#alberforth dumbledore

[cressthebest]

Crimson Rivers thoughts pt. 24

chapter 41: (over halfway through!)

1. 😐 um, i’m actually giving a death glare right now. wdym marlene has to go back to that arena????

2. okay, fuck that bitch dumbledore. he’s worse than coin. i hope he rots

3. i- all these victors going in are sirius’ friends. or his absolute worst enemies to begin with. OR his own fucking family! and his brother! and there’s a MARRIED COUPLE going in having to fight each other. i- this is the most devastating thing i will ever read

4. “James holds his gaze and hopes with everything in him that Regulus sees the truth in James' eyes when he coldly announces, "I hate him."” 😧

5. it hurts that sirius has ALWAYS tried to protect regulus. like, tried burying him like dogs bones once 😭😭

6. oh. oh shit. remus doesn’t know that sirius is a tribute yet

7. 😐 sobbing actually. wolfstar wasn’t supposed to go through this much pain. yet here we are. my babies being hurt.

chapter 42:

1. i like how once again, it’s pointed out that in this fic and canon, dumbledore has never seemed to care about the individual people if it meant winning a war

2. 👁️👄👁️ wide eyes. what is alberforth about to ask albus to do

3. the ring dorcas is handing marlene is eerily similar to the canon 75th hunger games with the token finnick is given

4. “A war could break out right on the other side of the door, and Dorcas would let it wage on to stay right here, just like this, with Marlene.” GAYYYYYYYYYY

5. “Without any fuss, she starts frantically plucking the rings off of one hand, each clink of them hitting the counter making Marlene groan” 😳😳😳 oh my god i am so gay holy shit

6. god i’m so angry. marlene got help with her drinking, then the night the quarterly memorial was announced, she’s right back at it. i’m not angry at marlene btw. i’m pissed at dumbledore and riddle

7. “"You'll be the last thought I have, you know," Marlene whispers. "Before I die, it'll be you. I just know it."” 😟

8. THE ORDER IS GETTING EFFIE AND MONTY POTTER OUT OF DISTRICT SIX!! FUCK YEAH

9. god i love lily in this fic. she is wonderful, beautiful, kind, caring, and most of all: human. she has faults. she won’t get close to people because last time she did, she lost remus. she smokes. she breaks the rules. she doesn’t always make the perfect move. she makes the human move. i love her so much

10. alberforth >>>>>>>>>> albus

11. god. lily just killed a person. this too is going to haunt her forever

12. 👀 marylily i smell?

13. 😭😭 mary is sprinting in heels

14. god i love that effie is willing to fight everyone for the people (district) she loves

15. CHEERS! barty just shot his father point blank in the chest

16. 😧 i- they just released the disease into the air. i-

17. if ted, tonks, and andy don’t make it out i’m gonna lose my mind

18. 😐 ted’s dead.

[neptunefairytales]

We can all agree that the baby Qilin/kirin is just a fancier and cuter version of a mouse deer, right? XD

(Personnal pic, taken by me at Beauval Zoo last week. Do not use or repost. Thanks!)

[potterharryloves]

[theveilinthedeathchamber]

Alberforth is an interesting character

Binge watching Harry Potter

I’m watching them with friends, all of them, and fuck me if I don’t comment the movies too

[cle-guy]

Rowling is Missing the Point of Fantastic Beasts

What follows is a critique of the Fantastic Beasts series.  It contains spoilers of both the films and the Harry Potter book series.  I will assume all readers have at least read the seven novels published by J.K. Rowling without which this article may not make much sense.

When J.K. Rowling began work on “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” I thoroughly enjoyed the romp through the United States.  The exploration of my own country’s magical community and watching Newt scramble to recollect the magical creatures he flippantly brought across the pond.  Overall the story was relatively lean, the main arc being Newt bringing his creatures back home, and falling in love with Tina Goldstein, and eventually uncovering that “Dark Wizard” Gellert Grindelwald was investigating obscurials in America.

Yes there were some convoluted aspects to the movie but what story about magic and wizards isn’t going to bring in some strange and unexplainable phenomena?  It’s simply part of the genre.  The problem in the new series of “Wizarding World” movies is not Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them the problem is the two sequels and how Rowling has attempted to weave Newt into the true crux of the series: the conflict between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald.

If there’s a reason why fans would tune into the series it was seeing how Albus struggled against Grindelwald, who the books hinted (and the films confirmed) was Dumbledore’s love interest in their youth.  The problem is neither film did a good job exploring this dynamic, and instead focused on a dumb plot contrivance instead which infuriatingly does not mesh well with the text Rowling wrote in The Deathly Hallows.  

It’s helpful to start with what we learned about Dumbeldore’s past in the 7th book, which neatly sets up the conflicts we could have seen in Fantastic Beasts.  In the book it is revealed through the character Rita Skeeter’s book: “The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore” that Dumbledore struck a relationship in his youth with Grindelwald, generally considered the second worst dark wizard of all time behind Voldemort.  Worse it appears Dumbledore became entranced with the dark ideas of his love interest writing in a letter:

Gellert --

Your point about Wizard dominance being FOR THE MUGGLE’S OWN GOOD -- this, I think, is the crucial point.  Yes, we have been given power and yes, that power gives us the right to rule, but it also gives us responsibilities over the ruled.  We must stress this point, it will be the foundation stone upon which we build.  Where we are opposed, as we surely will be, this must be the basis of all our counterarguments.  We seize control FOR THE GREATER GOOD.  And from this it follows that where we meet resistance, we must use only the force that is necessary and no more (This was your mistake at Durmstrang! But I do not complain, because if you had not been expelled, we would never have met.)

-Albus

The emphasis is mine, and we will return to this later.  After we learn Albus was at least interested in dark magic at a young age we are given an argument between Hermoine and Harry about the nature of Albus’s infatuation. This acts as a minor thread in the novels until we learn more about Albus’s full story.  It also acts as a source of uncertainty on the nature of Harry’s mission and forces Harry to choose to continue his mission in spite of the clouds surrounding his mentor’s judgment and moral center.

Later in the novel we meet Alberforth Dumbledore, Albus’s brother, who explains the full, sad story, which I will not quote here but I encourage you to read Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows chapter 28 for the full story.  Dumbledore’s sister was unbalanced due to childhood bullying by muggles, as a result: she could not control her magic and her family had to keep her hidden otherwise the wizarding world would imprison her to keep their world secret.  Albus’s father went to prison when he sought revenge, and as a result Albus felt trapped by a family broken by the needs of secrecy & the consequences of hatred.  When Grindelwald showed up: it was natural for Albus to be intrigued: the muggle world had done his family wrong, and more importantly forced “Mr. Brilliant” as Alberforth called his brother to dumb down his expectations.  After a conflict brought on by Alberforth: Albus saw the consequences of his lover’s actions, and changed his mind. 

In the end Harry meets Dumbledore in the point where the worlds of the livng and the dead meet and Albus explains himself.  He confirms that Grindelwald’s ideas interested him:

You cannot imagine how his ideas caught me, Harry, inflamed me.  Muggles forced into subservience.  We wizards triumphant.  Grindelwald and I, the glorious young leaders of the revolution.

However, I think the text suggests that there was more than just an infatuation of ideas.  As the highlighted text above show: Dumbledore was primarily attracted to Grindelwald the man.  You see this again when Albus talks about the Hallows themselves.

And at the heart of our schemes, the Deathly Hallows!...The Resurrection Stone - to him, though I pretended not to know it, it meant an army of Inferi!

Albus knew that the Hallows were not all that Gellert believed, but went along with it because he wanted to work closely with his love interest.  This is not a defense, but simply more context.  More evidence comes when Aberforth forces a conflict, breaking open the dream Albus had of a life shared with Gellert.  Stating simply that “Gellert fled, as anyone but I could have predicted” which suggests to me that Albus was in denial and felt his feelings for Gellert would keep him tied to Godric’s Hollow.  

The final crucial piece of backstory comes from Albus’s brief recounting of Grindelwald’s rise and how Albus reacted to it:

While I busied mysefl with the training of young wizards, Gridnelwald was raising an army.  They say he feared me, and perhaps he did, but less, I think, than I feared him...It was the truth I feared.  You see, I never knew which of us, in that las, horrific fight, had actually cast the curse that killed my sister.  You may call me cowardly: You would be right.  Harry, I dreaded beyond all things the knowledge that it had been I who brought about her death, not merely through my arrogance and stupidity, but that I actually struck the blow that snuffed out her life.

Which, when we tie all of this together, would have made for a fascinating story to tell over several movies.  

Had Rowling told a story of the conflict between Dumbledore and Grindelwald: how Albus eventually changed his mind or (as he said) “I had a few scruples.”  Or at least how Albus had come to see that his personal feelings towards the muggles who harmed his family must change, and how Grindelwald’s visions were ultimately wrong, but how Albus’s shame towards his own actions drove him away from conflict: it would have been a fantastic movie series.

Instead we got the perfect Albus Dumbledore who formed “a blood pact” with Grindelwald, and how Grindelwald was trying to deceive the wizards using a magical creature.  None of this makes sense on its own merits: if Grindelwald had already neutralized Dumbledore with a blood pact, why would he try so hard to kill him?  Where was this loving relationship, which clearly had gone more than sour a long time ago?  How does this mesh with the story Rowling wrote years ago?

At the end of the day Rowling wrote a plot driven story with characters doing things to suit the needs of the plot.  Rowling should have wrote a story where characters perform character actions for reasons that make sense.  The most brilliant move in the entire series was when she had secondary character Queenie join Grindelwald, not because she hated muggles, but because wizarding law prevented her from marrying Jacob (a muggle).  A character doing something for character reasons, not for reasons of plot.  It should go without saying it’s a poor sign of the series that Queenie walked back this decisions because...well, that’s never really explained.

[every-dayiwakeup]

🎬📺 Share ten different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media in no particular order 🎮🃏 Then send this to 10 people (anon or not, your choice)

Hannibal Lector

Castiel

Bruce Wayne

Stewie Griffin

Mr. Krabs

Tris Prior

Laurie Strode

Cujo

Alberforth Dumbledore

Thor

[classification-newt-scamander]

The barkeeper hardly looked the friendly sort but his hand was beginning to sting to the point where it was unbearable, the pain from the swelling was slowly travelling up his arm and if left untreated much longer could take up to a week to heal.

Newt had to rely on a complete stranger to help him, One that had chased away the bullies and offered him a butter beer so really he had no reason not to trust the man but the establishment scarcely screamed genially and either did his appearance as a gruff goat.

The pain won out in the end and slowly Newt lifted his hand up from under the table to show the owner. “I believe it was a stringing jinx, caught my hand as I turned the corner,” he explained softly, still feeling hesitant to explain the ordeal in detail. If the bullies caught him snitching, his time at Hogwarts would only get worse, he did not want his creatures to become a target by association. He could deal with his belongings mysteriously vanishing on the condition it was not the suitcase he was attempting to modify. Thus far he had managed to keep the room of requirement as a secret nursery he could use to help rescue and rehabilitate the animals he found that needed extra care, if he was continuous hounded by zealous Gryffindors the room would not be a secret for more longer.

Thinking on, the fairy he had rescued was beginning to stir in his pocket, likely sensing that he had stopped running and deemed it safe to come out. Newt had to duck his head and cover the little creature gently with his good arm, using his coat as a shield to protect her. Magical creatures were not welcomed inside the castle of Hogwarts, he doubted they would be welcomed in a pub, Newt would rather leave with a broken hand than see the fairy come to harm.

Any way, the barkeeper seemed too preoccupied with his hand to notice, Newt hoped the trust he placed in him was not about to back fire. Proper medical knowledge really should be attempted by professionals only, he knew first hand the dangers of improper spell casting when it came to mending broken bones.

Their was a finesse he had not quite mastered.

Down At The Hog's Head

Closed RP with @readthesign

Most third years were brimming with excitement at the prospect of finally going to Hogsmeade, the trip meant freedom from wandering the hallways of the castle aimlessly trying to find an alcove to spend ‘independent study time’ with friends. Now students had allocated time away from the castle completely unsupervised from teachers to spend however they wished.

Most individuals were excited to attend Honeydukes to sample the shops wares and consume their weight in sweets or run riot in Zonkos joke shop to stock up on dugbombs and frog spawn soap to terrorise unsuspecting first years.

Harmless teenage antics that Newt was no exception to.

Him and Leta had agreed to meet at The Three Broomsticks for a pint of butterbeer before planning an excursion to the Shirking Shack, they were both convinced it was not haunted but perhaps inhabited by a nesting Augurey that wailed when it rained which now gave the abandoned building its name.

Newt was hovering outside the pub when he saw a trio of Gryffindor boys idling in the street next to a vendor selling Every Flavour ice cream, they were using fairies to attract young children close enough to pester their parents into buying a scoop and the lads were no exception, they had taken a liking to the creatures as well and what started off as harmless fun now was turning a bit too rough for the fairies.

They were vain, pampered creatures that had the ability to dodge most birds of prey but a bunch of teenagers firing off spells at them all at once proved too much. A mistimed spell clipped the wings of one of the fairies and Newt found his feet running before his mind could judge what a terrible idea it was.

Naturally he scooped the poor thing up off the ground before any more damage could be done and Newt was able to cradle the creature close as the jeering began.

“Oh look it’s Newty Salamander, here to save the day again,” they scoffed. He was use to the bullying by now and self preservation kicked in. Newt started walking diligently away, head bowed down and not giving them the satisfaction.

“Hey freak, we’re talking to you,” they called after him and the familiar patten of footsteps could be heard following him. Newt picked up the pace, travelling with a brisker stride. At least it wasn’t snowing, otherwise he had visions of a snowball hitting the back of his head, a small mercy but a leg locking curse was not out of the question.

Newt was able to round the corner calmly enough before setting off at speed, running as quickly as he could to gain some distance, tucking the fairy safely into his pocket.

“Hey! Get back here!” They shouted, realising he was much further ahead than they anticipated, instead choosing to fire off spells. Newt was able to dodge them for the most part but a well placed stinging jinx caught him off guard and his hand ballooned instantaneously causing pins and needles to shoot up his arm. The pain brought tears to his eyes, once he was safe he could fix himself but for now he had to grit his teeth and keep running.

His lungs were now burning and he turned down into another alleyway to escape the bombardment.

By chance, Newt watched a door being opened and people leaving in a merry state. The sign above the threshold read ‘The Hogs Head’ and that was good enough for Newt to escape into. He could wait out the bullies until it went dark and sneak back to the castle once the coast was clear.

Skittishly, he moved through entrance and picked a table where he could see through the grim covered windows without being too close to the glass for the Gryffindor’s to see in. Newt could only hope that he had lost them, he held his breath as he watched.

As he sat, his heart rate was beginning to calm to a steadier rhythm and Newt began to take in his surroundings, realising he might have stumbled across a different sort of danger.

The pub was rundown, dusty and was clearly in need of a scouring charm; the two wizards huddled by the fire looked sketchy and over all the pub felt unwelcoming.

Still, it was better than facing three students by himself.

From the corner of his eye he could see the bartender staring at him, it would not surprise him if he was asked to leave, the pub clearly did not cater to Hogwarts students but if Newt could buy himself enough time for the bullies to get bored and stop looking for him. He could escape and attend to the fairy and his hand in peace.

[emeraldoodles]

Long Grindeldore Fics

Here’s a list of Grindeldore Fics that are longer. I tried to pick only fics over 10k or are going to be over 10k in the future.

Zwischen Immer und Nie (Between Always and Never) by sudowoodo

Words: 38563

Albus smiled and tossed the manuscript back on the table. "It's the rest I don't agree with. I simply cannot get behind that American rule."

Gellert laughed loudly. "You wish to marry a Muggle, Albus? There is something you're not telling me, yes?"

Albus tipped his head sideways, growing weary of his friend always missing the point. "Oh, I don't know. I feel some sympathy with those who are not allowed to love freely." Gellert's gaze became fixed on the floor before his eyes roamed up to take in Albus' face. Albus placed his hands on his stomach and sighed gently. "I can only imagine what it's like not having the freedom to walk hand in hand with my love, or marry them, or kiss them in the street."

There was a long pause. Then, seriously, "What are you talking about, Albus?"

"I think you know."

-A summer of 1899. Has  a Victorian feel with themes of homophobia. There’s a cry scene that got to me. I like how Ariana and Alberforth are written.-

Hold on by OUATgirl

Words: 26,631

After their famous duel in 1945, Albus Dumbledore decides to give his old friend another chance. Instead of being held in Nurmengard, Gellert Grindelwald will serve his time under the watchful eyes of the new hero of the wizarding world. But Albus cannot plan everything, and things might be more difficult than he anticipated

-I like how Dumbledore was written. Very cute and slow. Writer is currently working on a sequel-

same apartment, roommate's gone by Anonymous

Words: 10,176

After nearly five decades of imprisonment, Gellert Grindelwald was ready to break free.

-Very funny, but it is serious too. Gellert takes over the mind of Lockhart because there ain’t nothing there.-

Defence Professor Wohl by DarthKrande, NeverBeyondRedemption

Words: 54,421

Gilderoy Lockhart landed himself in St Mungo's after his 'Cornish Pixies' class. Where can a headmaster now find another Defence teacher, one who's knowledgeable beyond doubt, willing to face the curse on the position, and available to start in a few days? In Nurmengard, that's where.

-I really like the beginning of this fic, the ending dragged after chapter 18, but that’s probably because the later chapters focus on Harry.-

rummaging for answers in the pages by kittysorceress

Words: 37,620

It is the summer of 1899 and Albus Dumbledore is ready to venture into the great wizarding unknown. Instead, he finds himself at a dead end, keeping house for his siblings in Godric's Hollow. Bored. Lonely. Wasted.

That is, until he meets his equal.

-A collection of Albus's journal entries from the summer of 1899, detailing his adventures and the innermost workings of his mind, from the mundane to the sublime.-

So Many Chances Unseen by The_Marron

Words : 32,043

Dumbledore wants to die, Severus Snape doesn't want him to, and there is also an ex-Dark Lord trying to get his ex back. Maybe.

-This is broken up into 5 parts that total the word count. Is completed. Albus is an ass and I loved it! Slow burn with old men. Loved the ending! Wish this is how the books ended.-

Thirty-Five Owls by Letterblade

Words:11,284

Being a correspondence between Albus P.W.B. Dumbledore, Grand Sorcerer, Supreme Mugwump, etc., and the prisoner Gellert Grindelwald, of some decades in length.

-Gellert and Ablus are penpals? Kinda. It’s sweet, it’s angry and it’s sad. It’s Grindeldore in a nutshell.-

Extreme Incantations by meanwhiletimely

Words: 10,043

Gellert makes a discovery in Albus's bookshelves that results in a revelation.

-Very much smut, but with a plot… no maybe just a point? Dark magic sex during 1899. Bottom Gellert.-

My hands in yours by FrozenBrownie

Words: 21,452

A student of Hogwarts, died in Albus Dumbledore’s arms. What impact this unnecessary death of a child (again) would have on him, on England, on Hogwarts, neither the watching centaurs nor that desperate wizard with his wrists in unconnected metal chains could have foreseen. There was a man, of course, who did, roused in his sleep from the agitation of his husband over a thousand miles away. And thus, a story different from the one that could have come to pass began.

-Albus is shackled and leaves his life to find Gellert.I’m a sucker for fics about magic restriction shackles. Several parts.-

Happily Ever After, Being an Account of a Victorian Fairy Tale in Five Parts by azurish

Words: 10,281

When you’re hunting down the stuff of fairy tales, you shouldn’t be surprised when your own life turns into a fairy tale. In a universe in which Ariana wasn’t killed, Albus and Gellert attempt to track down the Hallows. Gellert knows that Albus is in love with him, and it’s convenient to indulge him – but that’s all there is to it. Right?

-Albus and Gellert go on their journey for the Hallows and have been traveling for a while together. Gellet is a piece of shit and Albus is dumb (stop just putting on unknown jewelry!)-

His Majesty's dragon by FrozenBrownie

Words: 18,369

Used in Open Combat – Dragon Corps in short. Albus’ magical power, ability and control apparently were up to the required standard to be considered for the training program for Aviators. Of course he had had no intention to go into the military whatsoever, but then, Gellert Grindelwald had stumbled into his life. Oh, how they had loved one another, fiercely, fiery, distructive -

-Dragon riders and set in 1759. Is a series. Writer working on 2nd part.-

Let Perpetual Light by tehtarik

Words: 65,726

In the village of Godric's Hollow, the Dumbledore family is falling apart. Kendra Dumbledore is dead under mysterious circumstances, and Albus is the unwilling guardian to his wayward brother Aberforth, and Ariana, their mad sister in the attic. But everything changes with the arrival of Gellert Grindelwald, violently charming juvenile delinquent with an obsession for the fabled Deathly Hallows.

-Ariana is a main character. Summer of 1899.-

Nurmengard by red_camellia

Words: 12,002

After Grindelwald's defeat in 1945 he is put in Nurmengard, unable to move on and haunted by memories of their past Dumbledore begins visiting Grindelwald. "But whenever Dumbledore was there, it was like looking into the Mirror. They both looked at each other and yet, did not see each other."

-A melancholy fic. Albus keeps visiting Nurmengard years after the battle of 1945.-

Shadows Die Twice by Phytine (Taouret)

Words: 68,922

Albus Dumbledore, after having been expelled from Hogwarts, has no choice but to go to Durmstrang in order to finish his education. There, he meets a very charming boy, Gellert Grindelwald and, despite the warnings, decides to befriend him.

What Albus doesn’t know is that Durmstrang is the Devil’s territory. Before he can understand what is happening, he gets caught in a dangerous web. The unconscious prey has fallen.

But there is one thing that Grindelwald hasn’t taken into account: Dumbledore is no man to be taken down easily and, the monster is never far away in a wounded heart.

-Do you want a really fuck up Albus and just as equally fucked up Gellert? This is your fic. Warning, includes rape, abusive relationship, blood fetish, chocking. Not completed.-

Phoenix Tears by PrincessElectra

Words: 46,739

The summer of 1899 ends with less destruction and heartbreak, but love is not a victory march and the darkness is still a seductive temptress. Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald.

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves. I refuse to accept that there is any future where the world is better place with us apart.”

-Gellert decides to stay with Albus but he can’t quite give up on his old goals Lots of fluff.-

liminality by verivala

Words: 7,981

Instead of killing Albus, Gellert imprisons him. Neither of them have a good time.

Grindelwald Wins AU

-Still being written. Gellert is trying to cage Albus and Albus is trying to escape, if only mentally. It does have darker themes like mind control, magic restrict, twisted love.-

The Trial of Albus Dumbledore by Aurora_xx

Words: 51,613

Albus Dumbledore has to attend a disciplinary hearing for withholding invaluable information about Gellert Grindelwald, deliberate misdirection and performing a blood pact with the person who currently represents the biggest threat to the wizard community.

Unknowingly, he takes Veritaserum before.

-Albus is held trial and forced to speak the whole truth.-

The Glass House by Skurf, TheMoonGuardian (moonchampion)

Words: 24,327

Brightest student of Hogwarts's 1899 graduating class, Albus Dumbledore was about to set off to travel the world. He was going to revolutionize the Wizarding World. Then Ariana Dumbledore killed her mother in a fit of uncontrollable magic, and he was sent back home to be her caretaker.

He was 18, resentful, and utterly miserable. Until Bathilda Bagshot introduced him to her alluring nephew, Gellert Grindelwald.

(The one where Ariana doesn't die, and the boys take her along on their quest to find the Elder Wand.)

-I almost feel bad putting this on the list, because it looks to forever be incomplete. But the bantering between Albus and Gellert is just too enjoyable not to include.-

Never Too Careful by DrSalazar2U

Words: 29,694

"So that, when my mother died, and I was left the responsibility of a damaged sister and a wayward brother, I returned to my village in anger and bitterness. Trapped and wasted, I thought! And then, of course,

he came..." 

Gellert presents a life changing opportunity, but Albus quickly learns that when it comes to eternal glory, one can never be too careful.

-Lot of smut, but there is still a plot. But lots of summer sex. I like how Ariana and Abeforth are written.-

[wellingtongoose]

Unravelling the Dumbledores

Albus Dumbledore’s backstory in the Deathly Hallows was both convoluted and illogical, exactly what you would expect of a story where everyone tries to avoid mentioning the metaphorical elephant in the room.

The elephant is of course: Arianna Dumbledore.

Although we hear a great deal about her from Alberforth, his explanations for what happened to her are vague and confused. Not to mention the fact that he never tackled the true question of just what was wrong with Arianna.

Palaeontology

 Trying to piece together Ariana’s story is like putting together a new species of dinosaur from only a few scraps of fossilised bone that you are not even sure belong together.

The only person to give us an account of what happened to Ariana as a child is Aberforth.

“When my sister was six years old, she was attacked, by three Muggle boys. They’d seen her doing magic, spying through the back garden hedge: She was a kid, she couldn’t control it, no witch or wizard can at that age. What they saw, scared them, I expect. They forced their way through the hedge, and when she couldn’t show them the trick, they got a bit carried away trying to stop the little freak doing it.”

This account is both vague and contradictory. If the muggle children had been frightened of Ariana, why would they force their way into the yard instead of running away? Children do not tend to attack things they are frightened of, if they have the option of running. The hedges were so tall the children had to look through them, suggesting that it would have been quite an effort on their part to get into the yard.  

Why, if muggle children can walk so close to the property, did Percival Dumbledore not made his house and yard invisible and impenetrable to muggles? The Dumbledores were a magical family with three young children. If they were normal sensible people, they would have made it impossible for muggles to see or enter their premises.

The account raises more questions than it answers, but it does give us a clue about Ariana. She wasn’t a magical prodigy on the order of Tom Riddle or Lily Evans, who could intentionally control their magic from an early age. Nor was she like Harry or Neville, who when threatened could produce spontaneous bursts of unintentional but specifically targeted magic to save themselves.

What Ariana was doing in the yard was out of her control and it was so spectacular that it was visible from over the tall hedges to the passing muggle children. I do not buy Aberforth’s account that the muggle children were scared by the spectacle. If anything it attracted them. It was probably something on the order of a bright colour light display. The children must have been intrigued enough to spend sufficient time peeping through the hedge in order for them to realise the source of the spectacle was Ariana.

So why did the children then attack Ariana? The most likely explanation is that the nature of Ariana’s outburst must have changed. Most likely because Ariana had become aware of the boys’ intrusion. The boys probably didn’t have time to climb back through the hedge, with the choice of flight gone they probably attacked her to save themselves, which only made the situation worse.

The episode must have happened very quickly because when Percival came onto the scene the boys were mutilated corpses.

A Curse from the Gods

 The most interesting and telling thing about the Dumbledores is their reaction in the aftermath of this tragedy.

It appears on the surface that Percival willingly took the blame and went to Azakaban, rather than tell the Ministry the truth. Even the Ministry at its most arbitrary, would not send a 6 year old to Azakaban for producing  accidental magic and defending herself against a violent assault. Therefore, there is no logical reason for Percival to hide the truth, unless there was a very good reason why he didn’t want the Ministry anywhere near his daughter.

Whatever was wrong with Ariana didn’t start with the assault from the muggle boys, it must have already been there. It was secret that Percival was willing to sacrifice his life to protect. According to Aunt Muriel and Rita Skeeter, Kendra Dumbledore then made every possible effort to isolate her daughter from the outside world.

This suggests Ariana’s condition must have had serious implications for not just her but the wider society as whole and we know it did not get better with time or age. Most of the problem hinges on Ariana’s lack of control of her magic. As children grow older and understand cause/effect, intent and logic, their control of magic tends to also improves. Ariana’s problem therefore must be partially cognitive in nature.

Many possible problems have been postulated. Red Hen suggests that Ariana had autism, and cognitive delay with mood swings as a result. However Ariana’s outburst seemed to be discrete and episodic. In between she must have been able to live with her mother with some semblance of peace. 

I think it is more likely that Ariana was epileptic.

I can only interpret symptoms from a mundane view of a muggle physician. Arianna could have suffered from a purely magical disorder unheard of in the muggle world, but then there would be no point in speculating at all. Secondly we have been fed a convoluted tale of Arianna from extremely biased secondary and tertiary sources; there are actually very few object facts to work with.

What we do know:

1.      Arianna has unpredictable magical outbursts

2.      During these episodes she loses control of her magic and she does not appear to be aware of what she is doing

3.      The last episode contributed or possibly caused her death

What we are left to speculate about:

1.      When the episodes started – there is no conclusive clause in the canon text that states she only started to have these problems after she was attacked.

2.      What triggered them – the last fatal outburst appeared to have been triggered by an argument between her brothers and Grindelwald

3.      Her cognitive ability

4.      How the magical outburst killed her but left everyone else apparently unscathed

Arianna’s symptoms do have much in common with what muggle epileptics suffer from: episodes that occur without a set pattern, triggered by stress leading to loss of bodily control and loss of awareness. I speculate that as the use of magic is direct by the brain, abhorrent electrical activity that can cause you to lose control of your body can just as easily cause you lose control of your magic. In the same way as standing too close to someone having a violent tonic clonic seizure can lead to physical injury, being within the radius of the concurrent magical outburst would be dangerous for people and objects.

Muggle epileptics also suffer from something called the post ictal state after the seizures during which they are dazed, confused, general sluggishness of movement. This may last about 15-20 minutes but in people who have frequent uncontrolled seizures they may spend most of their day in a post ictal state. In the modern era we have effective drugs to counteract epilepsy, frequent seizures should not occur but seen as Arianna was never treated by St. Mungo’s or a mundane physician she probably had frequent seizures.

Therefore Arianna’s condition meant that she was a danger not just to herself, but also to wizarding society as whole because her lack of control and unpredictability meant that she could cause a catastrophe at any point. It is likely that the Ministry proactively isolates magical children with violent epilepsy if they find them. Kendra and Percival clearly decided that this was a fate worse than Azakaban.

 The Fly in the Ointment

 There are several problems with the theory that Arianna was having a violent magical seizure in the yard when the boys barged in. Firstly, if the outburst was violent it would hardly have attracted that boys. Secondly, how could they get close enough to her to assault her in the first place?

I propose that Arianna had epilepsy but her form of epilepsy initially was mild and non-violent. However we know that Ariana’s condition got worse not better. Her outbreaks increased in violence. I believe that although Ariana had epilepsy before the attack by the muggle children, the episode clearly worsened her fits.

There are several different kinds of seizures, though we have discussed tonic clonic (the violent jerking kind), there are partial seizures where the patient is conscious throughout and experience instead visual or auditory hallucinations. Another type of seizure is the absence seizures where the patient simply zones out and no other signs are visible.

I believe that Ariana initially had a non-violent type of seizure, most likely a partial seizure which means that despite having the seizure she was aware of the boys breaking into her yard, which gave her a fright, and aware when they started attacking her. It may be that the type of partial seizure that Ariana had was also magically non-violent. Perhaps its effects on her magic were merely to project the hallucinations that she saw.

However clearly after the boy’s attack, Ariana’s epilepsy produced more violent and damaging magical outbursts enough to kill herself. It is likely that Ariana sustained traumatic head injury, and the ensuing scarring of the brain matter meant that she developed a new kind of epilepsy. Instead of just affecting one part of her brain in a partial seizure, the new scarring must have caused violent tonic clonic fits. One of which eventually killed her.

 Runs in the Family

 “If Arianna had a medical problem, why didn’t Kendra take her daughter to the doctors?” appears to the question everyone is hung up about. Most people agree it was because she found it shameful or was afraid her child would be locked away forever. Both those reactions are sane and rational for a woman living in the 19th century.

 However I propose something different. Epilepsy has a strong hereditary component, this does not mean that it is directly inherited as a gene or set of genes but the predisposition to epilepsy (including childhood epilepsy) is multifactorial. >50% of patients have a strong family history of epilepsy: 1 or more 1st/2nd degree relatives suffer from the disease. It is not farfetched that Kendra would have a relative with epilepsy or maybe suffered it herself as a child.

 Kendra did manage to attend Hogwarts and control her magic because like many children she grew out of having seizures. I speculate that Kendra has mild absence seizures as a child. Others would probably think she wasn’t really paying attention but it would be very clear to Kendra that something was definitely wrong with her mind. However she likely kept this information to herself, and passed off any magical outbursts as a child as normal for her age. If she was muggleborn, her parents probably would have been none the wiser.

 As Kendra learned more about the magical world, she must have realised that she was very lucky to have grown out of her seizures by the time she entered the wizarding world. Kendra didn’t take her daughter to St. Mungo’s because she knew there was no treatment for epilepsy. In the 19th century all seizures were uncontrolled and I somewhat doubt the wizarding world to date has developed drugs to control epilepsy such as carbamazepine given that in a magical population of 3000 epilepsy is not a great public health concern. Perhaps Kendra simply hoped her daughter would grow out of her fits in the same way that Kendra managed to do.

 I find it incredibly tragic that Kendra might have pinned false hope on the fact that Arianna would one day get better and she was correct, if Arianna had not been assault by the muggle boys. Permanent brain scarring from a traumatic injury meant that Arianna could never grow out of her epilepsy.

Post Mortem

 We know that Arianna never attended Hogwarts and never lived independently. It is likely that with her frequent violent tonic clonic seizures she may have sustained hypoxic brain damage – leading to cognitive problems in her adolescence. Alternatively, the traumatic head injuries sustained from the boys’ assault lead to her cognitive problems.

We will never know exactly what happened in the room between Albus, Gellert and Arianna. One theory is that Arianna’s violent seizure reached a point whereby it ended up killing her. People do die from epileptic fits, especially if they enter Status Epilepticus – which is continuous non-stop seizure activity. This is a medical emergency and can often be fatal. However we cannot discount the presence in the same room of two very powerful, well trained young wizards, who were already duelling at the time of the seizure.

Is it possible that in response to Ariana’s violent seizure Gellert tried to defend himself by killing her? Or perhaps even more tragically, it was one of her brother’s spells that ended up killing her in the midst of all the chaos?

I think that in the end even Albus Dumbledore never discovered who’s spell killed his sister, but he clearly chose to believe that it was his fault.

[theveilinthedeathchamber]

Xenophilius Lovegood is terrifying tbh

Alberforth Dumbledore

Binge watching Harry Potter

I’m watching them with friends, all of them, and fuck me if I don’t comment the movies too