Did Dumbledore really have a secret life?

[Fantasy girl]

Is he as bad as they make him out to be? Ron's aunt says she knows with the utmost certainty, that Dumbledore wasn't a perfect child. could it be true, or could it be a way of getting to Harry's defenses.We know Harry would do anything to protect his name.

[Run Away!!!]

Well after finishing the book, I'd say DD definately wasn't perfect and that he did hide a lot of things about his past.

[Christo]

Yea I agree with Runaway, but he was still great.

[DucksRMagical]

I don't think DD was as good as I thought he was during the other books, but I don't think he was bad. I think it just showed that he was just a person, and everybody makes mistakes and stuff like that.

[Run Away!!!]

Well yeah, up to this point he's been a great character with little flaws. But we really knew nothing about his past, and now that we do we can see he had flaws just like everybody else.

[Simatra]

I think DD the same, you just happen to know more about him. A more realistic thing about him!

[Run Away!!!]

Yeah, now he actually seems like a real person.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

I really liked how it showed more about Dumbledore, and I found the inclusion with Grindelwald very interesting, especially him still being in prison.

I got the impression that the death of his sister was what really made him realise what he'd become with power, and so he dedicated the rest of his life to teaching others and trying to prevent young wizards from that path.

I think he may have regarded Voldemort as his own fault, for letting him get that far.

[Prof.M.McGonagall]

i agree. at the beginning though, rowling made it look like he was someone bad and manipulating harry to get what he wants. I was disappointed but after reading on, i guess he's not that bad after all. But still, i would expect someone like dumbledore to be smart even at that age and would not make such mistakes.

[witchsnape]

I was really upset when I thought Dumbledore was just using Harry, so Im glad it all turned out well. I still think hes great and would want him on my side, but more human now then how I first saw him.

[GodrictheGriffon]

I don't think it matters who someone was in the past. It matters who they are are in the present and who they will be.

[DDforever]

THat story about Albus's sister, weird huh? WHat coulod Muggle children have done to her to make her that Crazy? And why wouldn't Percival Dumbledore have explained it to defend himself. Why did he go quietly to Azkaban if he was defending his daughter. Why wouldn't they get her the help she needed?

Something about this story makes even less sense that the tosh about her being a hidden Squib.

Anyone have any ideas?

[Un'Anima Persa]

I think it was humanizing Dumbledore. He was almost saint-like in past books. It was all very suspicious, but no one cared to think too deeply about his past because everyone seems to love him.
It was with a great deal of difficulty that many people began to realize that maybe Dumbledore isn't as perfect as they'd thought he was.

It was all very interesting, if you ask me.

[Augusta Longbottom]

THat story about Albus's sister, weird huh? WHat coulod Muggle children have done to her to make her that Crazy? And why wouldn't Percival Dumbledore have explained it to defend himself. Why did he go quietly to Azkaban if he was defending his daughter. Why wouldn't they get her the help she needed?

Something about this story makes even less sense that the tosh about her being a hidden Squib.

Anyone have any ideas?

Think about what year this must have occured in. Back then, people (muggles) with mentally handicapped or even just kids with ADHD or depression kept it hidden....kept their kids out of school because it was taboo to admit your child had a problem. Surely, Percival was of that mindset and wanted to keep it all hush-hush.

As for what the muggle kids did, it could have been something as seemingly harmless as name-calling. Obviously some kids can brush stuff like that off, but some go into deep depression, or develop stuttering or other negative ways of coping with being bullied or name-called.

[DDforever]

Whatever the muggle kids did, it felt like she was getting at something really awful. Like she had really been violated, but I don't think she meant in the sexual sense, maybe a psychological one?

Next question though.

What do you guys think Dumbledore really saw in the mirror of Erised?

I had always thought he wasn't lying about the socks. Maybe socks and the hallows? Can't conquer death with cold feet right? Could he still have desired the power to conquer death that intensely. I guess so of he wouldn't have put on the ring? Or maybe he saw his sister whole again?

What d'you think?