Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today we’re going to be discussing a very messed up Harry Potter theory of mine that
outlines some questionable actions and behaviour from Albus Dumbledore- suggesting that perhaps
Dumbledore, wise old loveable benevolent wizard and Hogwarts headmaster, was actually a master
manipulator responsible for the destruction of Lord Voldemort’s soul.
This theory alleges that Dumbledore, like he did with Harry, raised Voldemort like a
‘pig for slaughter’.
Now, let me start off by saying that there are dozens of theories out there which suggest
that when it comes to Dumbledore there’s a LOT more than meets the eye.
One of the predominant theories addresses Dumbledore’s relationship with Harry Potter,
with fans arguing that Dumbledore intentionally raised Harry to be a "sacrificial lamb," knowing
that Harry would eventually have to die to destroy the Horcrux within him.
The theory explains that Dumbledore manipulated Harry’s every move and that he only revealed
crucial information to Harry when it was absolutely necessary, potentially guiding Harry towards
his predetermined fate.
Other theories painting Dumbledore as a manipulative mastermind relate to his relationship with
Snape.
In the series, Dumbledore was able to convince Snape to become a double agent by using Snape's
love for Lily Potter as leverage.
Dumbledore was careful to keep Snape's true allegiance a secret from Harry and the Order
of the Phoenix, which further allowed him to manipulate events (and Snape) behind the
scenes.
But none (at least none that I’VE seen) showcase Dumbledore as quite capable of manipulating
the future dark lord Voldemort.
But who knows Voldemort better than the man who pulled him out of Wool’s orphanage?
And who better to manipulate him than the very man that introduced him to the world
of magic?
Let’s get in to it.
The first encounter between Albus Dumbledore and Tom Riddle was in 1938, when Dumbledore
visits Wool’s Orphanage to offer Tom a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
During their meeting, Dumbledore informs Tom about the existence of the wizarding world
and his magical heritage, and Tom, who had already sensed his own powers, is intrigued
by the prospect of attending Hogwarts.
At the time, Tom was an 11-year-old orphan who had exhibited signs of magical abilities,
but he was also known for his manipulative and cruel behavior towards the other chi*ldren
at the orphanage.
On the outside, Tom looked fairly innocuous, but underneath was a brooding dark force that
would stop at nothing to cause pain and suffering to others.
This encounter between Dumbledore and Tom Riddle is significant, because it marks the
beginning of their complex relationship throughout the series.
It also highlights Dumbledore's role in the early life of one of the most dangerous dark
wizards in history, raising questions about the extent to which Dumbledore may have influenced
Tom's eventual transformation into Lord Voldemort.
Right from the very beginning, from their very first encounter, Dumbledore was cautious
and wary of the young boy- sensing Tom’s dark nature and potential for evil.
Despite all of the warning signs, however, Dumbledore proceeds to offer Tom a place at
Hogwarts- hoping that the school and new environment would help shift Tom’s life in a more positive
direction.
At least, that’s what we’re led to believe.
The theory that we’re going to be discussing today asserts that Dumbledore, upon sensing
this dark nature in Tom for the very first time, began his master plan to manipulate
this young boy.
When Tom Riddle finally arrived at Hogwarts he was sorted into Slytherin House, which
was fitting as he was a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, the house's founder.
As he grew older, he quickly became known for his charm and intelligence, excelling
academically and becoming a prefect in 1942 until his graduation in 1945.
Tom didn’t have ‘friends’ per-say, but he certainly did form relationships, with
Dumbledore describing his gang as follows:
“As he moved up the school, he gathered about him a group of dedicated friends; I
call them that, for want of a better term, although as I have already indicated, Riddle
undoubtedly felt no affection for any of them.
This group had a kind of dark glamour within the castle.
They were a motley collection; a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious
seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish gravitating toward a leader who could show
them more refined forms of cruelty.
In other words, they were the forerunners of the Death Eaters, and indeed some of them
became the first Death Eaters after leaving Hogwarts.”
Over the many years that Tom Riddle attended Hogwarts, few were able to detect Riddle’s
underlying evil nature.
Most were distracted by the charm and intelligence he exuded, entirely unaware of what lay beneath.
An exception to this, however, was Dumbledore, who kept a close eye on Riddle from the very
beginning.
Tom may not have acted on his evil impulses like he did at the orphanage, but Dumbledore
was more perceptive than that- unable to take his eye off of the boy in whom he detected
so much darkness.
In 1942, just 4 years after Dumbledore invited the troubled young Tom Riddle to Hogwarts,
Riddle murdered Myrtle Warren in the first-floor girls' bathroom and created his first Horcrux.
Tom, an avid student with an obsession for achieving any kind of power, spent many of
his nights in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library, learning about forms of
dark magic that were entirely inappropriate for the average Hogwarts student.
It was here that he began to learn about Horcruxes- a form of dark magic which transfers a piece
of a witch or wizards soul in to an object in order to achieve immortality.
But the restricted section didn’t have all of the answers, which pushed young Riddle
in the direction of Horace Slughorn- head of Slytherin house and one of Voldemort’s
confidantes.
With a little manipulation, Riddle ended up getting just the answers that he needed from
Slughorn, completing his recipe for Horcruxes.
From this point onward Voldemort’s soul began it’s downward journey.
From the day that he created his first Horcrux, Voldemort began a cursed existence worthy
only of a dark and evil wizard.
But what Voldemort also unknowingly did in the process was seal his fate- giving him
a false sense of security with regards to his ‘alleged’ immortality.
With all of the groundwork laid, let me dive in to what Dumbledore’s motivations may
have been with regards to this troubled young boy.
From the very beginning, Dumbledore knew that Voldemort would one day be trouble.
As far as judges of character go, Dumbledore is one of the best- and who better to recognize
an up and coming dark wizard than a FORMER dark wizard?
Dumbledore invited Tom Riddle to Hogwarts not to give him a wizarding education or set
him on the right path, but instead to keep a watchful eye over him- ensuring that this
evil young boy wasn’t off somewhere else in the world doing whatever he pleased.
And through observing Tom Riddle’s actions over the years- his late nights in the restricted
section, manipulating other students, etc - Dumbledore only became more and more sure
of his initial assessment as time went on.
Which is why just a few years after Tom Riddle had begun attending the school, Dumbledore
placed a book about Horcruxes in the Restricted Section- and made it just obvious enough for
young Tom Riddle to find.
Tom Riddle wasn’t secretive about wanting to become immortal, and he had discussed it
with his gang on numerous occasions.
What he didn’t know, however, was that he was under Dumbledore’s watchful eye.
How could Dumbledore reasonably allow the heir of Slytherin to walk around the Hogwarts
castle unsupervised?
And because Dumbledore knew about Tom Riddle’s obsession with becoming immortal, he decided
that he would leverage this piece of information to his advantage.
By planting the book on Horcruxes in the Hogwarts library, he intentionally placed Voldemort
on his own path of destruction- knowing that a damaged soul and a false sense of security
in his immortality through Horcruxes would only weaken Tom Riddle in the long run.
We know that eventually Riddle seeks out Horace Slughorn to fill in the blanks on Horcruxes.
What we never find out, however, is HOW on earth Horace Slughorn knew about Horcruxes
himself.
In the wizarding world, knowledge of supremely dark magic like that wasn’t exactly common,
which is why I think that DUMBLEDORE, a former dark wizard himself, discussed it with Horace
PRIOR to Riddle’s conversation with him.
Well before planting the book for Riddle to find and gently pushing him in that direction,
Dumbledore had a candid conversation with Slughorn about Horcruxes where he attempted
to ‘educate’ this head of Slytherin house on the matter.
By doing this, Dumbledore planted the seed of knowledge in Slughorn’s mind, preparing
him with answers for the day that young Tom Riddle came to him with questions.
From the moment that young Riddle completed the puzzle that was Horcrux creation, he set
off on his dark journey to split his soul and cement his immortality.
In 1942 he created the diary horcrux, in 1943 he created the ring horcrux, in 1946 he created
the cup horcrux, and sometime between 1946 and 1979 he also created both the locket horcrux
and the diadem horcrux.
In 1981, Voldemort inadvertently created his sixth Horcrux- Harry Potter, and in 1994 Voldemort
created his final Horcrux, Nagini.
Each and every time Voldemort created a new Horcrux he gained new confidence in the fact
that he was anchoring himself further and further to the mortal realm.
From a young age, this boy wanted nothing more than to be tethered to life while he
had the power to end the lives of others, but what he never knew was that the friendly
old benevolent Dumbledore that visited him in his orphanage had been pulling on the strings
the entire time.
Dumbledore knew all along that by setting Voldemort on the path of Horcruxes it would
give him a false sense of security- rendering him easier to defeat in the long run.
Voldemort placed massive value in his Horcruxes, but they came at the expense of his soul.
Each and every time he created one, he became less human, and relied on those objects more
and more for his own survival.
Dumbledore knew what Voldemort was capable of all along, but he wasn’t going to just
a kill chi*ld in an orphanage.
Instead, he let Voldemort’s life play out, pulling at his strings along the way and having
Voldemort create his own trump card for the day that he pushed things too far.
In this way, Dumbledore was able to manipulate the most feared dark wizard to have ever lived.
On numerous occasions, Dumbledore had said himself that he can’t be trusted with power.
And who better to assert his power over than a troubled dark wizard with little knowledge
of the magical world?
In the books and films we’re led to believe that Dumbledore was totally in the dark on
Horcruxes.
In fact, the earliest point at which we’re led to believe Dumbledore became AWARE of
Horcruxes was around the time of Harry’s parents deaths, as he told Snape that Voldemort
would return.
I think that Dumbledore knew about Horcruxes A LOT earlier than that, and I think that
he may have just played young Tom Riddle in the same way that he may (or may not have)
played young Harry, raising him too like a ‘pig for slaughter’.
And that’s it for this video!
I tried to get really out there with this one and I became really invested in the idea
so forgive me if something is out of whack with regards to canon.
What do you think?
Does any of this check out?
Did I get any of my facts wrong?
Please leave a comment down below.
Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live