Editing Albus Dumbledore (section)

==Characterisation==
===Outward appearance===
In the novels, Dumbledore is described as tall, thin and elderly. His hair and beard are long and silver. He has a long and crooked nose, long fingers and bright blue eyes. He wears half-moon spectacles and a colourful array of robes. He once claimed to have a scar above his left knee in the shape of a map of the London Underground. At some point between the fifth and sixth novels, Dumbledore puts on a cursed ring, which causes his right hand to become blackened and disfigured.<ref name="PS1">Rowling, J. K. (1997). ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone''. Bloomsbury Publishing. Chapter 1: "He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt."</ref><ref name="PS2">Rowling, J. K. (1997). ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone''. Bloomsbury Publishing. Chapter 1: "His nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice."</ref><ref name="PS3">Rowling, J. K. (1997). ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone''. Bloomsbury Publishing. Chapter 1: "His blue eyes were light, bright and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles."</ref>

===Personality===
Dumbledore is described as benevolent and wise. His demeanour is often described as serene, ethereal and composed, and he rarely displays strong emotions. He is eccentric, slightly effeminate and fond of knitting. He is known for his odd displays of whimsicality, and he often uses humour to put others at ease. His eyes are sometimes described as twinkling with kindness or mischief. Dumbledore is highly perceptive and emotionally intelligent, and has a deep capacity for love. He sees the good in every person, and insists on giving people second chances. Dumbledore's personality also has a more steely aspect. When he apprehends Barty Crouch Jr in ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire|Goblet of Fire]]'', the look upon his face is described as "more terrible than Harry could have ever imagined." As Harry observes the "cold fury" in Dumbledore's visage, he understands why Voldemort fears him.

In spite of Dumbledore's many extraordinary qualities, he is a flawed character. According to Rowling, "Although Dumbledore seems to be so benign for six books, he's quite a [[Machiavelli]]an figure, really. He's been pulling a lot of strings."<ref>{{cite web|first=Shawn|last=Adler|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1571977/20071015/index.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018005439/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1571977/20071015/index.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 October 2007|title=Harry Potter's Author J. K. Rowling Meets With L.A. Students, Plots Her Next Move|publisher=[[MTV]]|location=New York City|date=12 October 2007|access-date=18 April 2008}}</ref> In a 2005 interview, Rowling commented: "Immense brainpower does not protect you from emotional mistakes, and I think Dumbledore really exemplifies that."<ref>{{cite web|first1=Emerson|last1=Spartz|first2=Melissa|last2=Anelli|url=http://www.mugglenet.com/jkrinterview.shtml|title=MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling|website=mugglenet.com|date=16 July 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612094057/http://www.mugglenet.com/jkrinterview.shtml |archive-date=12 June 2012|access-date=21 October 2007}}</ref> Dumbledore's greatest flaw, which he admits to Harry, is his desire for power. He eventually finds that those best suited for power are those who do not seek it. When he and Grindelwald first meet, they make plans to enslave Muggles and re-establish wizards as the natural rulers of the world. However, Dumbledore becomes disillusioned of this fantasy after his sister Ariana is killed during a duel between himself, his brother Aberforth, and Grindelwald.

Dumbledore is riddled with guilt over the circumstances surrounding the death of his sister. He feels enormous remorse for his selfishness in getting involved in the circumstances that led to her death, and is tortured for the rest of his life by the possibility that he might have been the one who cast the spell that killed her. When he looks into the Mirror of Erised, he sees himself redeemed in the eyes of his brother and his entire family alive and together.

===Magical abilities and skills===
Dumbledore is considered by many characters to be the most powerful wizard alive. Some say he is the only wizard Voldemort ever feared. During his education at Hogwarts, Dumbledore was known as the most brilliant student to have ever stepped into the school, winning "every prize of note that the school offered", and doing "things with a wand [the examiner had] never seen before". Rowling has said that Dumbledore is primarily self-taught, although he "had access to superb teachers at Hogwarts".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Spartz |first1=Emerson |first2=Melissa |last2=Anelli |url=http://www.mugglenet.com/jkrinterview3.shtml |title=MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part 3 |publisher=MuggleNet |date=16 July 2005 |access-date=21 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011024931/http://www.mugglenet.com/jkrinterview3.shtml |archive-date=11 October 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Dumbledore readily acknowledges that he is unusually intelligent and an exceptionally powerful wizard. He admits a number of times to Harry in that he makes mistakes, and since he is smarter than most people, his mistakes "tend to be correspondingly huger". Dumbledore is also skilled in [[Legilimency|Occlumency]], [[Legilimency]] and Transfiguration.

===Possessions===
Dumbledore is the owner and master of the [[Elder Wand]], an extremely powerful object which is one of the [[Deathly Hallows (object)|Deathly Hallows]]. He also has a pet [[Phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]] named [[Fawkes (Harry Potter)|Fawkes]]. It is revealed in ''Philosopher's Stone'' by [[Mr. Ollivander]] that Harry's [[List of wands in Harry Potter|wand]] carries a phoenix feather as its magical core and that particular phoenix only gave one other feather, the one in Voldemort's wand that gave Harry his scar. It is later revealed in ''Goblet of Fire'' that Fawkes was the phoenix whose feathers provide the magical core in Harry's and Voldemort's wands.<ref name="DH1">Rowling, J. K. (2007). ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows''. Bloomsbury Publishing. Chapter 24: Dumbledore is revealed to have been the owner and master of the Elder Wand.</ref><ref name="CoS1">Rowling, J. K. (1998). ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets''. Bloomsbury Publishing. Chapter 12: Introduction of Fawkes as Dumbledore's pet phoenix.</ref><ref name="PS12">Rowling, J. K. (1997). ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone''. Bloomsbury Publishing. Chapter 5: Mr. Ollivander reveals that Harry's wand carries a phoenix feather as its magical core.</ref>