, in his younger years, he is described as having auburn hair. He once claimed to have a scar above his left knee, the cause of which is unknown, in the shape of a map of the London Underground. He is usually seen in sweeping robes ranging in colours and patterns which often include stars and moons.

Some critics have noted strong similarities between Dumbledore and the classic wizard Merlin, as well as Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings.

Personality

Throughout the series, Dumbledore does not give importance to the so-called "purity of blood" and believes that an individual's choices reflect one's character, rather than one's birth, blood or family, saying "it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be". Voldemort angrily refers to Dumbledore as "that champion of commoners, of Mudbloods and Muggles". Unlike most wizards, Dumbledore is not afraid to refer to Voldemort by name (and attempted to persuade others to call him by his 'proper' name, Voldemort, during the First War) and instead addresses him as "Tom" when confronting him.

Characters in the books often remark that his greatest weakness is his willingness to trust those who may otherwise be considered untrustworthy. This trust is often criticised by those around him but is rarely questioned. He is frequently shown to have a great sense of humour, and often has a whimsical sense about him, especially during conflict, which can often infuriate those who are at odds with him. He is hardly ever impatient, and makes a point of politeness, even to those whom one would consider his enemies. He is a great lover of music, calling it "A magic beyond all we do [at Hogwarts]".^[HP1]

In Philosopher's Stone he mentions to Harry that the deepest desire of his heart (revealed via the Mirror of Erised) is to have a pair of woollen socks, as "one can never have enough socks." However, this has been proven to be false. In the seventh novel, Harry realises that he and Dumbledore see the same things in the Mirror: their families. While a brilliant and wise wizard, Dumbledore is portrayed as very eccentric; for example, in the first book he announces that he would like to say "a few words" to the school, and then pronounces: "Nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak."

It is known that he has held the posts of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. In the course of his life, Dumbledore refused several times the position of Minister for Magic. He held the Order of Merlin, First Class, for Grand Sorcery.

Sexuality

On Friday October 19th, 2007, J.K. Rowling announced at a book reading in Carnegie Hall, New York City that Dumbledore was in fact gay. She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated in 1945 in a wizarding duel. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down."

Magical accomplishments and skills

At a young age, Dumbledore always showed great magical abilities and in his N.E.W.T.s, "...did things with a wand [the examiner had] never seen before".

Dumbledore is famous as an alchemist who has worked with Nicolas Flamel, the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone, and is credited with discovering the twelve uses of dragon's blood. He is also capable of conjuring a Patronus, one that takes the form of a phoenix, a recurring symbol in the books. Dumbledore has devised a method of sending messages to other people using a Patronus Charm, a skill he has taught only to members of the Order of the Phoenix.

His weapon of choice seems to be fire. In his duel against Voldemort in the fifth novel, he uses a fiery rope; when he displays his Wizarding powers to young Tom Riddle, he does so by setting Riddle's wardrobe on fire; in the cave that hides Voldemort's locket Horcrux, he uses fire to hold off the Inferi. He is also known to be able to conjure Gubraithian fire (magical everlasting fire). He has claimed to be able to become invisible without using an invisibility cloak. Dumbledore is also skilled in Occlumency and Legilimency. Dumbledore is an expert at transfiguration too, having taught the subject prior to becoming headmaster. He frequently creates complex objects like sofa chairs out of thin air (or from less comfortable chairs). In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore transfigures thousands of pieces of glass into sand in moments. Dumbledore speaks Mermish, Gobbledegook and understands Parseltongue.

In an interview, Rowling commented:

Immense brainpower does not protect you from emotional mistakes and I think Dumbledore really exemplifies that. In fact, I would tend to think that being very, very intelligent might create some problems and it has done for Dumbledore, because his wisdom has isolated him, and I think you can see that in the books, because where is his equal, where is his confidante, where is his partner? He has none of those things. He’s always the one who gives, he’s always the one who has the insight and has the knowledge.

However, Dumbledore sometimes seems the opposite of reckless. He often hesitates to act until he is certain: for example, allowing Snape to return unchallenged and teach at Hogwarts.

Rowling has said that Dumbledore is primarily self-taught, although he "had access to superb teachers at Hogwarts." Rowling also said that as far as his education is concerned, "Dumbledore's family would be a profitable line of inquiry". While he is by no means vain, Dumbledore also exhibits no false modesty, readily acknowledging that he is unusually intelligent and an exceptionally powerful wizard. He admits a number of times to Harry in their occasional meetings in Half-Blood Prince that he makes mistakes, and since he handles more important issues than most men, his mistakes "tend to be correspondingly huger."

Name

Dumbledore's full name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, as he states during the fifth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The name "Dumbledore" is an old Devon word for "bumblebee" and was picked by Rowling because she imagines him wandering around the castle humming to himself.

Film portrayal

In the film adaptations of Philosopher's Stone (2001) and Chamber of Secrets (2002), Dumbledore was played by Richard Harris, who was expected to play Dumbledore throughout the series. However, his death in 2002 of Hodgkin's lymphoma placed Michael Gambon in the role for Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Goblet of Fire (2005), Order of the Phoenix (2007), and Half-Blood Prince (2008).

Patrick McGoohan was originally offered the role for the first movie before Harris, but turned it down due to health reasons. Harris mentioned that he was originally not going to take the role either, since he knew his own health was in decline. He accepted because his then-10-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again if he did not take it.

External links

• JK Rowling quotes about Dumbledore at Accio-Quote.org
• Dumbledore's page at the Harry Potter Lexicon
• Alohomorra - Alohomorra's page on Albus Dumbledore
• J.K. Rowling outs Dumbledore

• Albus Dumbledore on Harry Potter Wiki, an external wiki