The Lies and Crimes of Albus Dumbledore Pt 3
Part three and the final part of my updated essay from 2019 including one or two new theories. Please read pt 1 and pt 2 first.
Of Dumbledore’s many failings the most far-reaching damage was in allowing corruption, bigotry, and ignorance to flourish. The problems of the British magical society are systemic and permeate the entirety of their society. It practically guarantees that eventually the Muggles will discover them and be forced to eradicate or subjugate them. Or that the population will simply dwindle and die out.
Dumbledore has been teaching for 60 years, he was either teacher or Headmaster for most of the population of wizarding Britain. The morals and attitudes of the British wizarding society are Dumbledore’s. He never changed his beliefs from what they were when he and Grindlewald were plotting to rule the world. The only difference between the two of them was that Dumbledore recognized that you didn’t need to wear a crown to rule. He knows that people would blindly follow a cult of personality as long as the persona seemed pleasing and benevolent.
Dumbledore didn’t need to become Minister for Magic, he had all the power without the responsibility. He was the real power behind everything. He controlled the education of the entire society. He taught them just exactly what he wanted them to know and nothing else, he taught them how to think. He trained them all to look upon him as a wise leader who can do no wrong. Tyranny never prospers because if it does then none dare call it tyranny.
Dumbledore portrayed himself as the champion of the muggle-borns and the oppressed. But there is no evidence that he actually did anything to improve things for either group. He kept generations undertrained and undereducated. He ensured that the Wizarding world remained backward and xenophobic. He kept a ghost in the History professorship so that none of the students that passed through Hogwarts would understand that he kept them enslaved. He crippled the Law Enforcement and Healer professions by allowing Snape to teach Potions in the manner he did. He ensured that generations were not able to properly defend themselves by allowing the curse on the DADA course to remain. He could have called in Gringotts curse breakers and failing that, end the course entirely, and start up a new course under a different name in and in a different classroom. Call it Applied Magics, or Protective Magic, or Offensive and Protective Magic.
He allowed bullying, unfairness, and bigotry to run unchecked in the school, the point and house system engendered hostility and resentment. Because point awards and deductions were not standardized the whole thing was a laughable exercise in futility. Because of Snape, Filch, and even McGonagall, the whole thing was meaningless. It was nothing more than a way for Snape to stroke his ego.
Dumbledore trained them all to maintain the status quo and mediocrity. It assured that the brightest and best would end up leaving because they would be unable to support themselves. Without innovation and changes their society stagnated. There were few jobs and nothing above entry-level at the Ministry or shopkeeper available to Muggleborns. He consistently failed his students by denying them a complete education. He propped up the system that kept Muggleborns as second class citizens.
Of course, some will point to Remus Lupin and Rubeus Hagrid as evidence of Dumbledore as the champion of the marginalized. No, not really. After Dumbledore becomes Headmaster he does nothing to clear Hagrid’s name. Even after he becomes head of the legislative and judicial branch of the wizarding government he does absolutely nothing. All he does is give Hagrid a menial labor position. Giving Hagrid just enough to secure unwavering loyalty of ignorant muscle. Dumbledore even says nothing while Fudge carts Hagrid off to prison for the stated reason that he had to be seen to be doing something. Dumbledore never even lifts a finger except to finally get off his ass and send a letter for Hagrid’s release. He’s got a floo connection not ten feet away to call for his release.
What about Lupin, surely that has to count for something? Not really, letting Lupin attend school seems to be completely illogical in the context of the books. Dumbledore doesn’t seem to be trying to make some statement to the werewolf population about wanting to reach out to them and being willing to make arrangements to allow werewolf children to attend Hogwarts. Why do we know this? Because Lupin was the first, last and only werewolf child Dumbledore accepted at Hogwarts. Lupin can’t have been the only child with Lycanthropy because the books say that Greyback actively tried to bite children to raise them in his pack. Allowing Lupin to attend seems to be something akin to a fishing expedition. He seemed like he was just wanting to see how it would all play out. Maybe he was looking for his next project for redemption, or maybe he wanted to see if he could tame a werewolf. Or he was just setting up for a long-range possibility of one day needing someone expendable to be an envoy to the werewolves.
However later in life, it is clear that Remus Lupin was so beaten down by the harsh realities of his situation in life that he was effectively neutered. It was clear he was suffering from severe depression and anxiety. Perhaps the daily pressure of living hand to mouth and then the added stress of a wife and child he could not afford to take care of was all too much for him. I think Remus would have been happier in a werewolf colony in another country. I think Dumbledore had to have manipulated him in some way to stay in England. I also think that he was not in the right emotional and mental state to marry Tonks. I think the reason he was so defeated by life is that when he was in school Dumbledore may have filled his head with the idea that the wizarding world would accept him if he had a Hogwarts education. Maybe he told Remus that his affliction wouldn’t matter, and that he was going to try to institute changes and that Remus would be able to help him by being a model werewolf. But when he got out of school that acceptance never materialized and year by year he was just beaten further down.
Of course, Dumbledore would then claim that his hands were tied by the pureblood faction and that once Voldemort was destroyed for good that he would be able to make all the sweeping changes to improve life for everyone. Even had Remus lived I doubt any real changes would have been made. Dumbledore’s ideology was too ingrained in wizarding society. The people had lost the ability to think for themselves logically. In the end, Remus appears to be yet another casualty that Dumbledore used and discarded once their usefulness was at an end.
Let’s examine the case of Sirius Black but let’s look at it in context. All through his Hogwarts years, Sirius shows disdain for the ideology that he was raised with, his sorting into Gryffindor showed that blatantly. Sirius broke all ties with his family at the age of sixteen and ran away.
I can imagine Sirius as he had to have been a wild teen but he would have been nearly as fanatical as Barty Crouch, Sr. about not having anything that tied him to his family’s dark tendencies. It is shown in the books that Sirius and James were as close as brothers, everyone knew this. Right up until the moment the Potters are betrayed everyone knows that Sirius hated anything dark. He and James had become Aurors and they were actively fighting against Voldemort and the Death Eaters. I can imagine that everyone would have been absolutely stunned to hear that Sirius betrayed James and Lily. Most people over time would have refused to believe it, there would have been questions. What could have caused everyone to suddenly forget that Sirius hated Voldemort and would have died before betraying the only person he had that he thought of as family. It would take something big, here’s what I think happened.
Dumbledore sets the Potters up to be killed, he needs Voldemort to activate the prophecy and if he does so he needs to be able to assume complete control of the child of the prophecy. He knows that the Potters would have made arrangements for their orphaned child. Since it was almost certain that the Potters would have named Sirius as Harry’s guardian that meant he needed Sirius out of the way.
Dumbledore had everything planned well before the deaths of the Potters. How do we know this? Again because McGonagall had the Dursley house under surveillance before she knew what happened to the Potters. Dumbledore sent Hagrid to retrieve Harry from the ruins of the cottage with orders that the child was to go to his maternal aunt’s. So Dumbledore already knew what had happened and what his next moves were going to be. That is only possible if he had set the whole thing up.
I think it’s possible that at some point before the deaths of the Potters Dumbledore put a compulsion on Sirius to make him charge after the rat without telling anyone that he was not the secret keeper. Or perhaps Dumbledore was there at the scene under James’ invisibility cloak and hit him with a compulsion charm then. Sirius’ actions make no sense otherwise unless he had been bespelled or else he was counting on the fact that Dumbledore knew he was not the secret keeper. If he was counting on Dumbledore, then going after the rat does make sense. I think after Sirius was taken into custody Dumbledore Obliviated him so that he would not remember that he, Dumbledore knew Sirius wasn’t the secret keeper. Why else would Sirius go back to working with him after he escaped prison?
So Sirius is brought in by Crouch, since he's an Auror it's likely they want to keep a lid on things. I imagine Dumbledore immediately insinuated himself into the case. I can picture a meeting between himself, Crouch, and the Minister. Dumbledore knows that he has to get rid of Sirius as soon as possible. Remember, Harry is already at the Dursley's. If it's brought before the Wizengamot in open court, information may be brought to light that Dumbledore wanted to keep hidden. Very uncomfortable questions are almost sure to be asked simply because Sirius is a Black. There is Dumbledore's answer, he's a Black, and blood will tell. So I think Dumbledore told Crouch and the Minister that if they hold a trial it could seriously damage the reputation of the Ministry in general and the DMLE in particular. Dumbledore tells them that Sirius was the Potter's secret keeper. How do we know this is what likely happened? Because Dumbledore tells Harry and Co in POA, "I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters’ Secret-Keeper." We know that's a lie because Sirius wasn't the secret keeper.
Here Dumbledore combines an outright lie with a half-truth and allows someone to come to a wrong conclusion. By telling Harry and Hermoine that he had given “evidence” he causes them to assume that there had been an actual trial. Harry and Hermione’s frame of reference would have been the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 that protects against illegal imprisonment. So by using the word “evidence” he legitimizes the whole thing to the students so neither one asked the obvious questions. Which would’ve been, how were you able to give evidence of Sirius being the secret keeper, did you perform the Fidelis charm? Why did you give evidence of Sirius being the secret keeper when we now know he wasn’t?
So Dumbledore persuades Crouch and Bagnold that Sirius was the secret keeper and that a trial would not be necessary. He lies through his teeth, most likely allowing them to assume that he had performed the Fidelis charm because he has first-hand knowledge that Sirius is the secret keeper.
It is Dumbledore that likely spins the lie that Sirius is Voldemort’s right-hand man. It’s even a possibility that he might’ve told them that his spy within the Death Eaters had confirmed it.
I could easily see this being the “valuable evidence” that Snape had given that causes the ministry to let him off like they did Karkaroff. What information could be more valuable than Voldemort’s right hand? Sirius Black, the man who fooled everyone and betrayed not only the Potters but the entire British Wizarding World. Yes, that would do it.
Regardless, Dumbledore probably gets Bagnold on board by telling her that they need to act quickly so the remaining DE’s don’t destabilize the government and that her position will be strengthened by decisive action on her part. He tells her that people will feel safer and things can get back to normal quicker. Dumbledore probably tells Crouch that he doesn’t want his department tainted with Sirius’ betrayal and that his position will be strengthened if people can see that he didn’t attempt to shield one of his own. Otherwise, people will lose faith in him and the DMLE. For the greater good Sirius will have to be dealt with immediately. He may have told them that after things calm down they would be able to give Sirius a trial, but at this point, it was unnecessary since he could verify that Sirius was the secret keeper.
Why do I think this was how it happened? Because there was never a trial, someone needed to get rid of Sirius. Who had the most to gain from Sirius being quietly sent to Azkaban? None other than Albus Dumbledore. If Sirius remained free Dumbledore would lose control of Harry.
He also couldn’t afford to kill Sirius or have him killed. For one thing at that point, Sirius was the next heir for the Black family. As far as Dumbledore knew, if Sirius died then the headship would likely fall to the infant Draco Malfoy and thus to Lucius Malfoy as regent for the child. Also, Dumbledore played the long game, by leaving Sirius alive he kept his options open. He knew that someone who had no use today might become very useful in the future. The other reason why I think it’s likely that Dumbledore was the driving force behind Sirius’ incarceration is that there’s no record of Sirius being questioned. If Dumbledore wasn’t trying to get rid of him then, he would have questioned Sirius. He doesn’t question him because he doesn’t need to. He already knows that Sirius must be sacrificed. Dumbledore probably goes to see Sirius but only while he is stunned and unconscious and only in total privacy. He needs to see Sirius in complete privacy because he has one loose end to tie up. I think he Obliviates Sirius so that he doesn’t remember who cast the Fidelis charm. As I said before, it makes no sense for Sirius to continue to work with Dumbledore after he escapes Azkaban. That he does makes Oblivation likely.
Many would argue that Dumbledore would not send one of his own to prison and that if anyone wanted Sirius to be sent to Azkaban it would be more likely to be Lucius Malfoy. I don’t think Lucius could have instigated Sirius’ imprisonment, I think he would have pounced on the opportunity given the chance. But you have to look at it in context, not in hindsight. Yes, he would later have something to gain from Sirius in Azkaban, and he would eventually have a motive, he did not have it at this time. Remember at this point his father Abraxas is still alive and very much in total control of the family. All of the political clout held by the Malfoy family is firmly in the hands of Abraxas. Lucius would not have had the opportunity, he is under a cloud of suspicion, and at this point, he does not have the Minister’s ear. He has little pull in the Ministry, I envision that all he has at this time are some minor Ministry officials that he has been able to bribe within his limited means (in comparison to his father’s means. He would have at most had a trust fund or an allowance.) I think the most senior of these officials would be Cornelius Fudge who at this time is only the junior minister of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. It is only after Malfoy has been cleared via the Imperius defense and after the Lestranges and Crouch, Jr. are caught that Lucius Malfoy is able to make any significant inroads into getting more pull in the upper echelons of the Ministry by backing Cornelius Fudge for Minister. Which would account for Fudge’s meteoric rise from Junior Minister to Minister for Magic in a relatively short period of time.
However, some will say that JKR stated that Fudge became Minister in 1990, which is totally inconsistent (one of her many inconsistencies) with canon as she herself wrote in the books. In GOF Sirius tells the trio Crouch’s story:
“Oh I know Crouch all right,” he said quietly. “He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban - without a trial.”
“He was tipped for the next Minister of Magic”
“…When Voldemort disappeared, it looked like only a matter of time until Crouch got the top job…”
“So old Crouch lost it all, just when he thought he had it made,” he continued, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “One moment, a hero, poised to become Minister of Magic . . .”
“…So Cornelius Fudge got the top job, and Crouch was shunted sideways into the Department of International Magical Cooperation.”
If Fudge became Minister in 1990 how does Sirius know all this information? He was thrown in prison in Nov 1981, were the Dementors keeping him up to date on current events? Did they allow him newspapers? It doesn't make sense, just like most of the dates and other numbers in the series. What does make sense is that Crouch's fall from grace occurred between Nov 1981 and possibly early 1982. For one thing, you can't tell me that the fanatical Bellatrix Lestrange was going to wait years before trying to find her master. No, her psychological make-up suggests she'd wait no longer than she had to. I'm guessing weeks maybe a few months but not much longer.
Only after Sirius is in prison does Malfoy help get Fudge into office, albeit probably behind the scenes and likely his help is through intermediaries. Regardless Malfoy would not have been in the position to railroad Sirius into Azkaban until well after Fudge becomes Minister. Given Crouch’s stance on Death Eaters, it would be ridiculous to think that Malfoy would have any influence whatsoever with him and to a great extent Bagnold.
Only Dumbledore had the motive, means, and opportunity at the moment Sirius was arrested to have him sent to Azkaban without a trial. No matter what was actually said in the meeting between Dumbledore, Bagnold, and Crouch, the end result was that as the head of the DMLE, Crouch gave the order, backed up by Dumbledore as the Chief Warlock and the Minister to have Sirius sent straight to Azkaban.
Now Dumbledore starts his campaign in the court of public opinion. He starts a smear campaign against Sirius, most likely through proxies. He himself when questioned will put on the saddened and disappointed grandfather routine. He’ll likely drop a few hints about how he was hoping Sirius would rise above his family’s background. And how he had tried to steer the boy towards the light. But alas a promising young wizard was enticed by the Dark Lord. He also would have been sure to tell everyone who asked that he could positively attest that Sirius was the Potter’s secret keeper and that he had given “evidence” to the ministry confirming that fact.
Almost overnight people forget that Sirius would never have betrayed James Potter and his family. Even people who personally knew James and Sirius, people like McGonagall, Hagrid, and surprisingly enough Remus Lupin. The only way that those people would have believed that Sirius had betrayed the Potters was if Dumbledore told them. As soon as Remus heard the Potters had been killed he would have raced back to Hogwarts. There would likely have been an Order meeting, probably either in Hogsmeade or Hogwarts itself. I can picture it, all of the remaining Order members would have been grieving and in shock. They would have heard by then that Sirius had betrayed them all. They would have asked Dumbledore if it was true. He would have looked very sad, very weary, and said something like, “alas, I wish I could say it was not. But James and Lily placed their trust in the wrong person.” Of course, the next logical question would have been why, why did he do it? The answer would have been a Dumbledore special, something like, “We may never know. Perhaps the pull of his family became too strong for young Sirius to withstand. I tried to counsel James and Lily to allow me to serve as their secret keeper but James was so convinced of Sirius’ trustworthiness.”
Within days every witch and wizard in Britain is convinced of Sirius' guilt. Something I don't believe could have happened if it had been anyone other than Dumbledore assuring everyone of Sirius’ betrayal. But even then the lie was somewhat easy to believe because everyone knew that only people James would have asked to be secret-keeper would have been either Dumbledore himself or Sirius. All Dumbledore has to do is deny being the secret keeper and make some comments on how after all Sirius IS a Black and then he allows everyone to make the assumption he wants them to make. Still, I think Dumbledore knew he was taking a risk. He would have been watching the reactions of the Black family very closely. He had to be ready at any moment to respond in case the family demanded a trial before the Wizengamot. The only member of the family that I think he might have approached would have been Andromeda. But it begs the question, why didn't the Black family respond?
The only thing that I can see that makes even a little bit of sense is that Walburga was still resentful of Sirius for turning his back on the family. She may have even been angry that Sirius had evidently joined the DEs without the family knowing. She may also have felt that Regulus should have been Voldemort’s right-hand man and that if it had been Regulus, he would not have been stupid enough to get caught. Either way, she believed that Sirius had been disowned, therefore she was not going to lift a finger for him. As for Arcturus, it’s hard to say why he did not intervene. Perhaps he was ill for a time shortly after Sirius was first incarcerated. Maybe the information was kept from him for a while. That would account for no immediate response from him. I think perhaps politics might have played a part. Certainly once Lucius was cleared and he had the Minister in his pocket Malfoy would have brought every pressure to bear in order to keep Sirius in prison. He would have wanted Sirius there for as long as possible in the hopes that he would die and leave the way clear for Malfoy's young son to one day inherit the Black family headship. But as I detailed above Malfoy would not have had the ability to put Sirius in prison initially.
Reading the books and asking the logical questions leads me to believe that Dumbledore had no intention of allowing the Potters to survive.
1. The war is going badly for Dumbledore and the ministry. If they lose he feels that countless people may die. He may feel that Voldemort's victory could spell the end of wizard-kind since Voldemort may try to wage war on the muggles eventually and that would be suicide for the wizards.
2. The Potters had been hidden for over a year until they did something stupid like leaving their safehouse.
3. The Potters move into a cottage in a village that we now know was where Dumbledore grew up. It was likely that it was Dumbledore's cottage.
4. For reasons we aren't told the Potters do not have one of themselves as the secret-keeper. Possibly because Dumbledore told them it had to be someone else.
5. Dumbledore bargains with Snape to protect Lily Potter, asking what will you give me in return?
7. The wards were taken down immediately after the Potters are murdered. Including the Fidelius charm.
8. Dumbledore assumes immediate control of the child of the prophecy and abandons him where he knows the child will be abused and neglected.
9. He makes no effort to actually train Harry.
10. He withholds vital information from his followers.
None of this makes any sense unless either Dumbledore is insane or he is knowingly sacrificing James, Lily, and Harry. Harry only survives because of a fluke.
So, after all, is said and done we come back to the basic questions of a crime. Let’s take a minute and look at some of the biggest crimes individually:
1. The murders of James & Lily Potter: The guilty party - Tom Marvolo Riddle
Accessories to the crime Peter Pettigrew. He gave their location to Riddle, Severus Snape who gave part of the prophecy who caused Riddle to target the Potters, Albus Dumbledore who needed to set the prophecy in motion. With the Potters out of the way, he assumes control of the child of the prophecy. All three accessories to the crime have motive, means, and opportunity. Dumbledore has the most to gain from the deaths of the Potters as with the prophecy in play his secrets can remain unexposed.
2. The kidnapping of Harry Potter: The guilty party - Rubeus Hagrid, he has the means and opportunity for the crime but not the motive. Accessory to the crime: Albus Dumbledore, he needs to have control over the child of the prophecy. He needs to mold this child into a weapon to use later. He has motive, means, and opportunity. He orders Hagrid to kidnap the boy.
3. Wrongful Imprisonment of Sirius Black - The guilty parties - Barty Crouch, Sr, he has the means and opportunity and he does have a small motive in that he has a department and reputation to protect. Minister Bagnold, she also has means and opportunity and does have the ministry to protect but doesn’t have a strong motive for the crime. Albus Dumbledore, again he needs to get Sirius out of the way so that he can control Harry Potter. He gives false evidence to the Ministry that Sirius was the secret keeper. He has motive, means and opportunity, he has the most to gain if Sirius is incarcerated, he has the most to protect by not allowing Sirius to be questioned and he has the most to lose if Sirius is not incarcerated. Suspect: Lucius Malfoy, at this point in time he does not have a motive to want to see Sirius incarcerated. Eventually, he’d want him incarcerated and hopefully die in prison as he believes his son is next in line to inherit. He also lacks the means and opportunity to commit the crime.
For all of the major crimes that were detailed in the bulk of this essay I have tried to give a plausible explanation of how they could have been committed or orchestrated by Dumbledore and what I feel was his motivation was and how they could have been accomplished. But as always we all must look at the facts before us and come to our own conclusions.
As I said at the beginning of all this, these are my opinions and my conclusions. Much of what I have written will be perceived as controversial by those that revere Dumbledore. Those who have read that JK characterized him as the "epitome of goodness." I read that too, I've read a lot of articles that explain exactly why Dumbledore is the best thing since chocolate bars. But I also read the books and they paint a very different picture of the man.
If you've read this far and you agree with any of this and wish to discuss drop me a message. If you've read it and disagree, I'm fine with that. You can disagree all you like and I won't stop you. I respect your right to disagree, just as you must respect my right to have a differing opinion. Lastly, if anyone wants to turn any of the points I've brought up into a fanfic I would be honored, I would simply ask that you let me know and maybe throw me a little credit line in there somewhere.