ARIANA, ABERFORTH AND ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
This was the question asked to us by USMAN ADIL in our page WISDOM OF ALBUS PERCIVAL WULFRIC BRIAN DUMBLEDORE
"How did Ariana die?
And why were Albus and Aberforth never fond of each other. And also, in other
books, Albus used to go to Hog's Head. Did he not meet Aberfoth there?"
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Ariana Kendra Dumbledore was
the youngest daughter born to Percival and Kendra Dumbledore and the only
sister of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore and Aberforth Percival
Dumbledore.
Ariana’s death was a
tragic accident. It was the mishap that occurred during a fierce three way duel
between Albus, Aberforth and Gellert Grindelwald.
Ariana had the worst
childhood possible. Once when she was practicing magic, a group of muggle boys
discovered her and violently assaulted her for not being able to explain the “trick”.
The incident left her emotionally scarred. She began to grow capricious with
her magical abilities and even her spells wouldn’t work correctly and even if
they did, they were abnormally destructive. Kendra then moved to Godric’s
hollow with her daughter and Aberforth to “avoid attention”. She thought people
might speculate her daughter to be a squib, for she couldn’t conjure a spell
when asked. (Being a squib is as disgraceful, to the wizards, as a sterile
mother to the muggles)
When Ariana was about
fourteen years of age, there was an episode when her magic spun terribly out of
control and created an explosion which killed her mother Kendra. Her favorite
brother Aberforth was not then at home to pacify her.
Now, Albus Dumbledore,
who had been preparing to go abroad with his friend Elphias Dodge (who wrote “Dumbledore
remembered” after Albus’s death), had to abandon his plans and had to stay in
England to attend mother’s funeral and take the position of caring Ariana – a position
which he later admitted to resenting. Aberforth loved his sister more than his
life and insisted upon taking care of her instead of Albus. But Albus insisted
Aberforth to graduate from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"I
resented it, Harry. I was gifted, I was brilliant. I wanted to escape. I wanted
to shine. I wanted glory. Do not misunderstand me. I loved them... but I was
selfish... 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..."
At some time after Albus took
the guardianship of Ariana, Gellert Grindelwald came to Godric’s hollow to stay
with his aunt, Bathilda Bagshot, having been kicked out of Durmstrang institute
of Magical Studies for his extreme experiments with the dark arts. Grindelwald
had a terrible history but Albus overlooked that and they quickly became
friends. Both were extremely gifted and talented wizards. Albus and Gellert
made a plan to take control of the wizarding world and make Muggles subservient
“for the greater good”!
But Aberforth confronted
them, pointing out that Ariana was in no state to be dragged along with them as
they carried out their plans. Grindelwald became furious and the situation
worsened. A three way duel broke out between those wizards. Ariana, who
intended to stop, couldn’t handle the magic and was eventually killed by the
spell casted by one of the three wizards. It was never known which wizard was
responsible for her death.
Now it must seem obvious
why Aberforth hated Albus. I cannot say he did not love Albus (because of the
loyalty he displayed while watching Harry Potter during his hunt for horcruxes
and later during the battle of Hogwarts) but he definitely hated him. Albus was
gifted and he knew it. He never paid proper attention to his sister and family.
According to Aberforth, “Albus sacrificed many things for his hunt of power”. But
Aberforth loved Ariana and could not trust her in the hands of someone who felt
being “trapped” while taking care of Ariana. Aberforth hated Albus for these
reasons but he loved Albus, for the antonym of love is not hatred but
disregard.
As far as their meetings is
concerned, I insist that they met or at least communicated but the degree of pleasantness
is purely a matter of speculation. It is because Aberforth had a piece of
mirror through which he kept eye on Harry and saved him while he was imprisoned
in Malfoy mansion by sending Dobby, a free elf. Furthermore, he made a secret
tunnel to link his bar at Hog’s Head and Hogwart’s room of requirement before
the battle of Hogwarts. Aberforth was a member of the Order of Phoenix, of
which Albus was the founder. So I hypothesize that the relationship between
these brothers must have improved, if not worsened, in the later days.
I hope this answers the
question.
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