WARNING, SPOILERS:
Full name Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore. Born around 1840-46, died 1997. Headmaster of Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in the novels by
Jo Rowling. Named for the Latin for
white, and an Anglo-Saxon term meaning "bumblebee", as Rowling imagined the old man humming about the
school. Headed the Order of the Phoenix in both its incarnations. Campaigned for the truth about the evil
Voldemort to be known, but was unimpressed by his power and pretensions; addressed
Voldemort simply as "Tom" (Marvolo Riddle) whenever they met. Killed for reasons Harry Potter does not at first comprehend, but as for the question of whether we see him again, hey, this is Hogwarts, remember? Recently outed by author Rowling as gay (!!! go
Jo !!!); his greatest mistake was to fall in
love with Gellert Grindelwald. Wise old man who has come by his wisdom in that hallowed academy, the School of Hard Knocks. Warm, friendly, fierce when necessary, had style, truly unforgettable. Played in the movies by the late great Richard Harris (years 1&2), and subsequently by Michael Gambon. At once among the finest wizards and finest gay characters to grace the pages of fiction.
Albus Dumbledore. The only wizard
Voldemort ever feared.
"Exactly", said Dumbledore, beaming once more. "Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices,
Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, page 245, Bloomsbury ed.
"You mean he was weak!", screamed Voldemort. "Too weak to dare, too weak to take what might have been his, what will be mine!"
"No, he was cleverer than you", said
Harry, "a better wizard, a better man."
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,
p. 592
