Why Doesn’t Dumbledore Fight Voldemort?
OFFICIALLY, ALBUS DUMBLEDORE IS SIMPLY the
headmaster of Hogwarts. But he is significantly more important in
the magical world than such a role would imply. He is the only
wizard, other than Harry, whom Voldemort fears—one of the few
unafraid to speak of the fallen wizard by name. He had been first
choice to lead the Ministry of Magic, but, preferring to remain at
Hogwarts, he plays a behind-the-scenes role, advising Minister
Cornelius Fudge.
Quite tall and thin, his hair and beard fall
below his waist. He has a prominent, hawk-like nose, on which rest
glasses with half-moon lenses. In Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone his
Chocolate Frog trading card says he is “considered by many the
greatest wizard of modern times,” and he has the titles to prove
it: Order of Merlin (First Class), Grand
Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International
Confederation of Wizards.
Albus means “white” in Latin. That befits a
wizard with well-earned gray hair. It also makes him the perfect
opponent of the “Dark” Lord.
“Dumbledore” is an Old English word for bumblebee.
J. K. Rowling says she liked the idea that this music-lover might
hum to himself absentmindedly.
A CLASSIC WIZARD
Dumbledore certainly is a wizard in the legendary
mold. In appearance and dress, one might easily mistake him for
Merlin of the Arthurian legends or Obi-Wan Kenobi of Star Wars. Gandalf, the wizard of J. R. R. Tolkien’s
The Lord of the Rings books, could be a
twin brother, down to the fiery eyes that make one recall the scene
in Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of
Fire when Dumbledore realizes Barty Crouch Jr. has been fooling
him: “There was cold fury in every line of the ancient face; a
sense of power radiated from Dumbledore as though he were giving
off burning heat.”
WHY NOT SEARCH FOR VOLDEMORT?
Dumbledore, his trading card tells us, “is
particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald
in 1945” (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s
Stone by J. K. Rowling). Since that was the same year that
Britain and its allies defeated Hitler and other enemies of
democracy in the Second World War, we can take it as a hint that
Dumbledore and Grindelwald had quite a struggle. So Dumbledore must
be an accomplished fighter.
Why then would he let Harry face Voldemort?
Surely he is powerful enough to find the Dark Lord and finish him
once and for all?
A CHILD’S EYES
If only it were that easy. Dumbledore, for all
his accomplishments and wisdom, is only human.
We usually see him as Harry would: all-knowing
and all-powerful. He is the perfect parent—especially important to
Harry, whose own parents are dead. To Harry, who knows only the
version written in history books, Dumbledore’s achievements seem
too impressive to ever be matched. Meanwhile, Harry is full of
doubts about his own abilities.
But, of course, Dumbledore is only human. What
could one expect of a person who likes chamber music, tenpin
bowling, and lemon drops? He must have had all the same doubts as
Harry when he was young—maybe more. History books record only part
of the story. (Trading cards even less.) We know he makes mistakes,
like hiring Gilderoy Lockhart to teach Defense Against the Dark
Arts. Had Dumbledore been all-knowing, he would have seen through
Lockhart. And of course in Phoenix he made
the much greater mistake of not explaining to Harry exactly what
was happening. But no one can be expected to know everything.
J. R. R. Tolkien, a noted scholar of Old English,
named giant insects in The Hobbit
“Dumbledors.”
See also: Goblet of Fire
Hogwarts Potter, Harry Voldemort
In Phoenix Harry learned
a crucial lesson on the road to becoming a mature wizard: He
understands that Dumbledore, though great in many ways, is
imperfect, like everyone else. Now Harry can begin to see his own
character and accomplishments as equally admirable. The confidence
Harry gains from that knowledge is a powerful weapon against
wizards like Voldemort.