Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be discussing beloved Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. More specifically- I’m
going to be discussing aspects of Dumbledore’s character that people who have ONLY seen the
films won’t know. That’s right- if you’re a book reader- you probably know all of these
(at least I hope so)- but if you’ve only watched Harry Potter on the silver screen,
then you’re in for a shock. Dumbledore’s a main character, and a complex one at that,
so you may be surprised at just how much of him was left out of the films.
Let’s get in to it.
10. His Letter to Aunt Petunia
Petunia Evans was Harry’s aunt, the daughter of Mr and Mrs Evans and the sister of Lily
Evans. Aside from a few moments of clarity in the books and films, Petunia, along with
her husband Vernon, are primarily portrayed as BAD people. They mistreated Harry from
a very young age, and despised all things magical. But what might surprise you if you’ve
only seen the films is that Petunia wasn’t always so bad.
You see, Petunia’s hatred of the magical world stemmed from the fact that her sister
was a witch and she wasn’t. Jealousy was her biggest problem. In fact, she even wrote
to Dumbledore SEVERAL TIMES asking if she would be able to attend Hogwarts along with
her sister. Eventually, Dumbledore wrote back, and had to politely decline Petunia’s request
to attend the school. She wasn’t a witch, so there was no way that she could ever go
to magical school. Makes sense.
9. Jam
Dumbledore certainly loves his sweets, and this is highlighted in both the books and
films. Sherbet Lemons, Acid pops, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans- these were all treats
that Dumbledore enjoyed. In fact, Dumbledore’s office was password protected with the name
of his favourite treat. Now, I know you’re dying to know. What’s the relevance of JAM
here? Well- it’s revealed in the books that Dumbledore’s FAVOURITE Jam is Raspberry.
This information is given to Harry so that he confirm Dumbledore’s identity.
8. Tom Riddle’s Job Application
The ‘Defence Against the Dark Arts’ professor role at Hogwarts is cursed. That’s why no
professor seems to be able to keep the role for more than one school year. I’m not sure
if you noticed the trend of a new DADA professor in each and every book/film. So, what’s
the deal?
Well, it all started with Voldemort (or at that time Tom Riddle) himself interviewing
for the position. Who was his interviewer? Why, Dumbledore of course. Voldemort wasn’t
openly evil yet, and to many he was still just a promising young Hogwarts graduate,
but Dumbledore who’s as sharp as a tack, knew that Riddle wanted the role for nefarious
reasons.
From that day onward, Riddle/Voldemort cursed the role so that no one would ever be able
to teach DADA for more than 1 year.
7. He was a Hogwarts Prefect
Like everyone else, even the all-powerful and wise Dumbledore once walked through the
halls of Hogwarts for the very first time. He was sorted in to Gryffindor house, and
quickly befriended Elphias Doge- a wizard who later joined the Order of the Phoenix.
Albus was an incredible student while he attended the school, performing extremely well on all
of his NEWTS and even receiving the Barnabus Finkley Prize for Exceptional Spell Casting.
He was a top tier student. In the Deathly Hallows book it’s later revealed that Dumbledore
was both Prefect and Head Boy during his time at school. No surprises there.
6. His Funeral
In the films, Dumbledore is killed by Severus Snape during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower.
But though the moment is certainly sad and impactful, there isn’t really much follow-up
after Dumbledore’s death. In the books, however, Dumbledore’s death is heavily highlighted-
and there’s even a funeral that takes place to honour the deceased Headmaster.
The Funeral was a grand occasion, with a vast number of attendees- including Ministry of
Magic officials, Hogwarts students and professors, Order of the Phoenix members, the landlord
of the Leaky Cauldron, the Knight Bus driver, Madam Malkin, and even some of his enemies.
The list goes on. Dumbledore ends up being buried ON the Hogwarts grounds.
5. Dumbledore’s VISIT to the Dursley Home
One rather BIG omission from the films was Dumbledore himself paying a visit to the Dursley
residence to pick up Harry. After inviting himself in to their home, and an interesting
engagement, he says the following:
“You did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a son. He has known nothing
but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. The best that can be said is that he has at
least escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting
between you.”
Ouch.
4. Death of his sister
We know from the Harry Potter films that Dumbledore’s sister, Ariana, is dead. But, what’s not
properly explained is HOW she died. More importantly, it’s not revealed that Dumbledore feels
that he himself MAY have been the killer. The following passage highlights this:
“It was the truth I feared. You see, I never knew which of us, in that last, horrific fight,
had actually cast the curse that killed my sister. You may call me cowardly: you would
be right. Harry, I dreaded beyond all things the knowledge that it had been I who brought
about her death, not merely through my arrogance and stupidity, but that I actually struck
the blow that snuffed out her life."
Dumbledore went about his days with the knowledge that he may have been the one to kill her,
which must have been impossibly hard to deal with.
3. His Portrait
Hogwarts headmasters commonly receive ‘portraits’ after their death. These portraits are meant
to act as memoirs of the deceased- honouring their existence.
McGonagall once explained to Harry that these portraits are also supposed to be a “support
mechanism” for the decisions of the new headmaster. What you didn’t see in the film,
however, was a portrait of good old Dumbledore. At one stage, when Harry, Ron and Hermione
enter the Headmaster’s office, they see a familiar face staring back at them.
2. Voldemort Vs Dumbledore
The duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore inside of the Ministry Atrium in the Order
of the Phoenix is the BEST DUEL in the entire series. It’s two of the most POWERFUL wizards
going head to head, and it’s impressive in both the books AND the films. However,
some of the magic that Dumbledore uses in this duel is completely omitted from the film,
and I want to highlight this magic because..it’s pretty cool.
You see, amidst the chaos, Dumbledore actually uses his impressive magical ability to transfigure
statues to life- which protect Harry and other students.
“'I have nothing more to say to you, Potter,' Voldemort said quietly. 'You have irked me
too often, for too long. AVADA KEDAVRA!'
Harry had not even opened his mouth to resist; his mind was blank, his wand pointing uselessly
at the floor.
But the headless golden statue of the wizard in the fountain had sprung alive, leaping
from its plinth to land with a crash on the floor between Harry and Voldemort. The spell
merely glanced off its chest as the statue flung out its arms to protect Harry.”
1. Memories
If you know Dumbledore, then you’ll know that he has an affinity for gadgets and magical
artefacts. One artifact in particular, the Pensieve, plays a pretty big role in the story.
A pensieve is of course a magical object used to review memories - but one thing REQUIRED
to use the pensieve are..well, memories. In the films we see lots of memories- Snape’s,
Dumbledore’s own when he visits Tom Riddle, Slughorn’s interactions with Tom Riddle
etc. But it’s never mentioned in the films that Dumbledore also has OTHER memories that
he can review. These memories belong to Bob Ogden, an old Ministry employee, Honky the
House elf, and Morfin Gaunt.
And that’s it for this video! If you like this type of content then please LIKE the
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Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out my TOP 5 RICHEST wizarding families
video, which I’ll link in the pinned comment.
Until next time
Remember
Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts
are open