The Life and Lies of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore Read online

  Eleanor Harrison-Dengate; “Dumbledore and Churchill: War Heroes of 1945”

  An interesting comparison of Albus Dumbledore to a real-life historical figure who may have served as an inspiration for him: Winston Churchill. This predated the renaissance of Churchill in popular culture, and remains a very good piece of analysis

  HufflepuffSam; “The Master of Death”

  One of the most recent pieces of relevant Potter scholarship, this essay examines what the concept of being Master of Death means and how no one ever achieved it in the HP series. Apart from anything else, there is the wonderful observation that the first time all three Hallows are united in one place is in a chapter titled (and all about) "Horcruxes," presaging the Hallows vs. Horcruxes debate.

  Theowyn; “The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore”

  Theowyn talks about Dumbledore manipulating things, much as this book does, but with the least charitable reading of Dumbledore I’ve found. Fans who are skeptical of Dumbledore’s goodness and still have a hard time forgiving him will enjoy this one.

  Sarah Putnam Park; “Dumbledorian Ethics”

  In perhaps the most charitable reading of Dumbledore post-Deathly Hallows, Sarah argues that Dumbledore is really the Ultimate Utilitarian. It’s worth reading in conjunction with Theowyn’s to get both ends of the spectrum regarding Dumbledore.

  Joyce Odell (a.k.a. Red Hen); “The Quirrell Debacle”

  Red Hen (in her signature snippy tone) offers an alternate reading of Sorcerer’s Stone, one where Quirrell is a victim whom Dumbledore is trying to rescue, and Harry is largely beside the point. Most interesting is a section near the end where Red Hen claims that Dumbledore was worried about Harry being like Tom Riddle and tested him with the Mirror of Erised.

  D.W. Hill; “Snape and Dumbledore: The Unnecessary Bargain”

  This piece was among the first to use the new information from Deathly Hallows to talk about the relationship between the Dumbledore and Snape, focusing specifically on Dumbledore’s trust in Snape. My favorite bit is when Hill claims that Dumbledore trusts Snape because he relates to Snape’s remorse over a loved one’s death.

  Avogadro; “Choice or Chance?”

  This essay, published very soon after Deathly Hallows, examined the worthwhile question of what ended up as the driving force in the final battle: choice or chance? That debate is a proxy to all that we’ve discussed here: how much of what happened was influenced by Dumbledore’s efforts (choice), and how much of it happened regardless or despite his plans (chance)? Avogadro reaches a similar conclusion to me: it’s both choice and chance working in conjunction that allow Harry to prevail.

  Lady Lupin; Spinner’s End #26: “Finite Incantatem”

  It has taken me a decade to puzzle all this out about Dumbledore, yet Lady Lupin arrived there exactly a month after Deathly Hallows was published. Her MuggleNet column, Spinner’s End, correctly predicted more things in the last book than anyone else’s. This, her reaction piece to the last book, has a wonderful section on Albus, going over his motivations and his character in much the same way I did (though with fewer words). She, too, admires Dumbledore for his flaws and remains convinced he cared about Harry above all else.

  Pre-Deathly Hallows Era

  D.W. Hill; “Dumbledore’s Trust in Snape Part 1: Headmaster and Schoolboy”

  A month before Deathly Hallows was released, D.W. Hill wrote a wonderful trilogy of editorials titled Dumbledore’s Trust in Snape. The publication of Deathly Hallows made much of it moot, but there are some excellent points in there.

  D.W. Hill; “Dumbledore’s Trust in Snape Part 2: More Than a Potions Master”

  Hill makes the very intriguing claim that Snape is so nasty to Harry in order to get Harry emotional, allowing Snape to read his mind (on Dumbledore’s orders).

  D.W. Hill; “Dumbledore’s Trust in Snape Part 3: Riffs and Curiosities”

  Hill continues in the (rather charitable) vein that Snape is only being nasty for Harry’s own good, and has some great insights into the end of Prisoner of Azkaban in particular.

  D.W. Hill; “Severus Snape: A Portrait in Subtlety”

  Hill wrote this essay in defense of Snape several months before Deathly Hallows, and there is an especially interesting section predicting that Snape is Dumbledore’s Plan B for destroying the Horcruxes and so on.

  Steve Connolly; “Dumbledore’s Master Plan” (7 parts)

  Steve Connolly essentially did what I attempted to do with this book—find Dumbledore’s hand in all the events of the HP books—in a seven-part editorial (first part in the link). However, he does so several months before Deathly Hallows was published. To that end, the speculation in the first and last part largely proved to be inaccurate but is worth reading to see how intricately Rowling wove her tale. However, in the middle parts, Steve Connolly figures out many of the things I’ve written about, without the hindsight of Deathly Hallows! For example, in Part 6, he writes about how the prophecy is a decoy set up by Dumbledore.

  Felicitys_mind; “Dumbledore’s Boggart”

  This essay puts forward the theory that Dumbledore’s boggart is harm coming to the children under his care, which is well-reasoned even if it turned out wrong. More interestingly, this piece brings forth the still valid theory that the potion in the cave that Dumbledore drank made him relive the torture of Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop.

  Felicitys_mind; “Fantastic Potions and How They Helped Albus Dumbledore in HBP”

  The first part of this essay builds on Cathy Leisner’s “Stoppered Death Theory,” which isn’t available online. That theory accurately predicted that the curse on the Ringcrux was deadly and that Snape had “stoppered” Dumbledore’s death (harkening back to Snape’s speech in Harry’s first Potions class). The Stoppered Death Theory successfully explained just about everything that went on in Half-Blood Prince. This essay then veers off into the theory that Dumbledore took Felix Felicis the night of his death, and how everything that happened actually helped him achieve his ultimate objectives.

  Andrew Cooper; “Machiavelli’s Half-Blood Prince”

  This is my favorite of the many essays written between HBP and DH about Snape being Machiavelli’s Prince—it turned out very wrong but is no less clever for it.

  B.J. Texan; “Machiavelli’s Half-Blood Prince”

  This is another essay marking Snape as Machiavelli’s Prince, and claiming he would be the Big Bad of the series. However, there are a few extra gems in here. In particular, the essay correctly theorizes that Snape’s Patronus is a big spoiler, though it guesses that the Patronus is a fox and therefore reveals the motif of The Prince.

  Corinne Demyanovich & Michael Hagel; “Did Albus Dumbledore Set Up Events So That Harry Potter Would Go After the Philosopher’s Stone?”

  This is one of the earliest essays I found that really goes in-depth about Dumbledore orchestrating things in Sorcerer’s Stone, and much of it is really spot-on.

  Robbie Fischer; “He Did It All for Harry”

  This was part of a series of eulogies for Dumbledore that MuggleNet hosted at The Burrow. Robbie raised the intriguing idea that Dumbledore gave Snape the D.A.D.A. position (which led to his own demise) purely to help Harry become an Auror.

  Mudblood428; “Harry Says a Few Words”

  In case there’s been a little too much doom and gloom about Dumbledore, this essay (also part of the series of eulogies) is a good reminder of how much we (and Harry) loved Dumbledore.

  DemenTom; “The New Ship at the Heart of Harry Potter”

  If you want a good laugh at how the fandom used to hero-worship Dumbledore, I think this essay is exemplary. Released in the half-year after Half-Blood Prince when we were all still processing our grief, this essay highlights everything from Dumbledore’s politeness to his trust and belief in people.

  WhiteAlchemist; “Kicking at Dumbledore’s Corpse for Fun”

  This piece erroneously claims that Dumbledore was lying to Harry in HBP about who
knows the contents of the prophecy. But it’s notable as one of the first post-HBP pieces to seriously question Dumbledore’s honesty while the rest of the fandom mourned him.

  Daniela Teo; The Two-Way Mirror #22: “Love or Hate?”

  Less than a month after Half-Blood Prince came out, Daniela Teo at the Two-Way Mirror produced this fascinating take on Snape’s relationship with Dumbledore. While missing the crucial fact of Dumbledore being in on the plan, she paints a compelling portrait of a Snape driven by resentment at Dumbledore due to Dumbledore’s favoritism of Harry over Snape. It’s also a welcome contrast to the exultation of Dumbledore taking place during that era.

  Pre-Half-Blood Prince Era

  Sophierom; “Dumbledore’s Decisions and the Vulnerability of Authority”

  Sophie wrote about the theme of hierarchical relationships versus equal ones in Order of the Phoenix. The theme is relevant to the entire series, and significant in this analysis because Dumbledore had no equals aside from Grindelwald.

  Maline Fredén; The North Tower #35: “Albus Dumbledore—Clueless or Calculating”

  The North Tower was one of the best regular columns on MuggleNet in its heyday, which is saying something. This essay discusses Dumbledore planning the events in Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets much as I do, but without the benefit of having read the last two books. My favorite part is Maline’s point that both Voldemort and Dumbledore have a weakness for wanting to win in a specific way.

  Daniela Teo; The Two-Way Mirror #9: “Dumbledore’s Plan”

  Prepare to be awed as you read this editorial. In MuggleNet’s heyday, the columnists and editorialists would regularly build upon each other’s writing, creating the kind of literary dialogue English professors can only dream of. Daniela built upon the above editorial by Maline and wrote this gem. It suggests that Dumbledore was willing to do some pretty morally questionable things in the service of his grand plan and suggests that Dumbledore actually planned Lily’s sacrifice as part of his plan.

  Although the particulars are wrong, keep in mind this was written in 2004. 2004, several years before Deathly Hallows proved her to be right on the money regarding Dumbledore’s character! Aside from the very early predictions that Dumbledore would turn out to be the Big Bad of the series, this was one of the first essays to question Dumbledore’s goodness, and almost certainly the first to get it right.

  MarinaRusalka; “Thoughts on Dumbledore”

  This was written shortly after Order of the Phoenix, and holds up all these years later as one of the most damning indictments of Dumbledore’s character I’ve ever read. Armed with only the first five books, Rusalka presciently paints a Dumbledore who is a master manipulator obsessed with others’ loyalty to himself.

  For your convenience in following the links, this entire section is available at the book’s website: LifeAndLiesOfDumbledore.com

  Editions of the Potter books used in this volume:

  J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (New York: Scholastic Inc, 2000)

  J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (New York: Scholastic Inc, 2009)

  J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (New York: Scholastic Inc, 2002)

  J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (New York: Scholastic Inc, 2006)

  J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (New York: Scholastic Inc, 2004)

  J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (New York: Scholastic Inc, 2001)

  J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (New York: Scholastic Inc, 1999)

  Acknowledgments

  This book would not exist without a million things going right, and a million kindnesses (big and small) from too many people to mention. So before diving in, I offer a blanket “thank you” to everyone who ever did me a kindness—I assure you that, with my memory like a steel trap, I remember it and appreciate it.

  Thanks to the team at Story Spring Publishing, the formidable Annie Tarbuck and Chris Hagberg, who did a terrific job editing this book into something I’m proud of. I’m so glad we worked together to publish the first edition of this book! Thank you for taking a chance on a hyper twenty-four-year-old crazy enough to think he could write a book—I have enjoyed every minute of debating with you about footnotes and abbreviations and hope I have at least slightly ameliorated your feelings towards Albus.

  Thanks to Lorrie Kim, who paved the way for this book with SNAPE, and who talked me off a ledge many a time throughout this nerve-wracking publishing process. We may not agree on anything in the Potter series, but I hope we never stop arguing about it!

  Thanks to Nancy Pina, without whom I never would have gotten this published. When I was recently out of college and broke, I was able to attend Leviosa 2016 only because you let me stay in your hotel room for free. That convention was where I met Annie and began the long road to publication, so this book would not be published without your generosity.

  Thanks to Sheila Simmons, who designed an absolutely gorgeous cover for me. You made me finally understand the impulse to show people baby photos, because I accosted everyone I spoke to in the last year to show them your Dumbledorean masterpiece.

  Thank you to the incredible team at Books of Wonder, my favorite bookstore, for taking a chance on me and my book. Thank you for allowing me to realize my dream of having a launch party at your store, for indulging my crazy choices like having a dance number at said launch party, and for not chasing me out when I was still signing books two hours after closing time.

  Thanks to friends who lent their singing/dancing/ baking/prophesying talents to my launch party: Deanna Benfante, Angelica Capotorto, dyAnne Irby, Mary Mandzak, Ignacio Melgar, Julie Stevens. And thanks to Caitlin Bryson and Angelica for helping with all the logistics of the launch party. I would have completely lost my mind without all of you; you really made sure my special day went off without a hitch.

  Before my writings about Dumbledore were a book, they were a series of essays at MuggleNet, where I have been proudly publishing essays since 2011. Without that foundation, there would be no book here. Thanks to Kat Miller and the entire MuggleNet family—I’m sure I create a lot of work for you, both in terms of getting the essays published and in putting out fires when people finally read them.

  Most little kids idolize musicians or athletes. When I was a kid, my heroes were the columnists at MuggleNet. I wanted to be Daniela Teo, Lady Lupin, Maline Freden, Bob Sindeldecker, Brandon Ford, Christopher Stephen, Dan Hoppel, and Josh Smith when I grew up. So even though I haven’t heard of any of them in a decade, I remain grateful to them for their columns, and always try to hold myself to the high standard they set.

  At nineteen, my dream came true when Noah Fried, the leader of MuggleNet’s foundering Editorials section, offered me my own column at MuggleNet. Noah, you were the one who first provided me with a platform to write about Dumbledore, and I hope you know what writing The Three Broomsticks has meant to me all these years. Thanks for that, and for all you put up with after branding me the “controversial columnist.”

  Thanks to the many and varied members of The Group That Shall Not Be Named—since our group is over 3,000 members strong, it would take too long to list everyone. But for ten years, you all have talked Potter with me, indulged my theorizing, and supported every crazy endeavor I’ve undertaken. Thanks for believing in my weirdness.

  Thanks to Traci Hall, who allowed me to deliver presentations about Dumbledore at every MISTI-Con—I can hardly express how helpful these were in eventually crafting this book.

  Thanks to Natasha Povar, Cherie Wong, Regina Burd, and all my oldest friends for their countless years of support. You’re the ones who read my teenage memoirs and sappy poetry, and all those hours on the phone with you are the only thing that’s kept me sane all these years.

  Thanks to all the employers who wouldn’t hire me in the fall of 2016—being unemployed for six months allowed me to realize my dream of completing
a book, so I’m very glad I didn’t go to work for you!

  Lastly, thanks to Jo Rowling. The world that sprang from her imagination has shaped my life ever since I was nine years old, and I can’t even fathom what my life would look like without Harry in it. Even as a published author, I am not up to the task of expressing what Harry Potter has meant to me. So I’ll defer (as I often do) to wizard rock: “Thank you, Ms. J.K. Rowling. . . thank you so much for Harry.”

  About the Author

  Attractive brunette Irvin Khaytman, twenty-six, whose savage quill has punctured many inflated reputations—

  Never mind all that. Irvin Khaytman is a walking Harry Potter encyclopedia from New York City, where he does taxes by day and all things geeky by night. He has been writing essays about Harry Potter since 2007 as “hpboy13,” and became a columnist at MuggleNet in 2011. In the last few years, he has also been a regular contributor to Hypable. When not reading or discussing books, Irvin can be found dancing to wizard rock or planning costumes for conventions. He identifies as a Ravenpuff.