Hey guys! Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. Like I’ve done in the
past for Voldemort, Snape & McGonagall- I’m going to be listing Dumbledore’s top 5 most
powerful spells & abilities.
First things first- Dumbledore is UNDOUBTEDLY the most powerful wizard to have ever lived,
comparable only to Voldemort, and possibly Grindelwald (we’ll have to wait and see
how their duel ends up to confirm this).
But, despite being intensely powerful, Dumbledore was also known for being all too modest when
it came to his magical prowess. In fact, in the first book there is even a moment where
it’s partially suggested that Dumbledore is in fact, definitively, the most powerful
sorcerer of all time - or at least that he possessed the inherent capability to be the
most powerful if he so desired.
Mcgonagall says to Dumbledore:
“But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort,
was frightened of."
"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."
To which Mcgonagall replies: "Only because you're too - well - noble to use them."
What this tells us is that Dumbledore has a higher overall power threshold than Voldemort,
and in the book events of the ministry atrium duel, Dumbledore clearly walks all over Voldemort
(this is shown a little bit differently in the movie). However, it’s worth mentioning
that Dumbledore DID possess the elder wand at that time, which gave him a substantial
edge.
And while Dumbledore is more powerful than Voldemort, it’s hard to imagine how powerful
he could have been if he too had plunged in to the world of dark magic. Voldemort’s
level of power was achieved by any means possible, with no exceptions. His pursuit of power was
filled with ignorance, showing disregard for the consequences of the pursuit of dark magic.
He delved further into the darkness than anyone before him, and became powerful because of
it, but perhaps at too great a cost. In the pursuit of power, he lost himself. However,
even though he plunged himself into magic as much as possible, Voldemort at no point
in the books/films appears to exhibit magical ability that far exceeds or outweighs Dumbledore.
Dumbledore, while staying on a relatively ‘light’ path (with the exception of his
younger years) - still reached new heights when it came to magical ability.
While at school, Dumbledore’s magical abilities consistently turned heads, particularly his
skills surrounding charms and transfiguration. He also did exceptionally well on his N.E.W.T.S
and Griselda Marchbanks, a professor working for the Wizarding Examinations Authority,
remarked that Albus was able to do things with a wand that ‘she had never seen before’.
In addition to being a charms and transfiguration master, Dumbledore was also an expert practitioner
of elemental magic. In his duel against Voldemort in the ministry atrium, we see his elemental
expertise shine through.
However, I think that it would be a safe bet to say that there truly isn’t a subject
or area of magic where Dumbledore is lacking. He is truly a master of transfiguration, charms,
potions, elemental magic, occlumency, and more. He is the exception to the phrase ‘jack
of all trades, master of none’ - as he was a master of all.
Starting at the top of the list it’s..ACCIO..just kidding:
#5 Silent Apparation
The ability to apparate is powerful magic and difficult to achieve but is by no means
unique to Dumbledore. However, what would be considered extreme mastery of apparition
is the ability to apparate silently. The only other known wizard to achieve equal mastery
of this ability is Dumbledores dark rival, Voldemort. Silent apparition is the exact
same as regular apparition, with the exception that it is exceedingly quiet. The ability
to apparate is of course a means of transportation in the wizarding world, allowing you to instantly
transport or teleport to your desired location. The ability to travel anywhere in an instant
without making a sound is a truly invaluable and powerful ability, earning its place on
this list.
#4 Occlumency
Occlumency is the practice of magically closing ones mind against legilimency, which involves
navigating through people’s minds to access their thoughts and feelings, sometimes even
influencing them. Like lord voldemort, dumbledore is a master occlumens AND legilimens, but
because of his nature he is far more likely to primarily use the former. At the basic
level, an occlumens in the event of a mind infiltration will simply clear their mind
so that it is blank and empty. This ability gets far more advanced when the occlumens
changes their thought patterns in order to confuse the legilimens, creating faux memories
and a contrived mentality that is intended to deceive the legilimens. Occlumency is considered
to be a rare and difficult skill, and dumbledore is probably one of the best at it given that
infiltrating his mind was seemingly never even an option for voldemort.
#3 Expecto Patronum, The Disillusionment charm, and charms in general
Dumbledore is a master of charms and uses them almost excessively throughout the films
and books. His ability to perform charms eventually earned him the title of Grand sorcerer later
in life. Dumbledore is perhaps the most adept wizard at casting the notably difficult patronus
charm and is said to hold the power of choosing which type of patronus he wants to cast, corporeal
or incorporeal, which as far as we know no other witch or wizard is able to do. Often
if you can think of something, there will be a charm for it, and if you are in search
of how to perform said charm, then Dumbledore is your man. An other equally useful charm
that Dumbledore is able to cast is the disillusionment charm which causes the target to take on the
exact colours and textures of their environment, much like a chameleon. The result is that
you are basically invisible. Some other notable charms that Dumbledore is able to perform
include arresto momentum or ‘the slowing charm’ which slows the falling velocity
of an object as well as piertotum locomotor which brings inanimate or unmoving objects
to life.
#2 Transfiguration
Dumbledore is of course a master at transfiguration, which is defined as the art of changing the
form or appearance of an object or person. Dumbledore was the professor of transfiguration
at hogwarts for a period of time, and in his schoolboy days exhibited extreme comprehension
of transfiguration when taking his N.E.W.T.S. Transfiguration is a particularly complex
branch of magic that can go quite wrong if performed incorrectly. There are several branches
of transfiguration, most notably cross-species transfiguration and human transfiguration.
It has been heavily speculated that transfiguration is a more difficult skill to master than something
like charms, despite charms having a wide range of functions. I think that the most
impressive display of transfiguration that we’ve seen from Dumbledore was when, during
his duel with Voldemort, he transfigured shards of glass shot at him in to sand- really impressive
stuff.
#1 is Elemental magic
Over the course of the books and films, I think that one of Dumbledore’s abilities
really stands out. In both his duel against Voldemort in the ministry atrium, and his
encounter with the inferi, we see Dumbledore continuously pull out all sorts of tricks
from up his sleeve- and when I think about what Dumbledore’s most powerful ability
is - it’s got to be his mastery of the elements.
First, we’ve got Firestorm, otherwise known as ‘lasso of flames’- which is an incantation
that produces a large ring of fire from the casters wand. When the caster moves, the ring
of fire moves with them which will effectively ward off anyone trying to hurt them. While
the ring of fire circles them, the caster also holds the ability to shoot individual
jets or balls of flames at their opponents. This ability pairs well with partis temporus
which allows a gap in the flames for the caster to safely pass through. Dumbledore used this
spell to ward off the masses of inferi who were guarding the horcrux. Even in his weakened
state this spell proved to be MORE than enough to serve its purpose.
Another good example of Dumbledore’s mastery of the elements was his use of water. In his
duel against Voldemort in the ministry atrium, Dumbledore at one point produces some sort
of hydro-kinetic spell, and it’s clearly magic unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.
I think that what we witnessed in the books and films really only scratched the surface
of Dumbledore’s power, but from what I have seen, these seem to be the most powerful.
A massively honourable mention is Dumbledore’s mastery of the dark arts, which he chooses
not to use out of principle.
What do you guys think? Do you agree with this list? Is there something that I’ve
missed? If so, please let me know down in the comment section below.
Until next time
YER A WIZARD ARRY