Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be discussing the moral leanings of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Beloved
Hogwarts’ Professor and eventual Headmaster, loyal member of the Order of the Phoenix,
and…potentially Dark Wizard?
Now don’t get me wrong. Dumbledore was a majorly positive influence on our dear boy
Harry, providing him with guidance in the wizarding world and taking a special interest
in “The Boy Who Lived” upon his arrival at Hogwarts.
I also want to make my stance on Dumbledore abundantly clear- he is one of my FAVOURITE
characters, so this is NOT a shot at him. This is JUST a fun theory to explore.
But what if Dumbledore’s influence – his interest in Harry – came from a selfish,
dark place, rather than a SELFLESS, compassionate one?
Could it be, that Albus Dumbledore only mentored Harry – only ever did things that appeared
good in general – to satisfy his own need to be clever, to be powerful, and, ultimately,
to achieve glory? Let’s take a look at the facts. I’ve got three for you today.
#1. If Dumbledore truly cared for Harry, why did he abuse him so often? I don’t mean
abuse in the physical sense, of course. (Although there were quite a few times where he sent
Harry off to do some very questionable, very dangerous things…) But in terms of emotional
abuse, Dumbledore left Harry alone to suffer almost too many times to count.
The first time was when Harry was just a baby. For some odd reason – not agreed upon by
anyone else, I might add (namely Minerva McGonagall and Hagrid) – Dumbledore chose to place
a newly orphaned infant Harry in the care of the Dursleys. He did this knowing of the
volatile and strained relationship between Lily Potter, Harry’s mother, and her sister,
Petunia. And with witches like Arabella Figg – the Dursleys’ neighbour who would frequently
care for Harry (when the Dursleys would go out to do something fun without Harry, of
course) – Dumbledore was certainly aware of how Harry was being treated over at Number
4 Privet Drive. I mean, Harry’s letter of acceptance to Hogwarts was literally made
out to “Mr. H. Potter, THE CUPBOARD UNDER THE STAIRS, 4 Privet Drive.” So, Dumbledore
clearly knew of the abuse Harry was experiencing. And yet, he remained in the care of the Dursleys
for an entire DECADE! And no one seemed to be too concerned when he continued to return
to Privet Drive each and every summer either…
But yes yes I know what you’re thinking- didn’t Harry HAVE to live there in order
to remain safe? Dumbledore even explains this to Harry himself:
"While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot
be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her
sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as
long as you can still call it home, there he cannot hurt you.”
So- according to Dumbledore, at least, he HAD to be there. We know the power of love
is real in Harry Potter, but- living with the Dursleys, is that bit actually true? Or
is this just another manipulation tactic used by Dumbledore as part of his scheme.
Dumbledore also continued to be somewhat indifferent and mistrusting of Harry as the years progressed,
despite claiming to care for him. He didn’t seem to believe Harry when he said he didn’t
put his own name into the Goblet of Fire, for instance. And then after the Triwizard
Tournament ended – an incredibly traumatic event for Harry – instead of explaining
to Harry his theory behind his link to Voldemort (or merely even comforting Harry), what did
he do instead? He IGNORED him. Later, he claimed he only did this to keep Harry safe, but he
actually didn’t want Harry to know that he would inevitably have to die (more on this
in a second)... Dumbledore then CONTINUED to withhold important information from him
right up until his death, leaving a TEENAGE Harry to decipher complex riddles and clues,
hunt down dangerous magical items, and ultimately come up against one of the most powerful dark
wizards of all time: Voldemort.
It’s also worth pointing out that Dumbledore has also earned a lot of disapproval from
fans over the years, who believe he mentored Harry for only one despicable reason: to be
raised like a pig for slaughter:
“We have protected him because it has been essential to teach him, to raise him, to let
him try his strength,” said Dumbledore, his eyes still tight shut. “Meanwhile, the
connection between them grows ever stronger, a parasitic growth: Sometimes I have thought
he suspects it himself. If I know him, he will have arranged matters so that when he
does set out to meet his death, it will truly mean the end of Voldemort.”
Dumbledore opened his eyes. Snape looked horrified.
“You have kept him alive so that he can die at the right moment?”
“Don’t be shocked, Severus. How many men and women have you watched die?”
Dumbledore knew – and quite frankly didn’t sound too distraught – about the fact that
Harry would have to give his life in order to defeat Voldemort. He provided him with
just enough guidance to have him become a compassionate, powerful young wizard who would
be willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good.
#2. The wizards who Dumbledore chose to be loyal to was also …questionable – to say
the least. The most obvious example is, of course, Dumbledore’s affiliation with the
infamous wizard Gellert Grindelwald – who was considered to be one of the most dangerous
wizards of all time. Grindelwald and Dumbledore struck up an intense relationship as young
men over their shared interest in power and the pursuit of the three Deathly Hallows.
While Dumbledore eventually realized how far into dark magic and hate Grindelwald was willing
to take his ideologies, it took DECADES before he was willing to challenge him in a duel.
He eventually did in 1945 at the height of Grindelwald’s power. But why did it take
so long, you might ask? Likely a couple of reasons. Since the release of the books, J.K.
Rowling has revealed that Dumbledore was in fact in love with Grindelwald. Then, one of
their final confrontations before going their separate ways as young men led to the death
of Dumbledore’s sister, Ariana. So, he was in love with a psychopath and not even the
death of a family member was enough to make him go after him. Quite an unwavering loyalty
to a very wicked wizard. Not the best look for Dumbledore.
On a much lesser scale, in terms of loyalties to dark wizards, Dumbledore seemed to have
interesting taste when it came to who he employed at Hogwarts. Obviously, he also gave well-intentioned
and talented magical folks career opportunities – the likes of Hagrid and Sybill Trelawney
falling into the well-intentioned category and professors like Remus Lupin falling into
the talented (and good) category. But he also chose wizards like Quirinus Quirrell and Horace
Slughorn to take up postings at Hogwarts. It’s hard to believe that a wizard with
Dumbledore’s experience and power, wouldn’t have been able to tell that something was
REALLY quite off about Quirrell – I mean, the man had Voldemort’s soul LIVING ON THE
BACK OF HIS HEAD. Dumbledore also went quite out of his way to offer Slughorn a job. Now,
I know he wanted Slughorn’s help in determining exactly how Voldemort split his soul – but
did he really have to give him a PAYING job in order to get that information out of him?
After all, Slughorn was a man of questionable morality, putting together a club for his
most talented students, showing a shallow enthusiasm for knowing students who would
go on to be great, despite seeing darkness in some of them, including – you guessed
it – a young Tom Riddle.
On the flip side of that coin, Dumbledore didn’t always show the most loyalty towards
otherwise “good” wizards. For example, being in the Order of the Phoenix and watching
him come up in Hogwarts with James Potter, I would’ve expected Dumbledore to ask more
questions when it came to Sirius Black and the death of James and Lily. Not only did
he do nothing to uncover the truth of what happened before Sirius was imprisoned in Azkaban,
Dumbledore even went as far as to allow Dementors to roam school grounds in an effort to “protect”
students after Sirius escaped from prison.
#3. The third and final piece of evidence that I’ve got for you guys today is – I
would say – his most unforgivable: the mistreatment of his family. We’ve already covered the
fact that he was part of the duel that led to the death of his younger sister, Ariana.
Whether he was at fault for the spell that killed her or not remains beside the point.
If he hadn’t been so careless around his family, you could argue that the tragedy could’ve
been avoided all together. But even before that, as a young man filled with pride, he
resented that he must care for his “damaged” sister after she accidentally killed their
mother in an outburst of uncontrollable magic. In order to come take care of Ariana, Albus
had to – GASP – cancel a trip around the world with his friend, Elphias Doge. Oh, the
horrors! Uh, no, not really. And from my perspective, he seems much more distraught over the loss
of his freedom than the loss of his mother…
‘I resented it, Harry.’
Dumbledore stated it baldly, coldly. He was looking, now, over the top of Harry’s head,
into the distance.
‘I was gifted, I was brilliant. I wanted to escape. I wanted to shine. I wanted glory.
‘Do not misunderstand me,’ he said, and pain crossed the face so that he looked ancient
again. ‘I loved them. I loved my parents, I loved my brother and my sister, but I was
selfish, Harry, more selfish than you, who are a remarkably selfless person, could possibly
imagine.
‘So that, when my mother died, and I was left the responsibility of a damaged sister
and a wayward brother, I returned to my village in anger and bitterness. Trapped and wasted,
I thought!…’
So, there you have it. Three things that point to Albus Dumbledore potentially being more
evil than any of us had previously expected. Did I miss any examples of Dumbledore acting
truly evil? Or do you think this is a completely crazy theory? After all, even Harry managed
to find the good in Dumbledore, forgiving him when they meet in limbo at King’s Cross
in The Deathly Hallows.
Regardless, let me know your thoughts on this one in the comments below! And don’t forget
to like the video and subscribe to the channel.
Until next time…
DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY, STILL RECRUITING.