Harry Potter: 5 Times Albus Dumbledore Was A Hero (& 5 He Was A Villain)

In Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore, leader of the light, defeater of dark wizards, was a legend in the making. Armed with his own Chocolate Frog Card, an enthusiastic following, and the respect and fear of nearly everyone, no one in their right mind would fight Dumbledore one-on-one. Dumbledore was always excited by lemon drops and easily amused, and Harry quickly looked to him as a grandfather figure, a symbol of the family he lacked growing up.

The Headmaster of Hogwarts earned his hero status, but he also made some questionable decisions as well. Sometimes, Dumbledore’s perception of the greater good did not do right by Harry or his friends, people Dumbledore placed in constant danger.

10 HERO: ADMITTED TO VOLDEMORT’S RETURN

When Harry returns from the graveyard at the end of the third task in the Triwizard Tournament, he reveals that Voldemort has returned. Frantic and terrified by the news, Minister Fudge denies Harry’s claims and continues to feed lies to the public. In his fear of Voldemort, Fudge throws Harry and Dumbledore under the bus, naming them as liars with an agenda to take the Ministry from him.

Luckily, Dumbledore believed Harry and encouraged everyone to understand that Voldemort was back. Knowing that the war was bound to get worse, Dumbledore gathered the Order of the Phoenix in preparation for what was to come.

9 VILLAIN: IGNORING HARRY

After a traumatizing end to the Triwizard Tournament, Harry is ripped apart by the Daily Prophet, the Ministry, and his classmates. Only Harry’s closest friends are there for him when it seems that the world is against him, and if that isn’t bad enough, Dumbledore also makes himself unavailable to Harry. Throughout Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore barely interacts with Harry unless it’s necessary, and encourages Harry’s friends to ignore him as well during the summer beforehand. Although Dumbledore explains he was trying to protect Harry, his actions only hurt him.

8 HERO: FOUGHT VOLDEMORT

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a mixed bag for Dumbledore. He makes up for ignoring Harry by rescuing him during the battle at the Ministry. While Dumbledore couldn’t kill Voldemort, he distracted his attention from Harry. Defeating Voldemort is no small feat, and their duel wastes enough time for Minster Fudge to appear afterward and see Voldemort at the Ministry of Magic.

7 VILLAIN: MAKING TEENAGERS DO HIS BIDDING

Albus Dumbledore is a grown man with a list of trusted grown-up allies. Instead of enlisting them in his fight against Voldemort, Dumbledore asks Harry to do everything from receiving Slughorn’s original, untampered memory to killing Voldemort. These are things that Dumbledore could have done for himself or gotten other colleagues to help with. But rather than go this route, he hands over the responsibilities to Harry Potter and his friends to fulfill the prophecy. Asking so much of teenagers, even if they were capable, was a step too far.

6 HERO: PREPARED HARRY FOR THE FINAL BATTLE

Although he did not teach Harry defensive or offensive magic, Dumbledore did advise him of the Tom Riddle’s behavior as a child and teenager. The memories allow Harry a closer look at his younger adversary, and get a glimpse into what types of objects Tom would’ve decided to use as Horcruxes. Not shying Harry away from the potential danger, the Headmaster also brings him along to find Slytherin’s locket. Although Ron makes solid points about Dumbledore giving them barely anything to go on, he had not left them with nothing all, as he left Harry the Sword of Gryffindor in his will.

5 VILLAIN: LYING TO EVERYONE

To ensure his victory, Dumbledore kept his knowledge and plans close to the chest. While watching Snape’s memories, Harry learns that he and Snape only received half the big picture, respectively. While it may have been the right decision from a logical standpoint, it only forced people to be in pain as they attempted to unriddle Dumbledore’s statements. By telling his knowledge to only a select group of people, it caused mistrust between everyone as the war grew worse.

4 HERO: HORCRUXES

Looking for a way to kill Voldemort, Dumbledore first played with the concept of Horcruxes when he set eyes on Tom Riddle’s diary. Afterward, Dumbledore continued down the path, searching for others, and how to destroy them. Making sure that his work was not in vain, Dumbledore gave Harry history lessons on Voldemort’s life from young Tom Riddle to the adult he became. Narrowing down the source of Voldemort’s immortality is the key to winning the war. With Regulus Black dead, it was likely that without Dumbledore’s discovery, no one would ever know about the Horcruxes.

3 VILLAIN: RAISED HARRY TO DIE

As Harry views Snape’s memories, he gets access to the information Dumbledore had never granted him. One such piece of discovery revealed that to win the war, Harry must die at Voldemort’s hand. Snape responds to the statement suggesting that Dumbledore had raised Harry as if he was a pig for slaughter. Although Snape had never cared for Harry, his shock and dislike of the information matches the situation. Dumbledore had ensured that Harry lived, preparing for war, until the moment he needed to die. It is a disturbing thought, especially coming from the man who so many looked up to.

2 HERO: PLANNED HIS DEATH

Unfortunately, one of Dumbledore’s most thought-out moments came at the expense of his life. A long-ago dream of holding all three Deathly Hallows left Albus with a cursed hand that would eventually kill him. With only a year left, Dumbledore enlisted Snape in a larger scheme to ensure the defeat of Lord Voldemort. By Snape killing Dumbledore, he would have secured his spot among Voldemort’s ranks as well as his trust.

However, one part of this plan never came to fruition. By dying at the hand of Snape, Dumbledore believed that the power of the Elder Wand would die with him. That plan was defeated when Draco disarmed Dumbledore first, becoming the owner of the Elder Wand before Snape killed the Headmaster.

1 VILLAIN: LEFT HARRY WITH THE DURSLEYS

Although Harry did not have much family left, there must’ve been other family friends of James and Lily’s around to raise the Boy Who Lived. Even though Dumbledore likely had the power to suggest Sirius Black be given a trial for his murder conviction, there was never a mention that he had tried to help James Potter’s best friend.

Instead, even after being warned about how awful the Dursleys are by Minerva McGonagall, Dumbledore still insists that staying with them is the safest option for Harry. Ironically, while staying with Petunia and Vernon may have been the best way to keep Harry from Death Eaters, it was still one of the most dangerous places for Harry to live. Abused and neglected his entire life, Harry lived in a cupboard ignored and worked as a slave for his relatives until his Hogwarts letter arrived.

About The Author

Lindsay Press
(274 Articles Published)

Lindsay Press is a freelance writer. As a graduate of SUNY Purchase College with a degree in Screenwriting and Playwriting, Lindsay has loved television shows and movies since childhood. In addition, she loves to create stories and enjoys dystopian futures, teen drama, and fantasy worlds.

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