Although young Harry Potter was orphaned at the hands of Voldemort when he was still just a baby, he was lucky enough to have quite a few other adults in his life who eventually stepped up and took over the role of parent in his life. And everyone in his world contributed in different ways, but the clearest parental figure in his life was ultimately Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
It comes as no surprise that Dumbledore took such an intense interest in Harry's development, because he always knew that Harry was the only person who could truly defeat Lord Voldemort. And while Dumbledore did an enormous amount of work to prepare Harry for his face off against the Dark Lord, he was a far from perfect parent in many instances. So here are 5 times where he was a great parental figure, along with 5 times he was a terrible one.
Better: Coming To Harry's Legal Defense
Obviously Albus Dumbledore knows a setup when he sees one, so when Harry Potter was dragged into court after defending himself and Dudley Dursley against attacking dementors Dumbledore made sure to show up and come to Harry's defense. Minister Cornelius Fudge was obviously thrilled at the prospect of having an excuse to discredit Harry and put him on the outs with the wizarding world, but Dumbledore ensured that his plans would be unsuccessful. And at this point in the story Dumbledore was trying to distance himself from Harry, but apparently couldn't resist coming to his aid, which goes to show how strong their bond was.
Worse: Leaving Him With The Dursleys
Eventually Dumbledore's reasons for leaving Harry with the Dursley family became apparent, and there were good reasons for him to leave Harry with Lily's remaining family, however it seems like he could have done a little more than he did. Professor McGonagall told Albus how monstrous the Dursleys really were, but Dumbledore chose to leave Harry with them regardless and he didn't even intervene when Harry was being abused. For god's sake, he even just left a sleeping infant on the doorstep of their house. Outdoors. In the cold night. With no one watching him. Not very good parental instincts there.
Better: Trusting Harry
One of the most impressive and emotionally inspiring aspects of Harry and Dumbledore's relationship is the incredible amount of faith and trust that Dumbledore puts in Harry. Obviously it's ultimately clear that his trust was well deserved, but it's easy to overlook the massive impact that Albus' constant belief in Harry's abilities would have had on Harry.
Harry was facing the most dangerous and frightening confrontation that anyone could possibly imagine, and arguably the most powerful wizard alive constantly told Harry that he could do it. That's a very parental way to treat Harry, and it definitely paid off in the end.
Worse: Using Harry As Bait
Unfortunately Albus Dumbledore seemed to have a habit of using Harry as a pawn in his plans more than once, and often times his decision to just use Harry as a tool instead of including him in the plan was a huge mistake. Obviously the most egregious example of this is when Harry is entered into the Tri-wizard Tournament and Dumbledore decides to let the situation unfold in the hopes of figuring out what's going on. Harry legitimately could have been killed by Voldemort because of this, and Cedric Diggory did die as a result of it, which is too high of a price for Dumbledore's mistake.
Better: Giving Harry The Confidence He Needed To Win The War
In an ideal world, Dumbledore would have been right by Harry's side when he faced his final fight against Voldemort and all of the other Death Eaters.
However Dumbledore seemed to realize that there was a very real possibility that he wouldn't be present for this ultimate showdown, so instead of letting Harry rely on his assistance he ensured that Harry had the confidence to face Voldemort all on his own. There really is no way to fully prepare someone for something like this, but Dumbledore build up Harry's inner strength enough so that Harry was at least psychologically ready to do what needed to be done on his own.
Worse: Not Telling Him He Was A Horcrux
Dumbledore's decision making skills have occasionally seemed pretty questionable, but even in comparison to a lot of his more dubious choices this particular decision seems downright insane. It seems like Albus figured out that Harry was an accidental Horcrux quite a while before Harry actually found out about it, and it's baffling that Dumbledore just left what was essentially a grenade waiting to go off inside Harry without even giving him any warning. If Harry had known he could have at least prepared himself to deal with it, and it seems like Albus gave Voldemort a massive tactical advantage by hiding this info from Harry.
Better: Teaching Harry Almost Everything
Albus Dumbledore was Harry Potter's teacher first and foremost, but he seemed to have a much more comprehensive understanding of what that truly entailed than most teachers tend to. Yes, Albus taught Harry a lot of the information and skills that he would need in order to keep himself alive and ultimately defeat the dark lord. But Dumbledore also taught Harry how to think analytically, to learn as he went, to make the right decision under tremendous pressure, and how to be a sincerely good person. Harry clearly had all of that potential in him to begin with, but Dumbledore did bring it out in him.
Worse: Not Telling Him About The Prophecy
Dumbledore does deserve a bit of a break on some of the choices that he made, because he was so often stuck between a rock and a hard place and it was up to him alone what to do in many life threatening situations. However, it does seem like Albus made some very clear missteps when it came to hiding the truth from Harry.
Professor Trelawney's prophecy was clearly up to some interpretation, however it was very crucial information that could have given Harry a considerable advantage over Voldemort. Yes, telling him was dangerous, but withholding it from him seems even more dangerous.
Better: Trusting Harry More Than Himself
Most parents have a variety of different hopes and dreams for their own children, but something that every parent probably aspires towards when raising a child is to make that child into a better person than they are. And Dumbledore certainly proudly did that with Harry. In order to defeat Voldemort Harry essentially had to to all of the right things and make all of the right choices, and while Dumbledore certainly guided him along that path it was ultimately Harry who chose to be the hero he became. Dumbledore's trust in Harry seems to be even deeper than the trust he has for himself.
Worse: Not Telling Him He Had To Die
If anyone ever has to go to literal war, it's safe to assume that the more prepared you can be, the better. And while Dumbledore did leave some serious gaps in preparing Harry for the impending fight against Voldemort, this gap seems to be the most serious misstep. Yes, that realization was probably something Harry would have a hard time dealing with in any circumstance, but there was no reason to basically let Harry figure it out in the worst way possible and right before he actually has to do it. Harry willingly sacrificed himself for others, but Dumbledore didn't really have the right to withhold that choice from him in the way that he did.