Albus Dumbledore

[lucca4]

I think he would probably have more empathy for the said male; most definitely, he would still turn him down , but more gently I'd assume. I don't think he'd be angry, per se, but it would probably stir up some unpleasant memories for him, and if the guy didn't take a hint after the first rebuff or even the second, Dumbledore might get a little more irked.

Edit: Sorry, I kind of rushed through up there (I was running late). But I've been thinking about it and I think that Dumbledore's rebuff would be nice, yet firm. Probably a little cold, because he would want to make absolutely sure the guy knew he meant no. But, I still don't think he'd be angry.
I don't know how likely it would be that he'd be flirted with, though, at age 60. Most men from his era (or around his age) would have been brought up thinking homosexuality was indecent. And I don't know why a younger guy would want to flirt with a man so much older than him.

[whomovedmyquil]

Alrighty, another Snape/prophecy question for you lot: Were the Potters' aware that it was Snape who gave Voldemort the information about the prophecy? I feel a fairly natural response to the information that Harry may or may not be destined to kill or be killed by Voldemort would be, "Does Voldemort know?" which, I imagine would lead to an explanation of the night of Trelawney's interview. But did Dumbledore have any loyalties to to Snape at this point? Would he have any reason to withold the fact that it was Snape who gave Voldemort the information?

What say you?

-Ashley

Bine: Moved from Snape thread, with the following post.

[Vorona]

This seems more like a Dumbledore question to me, but I'd guess that he probably would not have mentioned Snape's name. He just doesn't seem to be the type to deliberately call people out. He didn't say that Remus was a werewolf, he helped Harry, Ron, and Hermione smuggle Sirius away from the Aurors without knowing any more than their word on the matter, he gave Hagrid the gamekeeper job, etc. And he never told anyone about his suspicious concerning Tom Riddle. Yes, these are a lot of different things, but they create a pattern: Dumbledore keeps secrets. And if he has a fault, it's being too easy on those he favours, not being too hard on his "enemies".

[Sapphire at Dawn]

I think there's been a similar question to this elsewhere. I spent yesterday trawling Dumbledore's, James's, Lily's and Snape's threads, as well as threads in the Refrence Desk and I'm pretty sure this question was asked.

I personally don't think Dumbledore would mention Snape's name; there's far too much history between Snape and Lily and James. James would be furious and want to hunt him down for endangering his family. I think he'd feel that way anyway, but without a name, he's got nothing to go on. Lily used to be very friendly with Snape and I think it would really hit her hard if she found out he was the one who basically sold her son to Voldemort.

I've written the scene where the Potters find out about the prophecy, and Dumbledore doesn't mention names. He says he's merely come by information. The Potters naturally ask how, but Dumbledore refuses to tell them. Lily and James know there's a war going on; they're in the middle of it and they know that sometimes, certain information can't be disclosed. I think they'd be so concerned about their son that exactly who told Voldemort wouldn't be a huge matter.

Sarah x

[Maple_and_PheonixFeather]

. But did Dumbledore have any loyalties to to Snape at this point?

No. Snape came to Dumbledore only after finding out that Voldemort thought the prophecy was about Lily and that he was going to hunt them down and kill them. He came to Dumbledore with the information of what Voldemort knew so that Dumbledore could protect them. In return, Snape became a doulbe agent. It was all for Lily.

[zazzy7]

Hello, I was wondering how Dumbledore's timeline is in relation to McGonagall's. For example, how old are they, when were they at Hogwarts, etc.

Thank you!

[Sapphire at Dawn]

There has been some discrepancy over Dumbledore's birthdate, but the Lexicon places his birth in July or August 1881, and his first year at Hogwarts was 1892. McGonagall was born on the 4th of October, probably in 1925 and so would have had her first year at Hogwarts in 1936, I think. I'm terrible at maths, so this could be wrong, but it'll only be wrong by a year. Dumbledore started teaching Transfiguration in 1938, so he would have been Professor McGonagall's teacher for most of her school career. She became Transfiguration teacher in 1956, after Dumbledore became Headmaster.

Incidentally, she would have gone to school with both Voldemort and Hagrid, who started in 1938 and 1940 respectively.

All this type of information can be found on the Harry Potter Lexicon, if you're ever in need again.

Sarah x

[Evora]

Argh, I already searched through the Lexicon, then I saw Sarah had already posted >.>

Anyway, zazzy, in reference to time lines and birthdates, the Lexicon is the best site that would meet your questions

Their search box is currently broken, so I took the liberty of doing the research for you!

Minerva McGonagall
JKR said in Sch2 that McGonagall was "a sprightly 70" years old. Using that information, we can determine the year in which she was born by subtracting 70 years. As with [Dumbledore]'s birthyear, the trick, of course, is knowing what year to subtract that 70 years from. If we assume that Rowling was saying that McGonagall was 70 years old at that point in the stories, which was summer of 1995 [[Y15]], then she was born in [Y-55] ([Y15] minus 70 years). According to the official timeline, [Y-55] is 1925. Interestingly, that would make McGonagall a contemporary of Tom Marvolo Riddle at Hogwarts...


Albus Dumbledore
Birthdate: 1881 (JKR), probably in July or August. This date supercedes Jo's statement in 2001 that Dumbledore was "about 150 years old" (Blue Nose Day) and fits better with the dates that appear in Book 7. Regarding his month of birth, Rita says that Dumbledore was “nearing” his 18th birthday when he left Hogwarts in June, but was still 17 when he met Grindelwald (DH18). Basically, at some point during Grindelwald’s stay at Godric’s Hollow Dumbledore turned 18, so the month of his birth appears to be July or August.

First year [at Hogwarts]: 1892.

So there you have it! McGonagall and Dumbledore are estimated to be 44 years apart. That would mean that when Minerva first attended Hogwarts, Dumbledore was already 55 years old by that time.

[JokerBlue]

Okay, I'm having massive trouble with Dumbledore.

My fic is set at the beginning of WW2, when the Jews have been forced in Krakow Ghetto. The issue I'm having is that Dumbledore wants to save a Jewish witch along with other Jewish magical children (of which there are only five at the right age).

But, there's internal conflict concerning Grindelwald. The angle I'm going for is that the war was all the Muggles doing, but Grindelwald is planting ideas and stirring it all up, and making the sacrafice of some magical Jews for "the greater good" of weakening the Muggles to the point where they can be controlled or "guided" by wizards.

We saw in DH that Dumbledore agreed with Grindelwald that wizards needed power over muggles for their own good, yet by 1945 he disagreed with this and defeated him in battle. I want my fic to be during this time of change, but I'm writing Dumbledore going to Krakow to pick up this girl and he just seems so... horrible. And OOC.

For example, this is a paragraph (not sure if I'm allowed to post excerpts, if I'm not, just let me know ) where I can't decide whether he's in character or not:

How on earth had intelligent Muggles been reduced to this? It was further evidence, he reasoned, that they needed magical help and guidance. They clearly could not be left to their own devices if they allowed the darkness of human nature to create such suffering. With every wail from every child, every sob from every woman, every cackle from every soldier, Albus’ sympathy and disgust grew, and he yearned to fix it. Just a few spells and charms would transform the poverty and misery here into something better, something purer. . . But no. Gellert was right, the Muggles had to make their own mistakes and learn before wizards could guide them. Gellert was always right.

I'm trying to write it so that inside Dumbledore knows it's wrong, but his attachment to Grindelwald is kind of brainwashing him. D'you think this is plausiable? :/ Or have I completely messed it up?


Dumbledore's got to be the most friggin' difficult character to write.

[JokerBlue]

Darn I completely forgot about all the timing and such, I'll have to work Arianna into it somehow. :S

But nice point about the coldness, that reassures me a lot.