Aberforth Dumbledore

**Aberforth Dumbledore** was a character in the *Harry Potter book series* and *The Tales of Beedle the Bard*.

Aberforth was an English half-blood wizard and the owner of the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. He was the second child of Percival and Kendra Dumbledore and the brother of Albus and Ariana Dumbledore. He and Albus were estranged because of a duel they took part in with Gellert Grindelwald, which caused Ariana's death. He helped Harry Potter during the Second Wizarding War.

## Biography

### Early life

Aberforth was the second child of Percival and Kendra Dumbledore. He was the younger brother of Albus Dumbledore, and elder brother of Ariana Dumbledore. He loved the story Grumble the Grubbly Goat growing up.*The Tales of Beedle the Bard*

When Ariana was aged six, she was attacked by Muggle boys who saw her using magic. She was traumatised and unable to control her magic. Their father, Percival hunted down the boys who hurt her and attacked them. Because he wouldn't tell anyone why, being worried that Ariana would be sent to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Percival was instead sent to Azkaban. Kendra moved the family to Godric's Hollow.

Aberforth was not allowed to speak of what happened to Ariana to anyone else, and had to support Kendra's story that Ariana was unwell. She was kept in their home, and neighbours didn't know about her other than Bathilda Bagshot. Aberforth started attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in September 1895. He ended up trapped in the shadow of a talented and academic Albus, and instead acted out by focusing on duelling to sort out problems rather than speaking.

### Incident

Aberforth was Ariana's favourite sibling. In around June 1899, Aberforth was still in school when Ariana lost control of her magic one day and accidentally killed their mother. Aberforth wanted to drop out of school for her, but Albus forbade Aberforth doing so. Albus graduated in the summer, when Aberforth was a wayward young man who kept arguing and getting into duels, even with neighbours. Because of their mother's death, Albus gave up the plans he had to travel.

Aberforth thought both he and Albus would look after Ariana throughout their lives. However, in the summer, Albus befriended Gellert Grindelwald. They had plans to find the Deathly Hallows and take control of the wizarding world. Aberforth thought Albus was neglecting Ariana and when he found out about their plans, he was outraged. He was against the idea of leaving or taking Ariana and he confronted them. Albus knew that Aberforth was right, but at the time he was unable to accept the truth.

Grindelwald started to get angry and he used the Cruciatus Curse on Aberforth. Albus protected Aberforth and they engaged in a three-way duel. Ariana attempted to protect Aberforth, causing a stray curse to hit and kill her. He never knew which one used the spell which killed her. Grindelwald run away and Albus stayed. He was devastated by Ariana's death and blamed Albus for what happened, and punched him in the nose at her funeral. Aberforth thought Albus was happy Ariana was gone because he was no longer obligated to help her.

### Later life

Aberforth never forgave Albus and they had a strained bond for decades. He eventually became the owner and barman of the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. However, he and Albus would at times help each other. In around 1972, he was probably the barman who told Albus about Tom Riddle's compatriots in the Hog's Head. He joined the Order of the Phoenix which was founded by Albus during the First Wizarding War.

In around 1975, he banned Mundungus Fletcher out of the Hog's Head for life. Sirius Black knew and thought he would never get back in because Aberforth had a good memory of who he had thrown out of the pub. In 1980, Albus and Sybill Trelawney had a job interview in the Hog's Head. Aberforth found Severus Snape eavesdropping and kicked him out.

In 1995, Aberforth let Harry Potter hold a meeting in which he founded Dumbledore's Army to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts because of a very incompetent teacher. Aberforth served them Butterbeer. The same day, he let Mundungus Fletcher in the Hog's Head again even though he had banned him for life nearly twenty years ago, due to Mundungus being an informant for the Order of the Phoenix.

In 1996, he met Mundungus again and purchased goods that he was selling in Hogsmeade, including one-half of a two-way mirror that once belonged to Sirius Black. Harry noticed the exchange and attempted to confront Mundungus in anger for stealing when Aberforth had gone. In June or July 1997, Aberforth attended the funeral of Albus.

#### Helping Harry

In 1997 to 1998 during the Second Wizarding War, Aberforth helped students hiding in the school. He used a hidden passageway connecting the Hog's Head to Hogwarts to do so.

Aberforth watched over Harry for a year by looking in one-half of the two-way mirror because Harry owned the other half. Harry had no idea how the mirror worked and thought the eyes belonged to Albus, because they looked the same. When Harry was trapped in Malfoy Manor, he begged Albus for help not knowing it was Aberforth, and Aberforth sent Dobby to save them. Aberforth was upset to hear Dobby was killed.

In May, Aberforth found Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in Hogsmeade when they had set off a Caterwauling Charm the Death Eaters had put in place, which let Dementors out. He took them into the Hog's Head, but Death Eaters knocked on the door to find out what had happened. Aberforth lied by saying he had set the alarm off by letting a cat out, and that they had saw Aberforth's goat Patronus and not Harry's stag Patronus.

Harry knew who he was, and he was shocked when Aberforth told him that he thought the war was won by Voldemort. Aberforth thought the Order of the Phoenix was over, and that Harry should abandon a plan to get in the school to find a Horcrux, telling him that they should escape and leave the next morning. He also told Harry that he thought anyone continuing to fight was a fool and they had no hope of winning, and told Harry off for continuing to do what Albus wanted. He asked Harry if he even knew who Albus truly was.

Aberforth wouldn't say why he didn't like Albus, but they eventually persuaded him to. Aberforth told them everything that happened between him, Albus, Ariana and Grindelwald. Harry shocked Aberforth because he knew that Albus felt sorry about what happened. Aberforth forgave Albus, having thought that Albus felt nothing about it until then.

Harry decided to keep going with or without Aberforth's help, so he decided to help Harry. He spoke to a portrait of Ariana and sent her to find Neville Longbottom, and they went into a hidden passageway to the school. When the Battle of Hogwarts was about to begin, he helped students escape the school through the same hidden passageway, and he let Order of the Phoenix members into the school the same way.

Aberforth later went to the school to tell Harry about the number of evacuating students by thundering through the Hog's Head. He wanted Harry to keep Slytherins hostage in case their family could be Death Eaters. Harry declined, saying it could achieve nothing and that Albus would never have done that. Aberforth stayed to fight and at one point, encouraged Ginny. Tonks later asked Aberforth whether he knew where her husband, Remus Lupin was. He told her how he saw him fighting Dolohov. Aberforth fought and stunned a Death Eater, Rookwood.

#### After the Second Wizarding War

Aberforth and a couple of students celebrated in the Great Hall once the war was won. He later went back to working at the Hog's Head.

## Appearance

Aberforth was tall and thin. He had long and stringy grey hair, and had striking blue eyes behind spectacle glasses. Loads of people thought he looked like Albus, but he was less conspicuous.

## Notes and sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 28
2. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 2
3. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 35
4. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*, Chapter 20
5. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*, Chapter 9
6. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*, Chapter 17
7. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*, Chapter 37
8. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 33
9. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*, Chapter 16
10. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*, Chapter 12
11. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*, Chapter 30
12. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 30
13. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 31
14. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 32
15. ↑ Bloomsbury Webchat with J.K. Rowling
16. ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 28 - "Harry approached him, looking up into the face, trying to see past the long, stringy, wiry grey hair and beard. He wore spectacles. Behind the dirty lenses, the eyes were a piercing, brilliant blue."