Editing Albus Dumbledore (section)

==Appearances in novels==

===''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone''===
Dumbledore is introduced in the opening chapter of the first novel in the series, ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'' (1997). Under cover of night, he brings the infant Harry Potter to the home of Harry's uncle and aunt, [[Dursley family|Vernon and Petunia Dursley]]. Harry's parents were killed by the Dark wizard [[Voldemort]], and Dumbledore hopes he will be safe with the Dursleys. He leaves Harry on the doorstep with a letter explaining the situation. When Harry arrives at Hogwarts ten years later, Dumbledore tells him about the [[Mirror of Erised]], a magical object that protects the [[Philosopher's stone (Harry Potter)|Philosopher's Stone]]. Dumbledore is summoned to the [[Ministry of Magic]] by a false message on the night when Harry, [[Ron Weasley]], [[Hermione Granger]], and Professor [[Quirinus Quirrell]] enter the dungeons to retrieve the Stone. He realises during the trip that he is needed at Hogwarts, and returns in time to rescue Harry from Quirrell and Voldemort.

===''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets''===
Dumbledore returns in the second novel, ''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]'' (1998). Through a magical diary, Harry sees a younger Dumbledore in a series of flashbacks. The diary once belonged to Tom Riddle, who eventually became Voldemort. In one flashback, Harry sees Dumbledore questioning Riddle about a series of attacks on Muggle-born students. In the present, a [[Basilisk (Harry Potter)|basilisk]] emerges from the [[Chamber of Secrets]] and begins attacking people in Hogwarts. Following the attacks, [[Lucius Malfoy]] convinces the governors of Hogwarts to suspend Dumbledore from his position as Headmaster. Dumbledore is reinstated when it is revealed that Lucius coerced the governors into suspending him.

===''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban''===
At the beginning of ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' (1999), Dumbledore is forced to accept the presence of [[Dementors]] at Hogwarts. The Dementors have been sent to protect the students from [[Sirius Black]], a supposed murderer who escaped from the wizard prison [[Azkaban]]. When Black breaches Hogwarts, Dumbledore closes every entrance to the school and grounds. After the Dementors cause Harry to fall off his broom during a [[Quidditch]] match, Dumbledore becomes angry and uses his wand to help Harry return safely to the ground. Later, Dumbledore suggests that Hermione use her [[Time-Turner]] to save Black and [[Buckbeak]] the [[hippogriff]] from execution.

===''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire''===
In ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]'' (2000), Dumbledore brings the [[Triwizard Tournament]] to Hogwarts. He also serves as a judge throughout the event. After the final task of the tournament, Harry returns from an encounter with Voldemort. Professor [[Mad-Eye Moody]] escorts Harry into the castle, and Dumbledore becomes suspicious. He discovers that Moody is actually [[Barty Crouch Jr.]], and that the real Moody is being held prisoner by Crouch. Later, Dumbledore listens to Harry's account of Voldemort's return.

===''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix''===
Dumbledore appears in the fifth novel in the series, ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]'' (2003). He is removed from his position as Chief Warlock of the [[Wizengamot]], voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards, and is almost stripped of his Order of Merlin First Class due to his speeches regarding the return of Voldemort. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Magic attempts to discredit him and Harry, often through the ''[[Daily Prophet]]''. Dumbledore enrages [[Minister for Magic]] [[Cornelius Fudge]] when he intercedes at a hearing to prevent Harry from being expelled from Hogwarts.

The Ministry passes Educational Decree Twenty-two, which allows Fudge to appoint [[Dolores Umbridge]] as the professor of [[Defence Against the Dark Arts]]. Through her, Fudge gradually gains power over Hogwarts and Dumbledore, whom he fears is amassing an underage wizard army to overthrow the Ministry. Umbridge forbids students from practicing defensive spells in her class, which prompts Harry, Ron, and Hermione to form a secret practice group called [[Dumbledore's Army]]. When the Ministry discovers the group, Dumbledore shields his students from punishment by falsely claiming that it was his idea. He is removed from the position of headmaster for the second time.

When the [[Order of the Phoenix (fictional organisation)|Order of the Phoenix]] battles Voldemort's [[Death Eaters]] in the [[Department of Mysteries]], Dumbledore arrives to aid them. He subdues most of the Death Eaters and binds them with an Anti-Disapparition Jinx to prevent them from escaping. He then engages in a duel with Voldemort, who tries to possess Harry so Dumbledore will kill him. After this ruse fails, Voldemort is forced to flee with [[Bellatrix Lestrange]]. Several Ministry officials witness the end of the battle, which leads to Dumbledore being reinstated as headmaster. Dumbledore explains to Harry that Voldemort chose Harry as his equal, and that either he or Voldemort must eventually kill the other.

===''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince''===
In ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'' (2005), Dumbledore brings Harry along as he attempts to persuade [[Horace Slughorn]] to rejoin the Hogwarts faculty. Harry notices that Dumbledore's right hand is shrivelled and blackened. During the school year, Dumbledore uses the [[Pensieve]] to teach Harry about Voldemort's life and his rise to power. In one of the Pensieve visions, Harry witnesses Dumbledore's first encounter with the young Tom Riddle. Dumbledore had known from the beginning that Riddle was dangerous, but believed that Hogwarts would change him.

Dumbledore and Harry learn that Voldemort created six [[Horcrux]]es to gain immortality, and that they must be destroyed before Voldemort can be killed. Harry repeatedly warns Dumbledore that [[Draco Malfoy]] is an agent of Voldemort, but Dumbledore refuses to take action against Draco. He tells Harry that he already knows more about what is happening than Harry does. Near the end of the novel, Dumbledore and Harry enter a cave in search of a Horcrux. Dumbledore drinks a potion inside the Horcrux's container and begins to scream in agony. When Harry attempts to retrieve some lake water for Dumbledore to drink, he is attacked by [[Inferius|Inferi]] that reside in the lake. They try to drown Harry, but Dumbledore rescues him.

Dumbledore and Harry arrive in the Hogwarts [[Magic in Harry Potter#Astronomy|Astronomy Tower]] with the Horcrux. Dumbledore asks Harry not to interfere in the events that are about to take place, and puts him in a body-binding curse. Immobilized, Harry is unable to intervene as Draco arrives and disarms Dumbledore. Several other Death Eaters then enter the tower and try to persuade Draco to kill Dumbledore. When Draco hesitates, [[Severus Snape]] appears and performs the killing curse on the headmaster. His funeral is attended by students, Hogwarts staff, members of the Ministry of Magic and others. He is entombed in a marble [[sarcophagus]] beside the Hogwarts lake.

===''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows''===
Details of Dumbledore's earlier life are revealed in ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'' (2007). The novel introduces his parents, Percival and Kendra Dumbledore, and his younger sister, Ariana (his younger brother, [[Aberforth Dumbledore|Aberforth]], is mentioned in previous books). At the age of six, Ariana was attacked by three Muggle boys who witnessed her performing magic. She was deeply traumatised and was never able to control her magic again. Enraged, Percival attacked the boys and was given a life sentence in Azkaban. Kendra subsequently moved the family to the village of [[Godric's Hollow]]. Around the time that Albus completed his education, Ariana accidentally killed their mother. Albus became the head of the family and remained in their house with Ariana while Aberforth finished school.
[[File:The Elder WandII.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|The Elder Wand prop used in the ''Harry Potter'' films]]
Soon afterward, Dumbledore befriended the young wizard [[Gellert Grindelwald]]. They dreamed of uniting the three [[Deathly Hallows (objects)|Deathly Hallows]] – the [[Elder Wand]], the [[Resurrection Stone (Harry Potter)|Resurrection Stone]] and the [[Cloak of Invisibility (Harry Potter)|Cloak of Invisibility]] – and creating a world in which wizards rule over Muggles. One day, an argument between Albus, Aberforth, and Grindelwald led to a duel that resulted in Ariana's death. For the rest of his life, Albus felt guilty, never certain whether it was his own curse or another's that killed his sister. He felt he could not be trusted with power and turned down the position of Minister for Magic multiple times, eventually returning to Hogwarts as a professor of [[Transfiguration (Harry Potter)|Transfiguration]]. Decades later, Dumbledore faced and defeated Grindelwald, who had become a [[Dark Arts (Harry Potter)|Dark]] wizard and had obtained the Elder Wand. Dumbledore now possessed not only the Elder Wand but also the Cloak of Invisibility, which he had borrowed from [[James Potter (character)|James Potter]] before his death. Dumbledore would eventually pass the cloak on to Harry.

The truth about Dumbledore's death is revealed to Harry through Snape's memories in the Pensieve. Harry learns that Dumbledore put on a cursed ring that held the Resurrection Stone, which he hoped would allow him to apologise to his sister and parents. The curse damaged his hand, and Snape told him he would die in about a year. Dumbledore then revealed to Snape that he knew about Draco's attempts to kill him. Since Dumbledore was close to death, he asked Snape to use the killing curse on him. This act of self-sacrifice would prevent Draco's soul from being damaged by committing murder, and would cause Voldemort to trust Snape completely.

Near the end of the novel, Harry is struck by Voldemort's killing curse. He finds himself in an ethereal realm with Dumbledore, who confesses many regrets from earlier in his life. He informs Harry that he can return to his body and face the Dark Lord again. Harry returns, kills Voldemort, then places the Elder Wand in Dumbledore's tomb. In the book's epilogue, it is revealed that Harry named his second son [[Albus Severus Potter]], after Dumbledore and Snape.