History

Early Years

Albus was born during late August 1881, in a small, magical village called Mould-on-the-Wold, located in England. His parents, Percival and Kendra Dumbledore, also had two other children later in the years, Aberforth and Ariana, meaning Albus was the eldest of their children. Unfortunately, while he was a child, he experienced many traumatic events. The first of these was when his younger sister was attacked by a group of muggle youths, as they had been startled when they saw her use magic in their presence. As a result, Ariana was never the same, and she was emotionally, magically, and mentally damaged for life. This event set off a chain reaction. Because of this, Percival set out to attack the boys, repaying them for what they had done to his daughter. This placed him in the wizarding prison, Azkaban, which was where he later perished. In the wake of this, Albus’s mother relocated her family to Godric’s Hollow, avoiding the prying eyes of others. After this, none of them dared mention their lost family member, nor the devastated Ariana, to anyone. This influenced Albus’s view of muggles, deciding to loathe them for what they did to his family, though his point of view changes drastically over the course of a few years.

Student of Hogwarts

Albus was sorted into Gryffindor house late in the year of 1892, often judged by his father’s actions, both positively and negatively. Despite this small issue, he made many memorable friendships with other young wizards, including Bathilda Bagshot and Nicholas Flamel. During his time there, he excelled in his magical classes, often receiving praise and rewards for his effort and exceptionality, these including becoming a prefect and head boy, as well as British Youth Representative of Wizengamot. This is where his reputation began. Later, when he first graduated, he received news of his mother's death, as his sister had caused an uncontrollable explosion during one of her outbursts, leaving him to be the sole guardian of his two younger siblings, which he hated. When he returned to Godric’s Hollow, he had one surprise waiting for him: His future friend, Gellert Grindelwald, who he soon developed a passion for. This new relationship nearly led him down a dark path, along with Gellert, and if it wasn’t for his brother, Aberforth, he would have been lost. Soon, his friend attacked Aberforth for intervening in his relationship, and the three boys got into a brutal fight. A fight in which killed Albus’s sister, Ariana. Gellert, soon afterward, fled. The relationship between the two brothers was never the same afterward, each of them always at each other’s throats.

Life As Professor

- Soon after his sister’s death, Albus returned to Hogwarts, seeking a teaching position, as it was a career he had been drawn to for quite some time. After learning about Grindelwald’s rise to evil, he felt drawn to the subject of Defense Against the Dark arts, which was a position he most gratefully received. During his time spent as a professor, he cultivated many more relationships, these including his long-distance friendships with Nicholas Flamel and Eulalie Hicks.
During his time here, the Ministry suspected him, as he had past relationships with the now-infamous Grindelwald. Several of his day-to-day tasks were accused as some form of contact or bidding of and with his former friend, each accusation proven wrong in time.
Later, the Global Wizarding War began, and realizing that Grindelwald was behind the majority of the wrong-doings, Dumbledore sought out his former student, Newt Scamander, and sent him to New York, convincing him to go under false circumstances. This trip led to the capture of Grindelwald. When he escaped, however, Dumbledore consulted Newt once more, who, in the end, managed to defeat Gellert and put an end to the war.
Later in his career as a professor, he recruited the young wizard, Tom Riddle, into Hogwarts, though he felt the boy would prove to be rather dangerous. He was correct in the long run. Sometime around 1943, when Dumbledore received a position as the Transfiguration teacher, Tom Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets, causing the school to close down after the first murder. Albus, though there was no proof, suspected Tom, and once again, he was proven correct.
Slightly later, Grindelwald was proven to be very much alive, and after many months of turning a blind eye, Dumbledore finally confronted him, engaging him in one of the finest duels in history. Gellert, after this, was finally defeated, once and for all.
Afterward, dealing with the ever-growing threat of the Dark Lord, Dumbledore taught many other students, some breaking off to embrace the darkness and others the light. Many times during this era, he was offered the position of Minister of Magic but politely refused.

Time As Headmaster

Dumbledore was appointed headmaster sometime between March 1965 to 1971, replacing Professor Dippet. He was known to have taken his new career quite seriously, listening to any type of complaint or question and running the school with nobility and wisdom.
While he was the head of Hogwarts, Voldemort soon returned to him, offering to take up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, which was a proposal that Dumbledore most tactfully denied. This, unfortunately, led to the cursing of the subject, which only allowed a professor to teach for one year.
Soon after Albus noticed Lord Voldemort’s sheer rise in power during the First Wizarding War, he constructed the Order of the Phoenix. He was seen as the ideal leader, as he was the only known wizard the Dark Lord feared.
Fortunately, upon this time, he decided to hire the well-known Professor Trelawney, who had successfully delivered the prophecy of Harry Potter’s destiny, which was also known of by Voldemort himself. When the Potters’ deaths were nearing, Dumbledore did his best to protect the family from their enemy, but his efforts, in the end, were to no avail. After Harry Potter’s parents were murdered, he transported the young boy to the Dursleys, who he hoped would take the best care of him. He knew that part of Voldemort’s soul was trapped within the infant, and he hoped that he could mentor Harry and shape him into a better man. Of course, he had other loyalties to attend to, and after being satisfied with the boy’s placement, he returned to the school and continued his career. Ten years later, Harry Potter finally began to attend Hogwarts, quite different from what Albus originally expected, but this was likely due to his harsh life at the Dursleys. Later that year, when he discovered that Voldemort was likely to seek out the Philosopher's Stone, a powerful object created by himself and Nicholas Flamel, and Dumbledore had it moved to a more secure location, Gringotts.
When Harry discovered the Mirror of Erised, Dumbledore made an appearance and gave him one of his first lectures. One of the next was after the young boy had managed to defeat Professor Quirrell, explaining to him why he had survived Voldemort’s wrath years earlier: Love. These sessions caused Harry to grow fond of the Headmaster.
The next year, Dumbledore made the decision to hire Gilderoy Lockhart, not at all fooled by his false ‘successes.’ He decided to hire him purely under the intention to reveal his true nature, which, eventually, would seep through the cracks. Also during that year, Harry gained the power to summon Dumbledore’s Phoenix, which saved his life within the Chamber of Secrets. This was after Albus was removed from his position temporarily by Lucius Malfoy and a few other ministry officials. The year following, the ministry decided to place dementor’s on school grounds to prevent any dangerous criminals, mainly Sirius Black, from making their way in. This was highly disapproved of by Dumbledore, but he tolerated them until Harry was nearly killed by one whilst flying. Luckily, Dumbledore managed to ‘catch’ him before he hit the ground. Later, when Harry expressed Sirius’s innocence, Albus immediately believed him but was incapable of convincing the ministry. This was when he gave the small group of friends the Time-Turner to save Sirius.
In his third year, Harry’s name was unexpectedly drawn from the goblet of fire, though Dumbledore had secured the area with tremendous effort. Moody, an ex-Auror he had recently hired, was being impersonated at the time and was the culprit of many of Harry Potter’s issues that year. Albus failed to notice this until his true identity was revealed.
The very next year, Dumbledore was removed from many of his formal positions, as he had claimed Voldemort had returned, and the ministry refused to believe it, resulting in punishment. This term, he decided to avoid Harry Potter, as he feared the connection between the Dark Lord and the young boy, thinking that if he distanced himself, Harry Potter would be better off. Because of this connection, he had Severus Snape teach the boy Occlumency, as to protect his mind from Voldemort’s prying eyes.
When Professor Umbridge unearthed the secret student organization of Dumbledore’s Army, the headmaster willingly took the blame, though he had no connection with the group whatsoever. A few months later, when Harry confronted Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore made an appearance near the end of the conflict, capturing most of the death eaters who had remained there, eventually facing the Dark Lord and participating in a severe duel. This led to Voldemort’s retreat, and Albus had saved Harry Potter’s life once again.

Death

One year later, Dumbledore tracked down one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, also to find that it was a ring containing the Resurrection Stone, one of the Deathly Hallows. He quickly destroyed it, also demolishing part of the Dark Lord’s soul with it. But before he did so, he couldn’t stand the temptation to put it on and see his deceased loved ones, and when he placed it on his finger, he was instantly cursed. Snape managed to contain the dark spell within his hand, but they both knew that it would spread over time and eventually kill him. This was when he asked Snape to be the one to kill him instead of Draco Malfoy, who had been assigned with the task of killing the headmaster. He began to give some of his memories of Tom Riddle to Harry Potter, helping him gain more information on the subject. He also collected many other wizards’ unwanted memories for the sake of Harry’s knowledge. This, once viewing each of the memories, made him realize that Voldemort had six Horcruxes.
Soon, he found another one located in a cave he had once explored, allowing Harry to come along and aid him in destroying it. After making their way through several defenses, they discovered the Horcrux in the middle of a large, underground lake, which was inhabited by Inferi, dangerous beings who sought to kill whoever touched the water. This was when Dumbledore found the basin containing a strange, green potion, which, in the end, would need to be consumed. He volunteered for the job, instructing Harry to do whatever it took to force it into his mouth. The potion brought a painful memory to the front of his mind, the death of his sister, also weakening him with every sip. Once all of it was consumed, he fell unconscious for a few moments. Once this happened, Harry made the mistake of retrieving water from the lake for him to drink, which caused the hoard of Inferies to attack. After a long battle, they finally escaped with the Horcrux.
When they returned to Hogwarts, the Astronomy Tower Battle had already begun. Once there, Dumbledore confronted Draco Malfoy, Harry hiding within his invisibility cloak. Albus, much to Harry’s surprise, froze him in place as to immobilize him, as he knew what was coming. Once Malfoy disarmed the headmaster, he admitted that he was working for the Dark Lord and that he would kill him if he did not complete his task. But the young man could not bear it, and he refused to assassinate him. Soon afterward, Snape arrived, fulfilling Dumbledore’s final wish. He blasted him off of the tower, his body falling to the ground.
After the battle, all students gathered to look in horror at the headmaster’s dead body. Later on, Harry found out that the Horcrux they had discovered was fake, and the quest they had embarked on had been for nothing. Harry was devastated.
Nearly the whole wizarding world was gathered at his funeral, all extremely sorrowful for his sudden death. Later, his body was kept in the White Tomb, along with the Elder Wand that Voldemort would steal some time later.

Legacy

Though Dumbledore has died, his legacy still lives on. Harry Potter later encountered his spirit when he was supposedly ‘killed’ by Voldemort, giving him one last lecture before returning him to the real world. Without Dumbledore, Harry Potter would have likely not become the man we all knew he was. Without Dumbledore, Hogwarts would have most likely fallen on its knees. Without Dumbledore, the whole world would be engulfed in chaos. Dumbledore was a remarkable wizard, and he lives on in our hearts. That, surely, was all he ever wanted.

Credits/References

Written by Lydia Pierpoint
Base code by Andrew Sutherland, edited by Iselin Merilä and Desmond Gray.