Aberforth Dumbledore was born in Mould-on-the-Wold in the year 1883. He was the second son of Percival Dumbledore and Kendra Dumbledore. He was the younger brother of Albus Dumbledore and the older brother of Ariana Dumbledore. He was the only other Dumbledore who made an appearance as a character in the Harry Potter series. When his little sister Ariana was six years old, she was attacked by three Muggle boys after they saw her do magic. This event emotionally scarred Ariana and turned her into an Obscurial. In retaliation, Percival, her father, cursed those Muggles and was eventually arrested and taken to Azkaban. Both Kendra and Ariana died soon after too, and Albus and Aberforth Dumbledore had a rather strained relationship throughout.
Aberforth attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1895 to 1902. After graduating from Hogwarts, Aberforth tended to the Hog’s Head Inn in Hogsmeade, of which he was the owner and barman as his brother became the Hogwarts Headmaster. He was a member of the original Order of the Phoenix in the days of the First Wizarding War, and he also helped Harry, Ron, and Hermione gained a safe passage into Hogwarts when they were searching for Horcruxes immediately before the Battle of Hogwarts took place.
Early Life and Hogwarts
Aberforth Dumbledore was born in Mould-in-the-Wold to Percival Dumbledore and Kendra Dumbledore. He was younger than Albus Dumbledore by a few years but was older than Ariana, who was very close to him. When Ariana was six years old, three Muggle boys saw her do magic and ended up attacking her. When Percival Dumbledore interfered and cursed them with magic, he was arrested by the Ministry of Magic officials and sent to Azkaban.
Interestingly, Percival never revealed the reason for his attacking the three Muggles as he feared that it would shed light on Ariana being an Obscurial and that this would land her permanently in St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies. This incident prompted Kendra Dumbledore to move out of Mould-in-the-Wold and into Godric’s Hollow. Aberforth joined Hogwarts a few years after his brother Albus. However, he was very different from Albus, and owing to Albus’ extraordinary reputation at Hogwarts, Aberforth had to always live in his shadow. Aberforth would duel a lot in Hogwarts, unlike Albus, who was known to be an intellectual and a prodigy. Aberforth is believed to have been close with Elphias Doge at Hogwarts, as the latter reveals to Harry in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Ariana’s Death
Ariana was known to be Obscurial, but her condition was a closely guarded secret within the family. The neighbors and other people who knew the family mostly believed that she was a Squib. While Aberforth was very caring of his sister and would always keep her company, she once lost control of her magic in Aberforth’s absence and ended up accidentally killing Kendra, their mother.
After Kendra’s funeral, Aberforth wanted to stay in Godric’s Hollow and take care of Ariana instead of going to Hogwarts, but Albus Dumbledore was against this idea and wanted his brother to get an education. Albus’s plans of traveling the world were to stop, which caused him some resentment, as did being forced to go to Hogwarts to Abeforth. All this changed when their neighbor Bathilda Bagshot had a visitor. Her great nephew, Gellert Grindelwald, had come to Godric’s Hollow to visit her, and soon, Albus and Gellert developed a deep bond. They would dwell in Gellert’s ambitions and constantly talk about ridding the world of Muggle domination, and they grew closer with time. One day, Ariana lost control of her magic again when Aberforth and Gellert had a disagreement; Gellert used the Cruciatus curse on Abeforth, Albus intervened, and eventually, one of their spells caused Ariana’s death.
Albus and Gellert would go on to have a very complicated relationship until the latter was defeated in a duel by Albus Dumbledore. Ariana’s death caused serious distance to develop between Albus and Aberforth, and the latter reportedly punched Albus in the nose during Ariana’s funeral. Albus’ true feelings of guilt caused by this incident would remain forever till the day he died.
Helping the Trio
Aberforth plays a crucial role in helping the trio during their hunt for Horcruxes. First, he sends the house-elf Dobby to the Malfoy Manor when Harry, Ron and Hermione are in danger. Later, he takes them in at the Hog’s Head Inn when they apparate suddenly at Hogsmeade. He gives them food and water and eventually fetches Neville Longbottom to escort them to Hogwarts through a secret passageway.
Aurelius Dumbledore
In the second movie of the new movie spinoff series of the Harry Potter series titled Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Secrets of Dumbledore, which attracted a lot of new viewers to the Harry Potter franchise, a young version of Albus Dumbledore makes an appearance alongside Magizoologist Newt Scamander played by Eddie Redmayne. Newt is the protagonist of the movie series, and it includes other characters like Gellert Grindelwald, played by Johnny Depp and Mads Mikkelsen, Theseus Scamander, played by Callum Turner; Yusuf Kama, played by William Nadylam; Jacob Kowalski, played by Dan Fogler, Queenie Goldstein played by Alison Sudol, Leta Lestrange played by Zoe Kravitz and Credence Barebone played by Ezra Miller. In the third installment of this series, we also get to meet a younger version of Aberforth Dumbledore, played by Richard Coyle. He is already a barman at the Hog’s Head, and interestingly, it is found out, to the great surprise of Harry Potter fans everywhere, that Credence Barebone, who is also an Obscurial like Ariana, is the son of Aberforth Dumbledore, who was estranged from his parents at birth.
FAQs
Why does Aberforth not like Dumbledore?
Aberforth Dumbledore and his elder brother Albus Dumbledore had a severe disagreement and fight after the latter was blamed for being the cause of their sister Ariana’s death by Aberforth. While Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald had become very close friends, Abeforth disapproved of Gellert’s views, causing for a duel to breakout between the two. Ariana tried to intervene, and Albus tried to intervene too, and in the resulting wand waving, one of the curses hit Ariana, and she died.
Does Aberforth know Credence is his son?
No, it is believed that Aberforth didn’t know that Credence was his son, at least not until he was told by Albus. Aberforth and an unknown woman had a relationship when they were in Godric’s Hollow, but the woman was sent away suddenly, cutting all ties between the two. However, the woman eventually died, giving birth to Aurelius, who was later named Credence. Aberforth had no knowledge of having a son, or at least, he didn’t know his whereabouts until he was told by Albus Dumbledore.
Was Aberforth part of the order?
Yes, Aberforth Dumbledore was a part of the original Order of the Phoenix, which was created during the First Wizarding War in opposition of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. However, Aberforth was not an active member of the revived Order of the Phoenix, which was led by Albus Dumbledore again and consisted of Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, the Weasleys, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, and Mad-Eye Moody. He did help them towards the end as he helped the trio enter Hogwarts through a secret passageway and also fought in the Battle of Hogwarts.
