Dumbledore from Harry Potter is definitely a complex character. While he starts out seeming as a benevolent, wise mentor to Harry, as the series goes on, it’s clear that he isn’t as innocent as that. Dumbledore’s a character who has a dark and complicated past, and his relationship to Harry and how he manipulates him is also quite sinister. There are infinitely many debates among Harry Potter fans about whether Dumbledore is a good guy or not, and it’s clear that he’s done some pretty shameless and blatant things in the series.
Here are the ten most shameless things that Albus Dumbledore has ever done.
PLACING THE SORCERER'S STONE IN HOGWARTS
Dumbledore definitely seems to think he is a lot more proficient at protecting Hogwarts than he really is. Or even worse, he plans all along for Harry to be put into these stressful situations, such as protecting the stone. Either way, keeping the Sorcerer’s Stone at Hogwarts when Dumbledore knew that Voldemort wanted it was at best an old move and at worst a shameless one. A school is definitely not a place to put that kind of object or to guard it with deadly defenses.
CLEARLY FAVORING THE GRYFFINDORS
One of the most blatant things that is obnoxious about Dumbledore when rereading the books as an adult is how much favoritism he shows. While he clearly favors Harry, his reasons for doing so are complicated and not all positive. But regardless, he shows a lot of favoritism towards Gryffindor house overall. Given that he was a Gryffindor himself, this comes across as really biased. Seeing how Dumbledore makes sure the Gryffindor house often wins the House Cup would be really to a non-Gryffindor another student.
BEING RATHER ARROGANT ABOUT HIS INTELLIGENCE
It’s clear that Dumbledore is a very smart person and that he’s also highly capable with magic. He’s one of the most powerful wizards ever, and he’s also got an analytical brain. We get it — the man is capable. But while this is all true, and Dumbledore shouldn’t have to pretend not to be smart, he’s sometimes extremely arrogant. He will often make comments about his intelligence and his capabilities, and it often comes across as more uncomfortable than endearing.
LEAVING HOGWARTS OPEN AFTER THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS WAS REOPENED
There are many times that Dumbledore makes decisions that just don’t make a lot of sense. These decisions often put innocent lives at risk and come across as either arrogant or cruel. One instance of poor decision making is when Dumbledore didn’t shut down Hogwarts after the Chamber of Secrets was opened and the attacks started happening. It doesn’t make sense the school was allowed to stay open, considering that last time the Chamber was opened, Moaning Myrtle died.
LEAVING HARRY WITH THE DURSLEYS
Leaving Harry to live with and be raised by the Dursleys is definitely one of the most troubling things that Dumbledore does. While the reasons for this have to do with the powerful magic that keeps Harry protected, the fact that Dumbledore never did anything at all about the neglect and abuse Harry endured is pretty awful. This comes across as rather shameless because Dumbledore never seemed to have a lot of remorse or to even try to make sure that Harry’s mental health was all right.
LYING TO HARRY AND USING HIM AS A PAWN
Some of Dumbledore's most horrible, shameless moments have to do with how he treated Harry. While it might seem at first like Dumbledore was a caring if removed mentor, it’s clear later on that he was manipulating and using Harry from the beginning. Dumbledore would regularly withhold information from him in order to get Harry to do what he wanted. He didn’t let Harry in on the information he had and instead, he used Harry as a pawn in the game.
BEING DISHONEST AND HIDING THINGS ABOUT HIS FAMILY FROM HARRY
When Harry learns about Dumbledore’s past in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, he is understandably shocked. Dumbledore didn’t tell Harry any information about his past, including his own family and Grindelwald. Given that Dumbledore’s family's past connected in some ways to Harry’s, this seems especially shameless. It shows that Dumbledore didn’t really care about Harry that much as a person, and it further reveals just how shady he could be.
LETTING THE HOGWARTS PROFESSORS BULLY AND ABUSE STUDENTS
As Headmaster of Hogwarts, it’s reasonable to assume that Dumbledore would be in charge of the well-being of students and how they are treated. He was also in charge of hiring and firing staff, so it’s really blatant how many professors he kept that treated students horribly. He let Snape bully his students mercilessly, and he also allowed things like Mad-Eye Moody practicing Unforgivable Curses on the students.
AVOIDING THE FIGHT WITH GRINDELWALD
Dumbledore’s entire past with Grindelwald is one of the most shocking things about him. Harry learns that Dumbledore was actually more aligned with views of people like Voldemort for much of his life than with people like Harry. The fact that Dumbledore never talks about this is pretty shameless, but what’s even worse is how he lets Grindelwald get away with so much. Instead of facing Grindelwald himself, he lets other people try to defeat him, and many people die. The fact that Dumbledore doesn’t face Grindelwald sooner, even though he knows he needs to, is quite brazen.
BASICALLY GROOMING HARRY AS A LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER
Of all the shameless things that Dumbledore does in the series, this is probably the most obvious as well as the most awful. From the beginning, we learn that Dumbledore was planning on using Harry and helping mentor him so that he would be ready to sacrifice himself to kill Voldemort. He kept all of this information from Harry and, in effect, used him as a sacrifice. It’s really shameless and definitely one of the worst things Dumbledore’s ever done.