Professor Albus Dumbledore

A grandfatherly figure to Harry Potter, Hogwarts' Headmaster Albus Dumbledore is the only wizard Lord Voldemort ever feared (which makes sense, as Dumbledore was one of Voldemort's teachers at Hogwarts). Albus is generally odd and eccentric, often having weird quirks and odd sayings, though he gets increasingly serious as the series goes on. Despite this, he remains an exceptionally gifted and intelligent wizard. Over one hundred years old, he is as famous as, if not more than, Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort, and is often considered the good counterpart of Lord Voldemort. J.K. Rowling has stated that Dumbledore is gay and was in love with his rival, Gellert Grindelwald.

Dumbledore was born in 1881 to Percival and Kendra Dumbledore. His full name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. He was followed by a brother, Aberforth, and a sister, Ariana.

During his time as Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore took on administrative duties, acting as Deputy Headmaster under Armando Dippet. One of his duties was to inform young wizards and witches, including Tom Riddle, they had been accepted to Hogwarts. Dumbledore learned of Riddle's behaviour problems and kept an eye on the young Riddle. Dumbledore later became Hogwart's Headmaster, and had to refuse Riddle the post of Defense Against Dark Arts teacher.

Years later, Voldemort gained followers, called the Death Eaters, who shared his goal of ridding the wizarding world of Muggle-borns. Dumbledore founded the Order of the Phoenix, his own army of followers dedicated to stopping Voldemort.

While in an interview with a potential Divination teacher, Sybil Trelawney, Dumbledore witnessed a prophesy that, before the end of July 1980, a child would be born who could defeat Lord Voldemort. The prophecy was vague enough, however, that it could have referred to either Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom. Severus Snape, a Death Eater, overheard part of the prophesy, and reported it to his master, Voldemort. Voldemort decided that the greatest threat to him was Harry Potter and decided to kill the Potters. Snape, who loved Lily, returned to Dumbledore and told him that Voldemort intended to kill the Potters. He turned spy for Dumbledore, who also forced him to swear to dedicate his life to protecting Harry Potter, as part of the price for his repentance. Dumbledore placed the Potters under the protection of the Fidelius Charm in their Godric's Hollow home.

However, Voldemort killed the Potters, but his attempt to kill Harry backfired, leaving him a disembodied spirit. Dumbledore used Lily's sacrifice to place a protective spell around Harry, which Dumbledore felt would protect him while he resided with his mother's family.

Ten years later, as Harry started school, Voldemort also began to regain his powers. He had met Hogwarts latest Defense Against Dark Arts professor, Quinius Quirrel, and inhabited his body, like a parasite. Quirrel's behavior that year raised Dumbledore's suspicions, and he instructed Snape to keep an eye on him. Quirrel had been trying to recover the Philosopher's Stone (AKA the Sorcerer's Stone) to allow Voldemort to achieve immortality. Snape's efforts to stop him, however, raised Harry Potter's suspicions. Thanks to numerous defenses set up by Dumbledore, Minerva McGonogall, Snape, and Rubeus Hagrid, the Stone was kept safe until Harry could retrieve it.

The next year, someone at the school re-opened the Chamber of Secrets. Many at the school came to suspect Harry, but Dumbledore didn't. This time, however, he was unable to help Harry solve the mystery. Lucius Malfoy, a Death Eather who had orchestrated the events of that year, managed to have Dumbledore suspended as Headmaster, and he was not restored until Harry defeated Voldemort.

In Harry's third year, Dumbledore appointed Remus Lupin, a friend of Harry's father, to be the new Defense Against Dark Arts professor. Also that year, Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, determined to travel to Hogwarts to track down Peter Pettigrew and kill him for betraying James and Lilly Potter. Though Harry spent much of that year building up his resentment of Sirius--whom everyone else in the wizarding world believed to be a traitor--he would end up attempting to help Sirius exonerate himself, though in the end he could only help Sirius escape the Dementors of Azkaban. Dumbledore was instrumental in making sure that Harry and Hermione traveled back in time to save Sirius, and that they would be able to provide Sirius with transportation: the hippogriff Buckbeak, who had been sentenced to death for injuring Draco Malfoy.

The following year Dumbledore volunteered to have Hogwarts host the Tri-Wizard Tournament for the first time in decades. Peter Pettigrew had returned to Voldemort in the intervening summer and conspired with him to have Harry entered in the tournament, which they used as a trap to lure Harry into an arcane ritual in which blood would be used to resurrect Voldemort in corporeal form. Harry was able to escape Voldemort and return to Hogwarts, but Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge refused to believe Voldemort had returned. Dumbledore, therefore, went about re-assembling the Order of the Phoenix. Most importantly, he put Snape back on spying duty to find out what Voldemort was up to.

The Ministry spent much of the following year attempting to discredit Harry and Dumbledore. Fudge went over Dumbledore's head to appoint Dolores Umbridge as Defense Against Dark Arts professor, a post she used to persecute Harry and any who supported him, and kept them from learning any practical magic. Harry fought back by teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts himself, and his students dubbed themselves Dumbledore's Army. When the Ministry discovered this covert student group, they believed it to be Dumbledore's creation. When they attempted to arrest him, Dumbledore executed a fiery exit with the help of Fawkes the Phoenix, and was not seen again until the end of the year. He left orders for Snape to teach Harry occlumency, so that Voldemort could not use Harry to spy on the Order--a fear that had led him to distance himself from the boy all that year. Harry angered Snape by finding out why he resented his father so much, and Snape ended their lessons. This left Harry open to a trap by Voldemort, in which the Dark Lord planted a vision of Sirius being tortured, in order to lead Harry to the Department of Mysteries, where he hoped Harry would retrieve the prophecy concerning his birth, so that Voldemort could learn how to defeat him once and for all. Though Dumbledore could not stop Harry from traveling to the Ministry, Snape warned Dumbledore of where he was going, and Dumbledore arrived in time to duel with Voldemort, though sadly, he was unable to prevent the death of Sirius Black at the hands of his own cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. Voldemort escaped, though not without being seen by Fudge, who was forced to acknowledge the threat.

After keeping the secret from Harry for so long, Dumbledore finally explained that Harry would have to kill Voldemort.