Why is it always “Dumbledore is my fave” or “Dumbledore is abusive” and never “Dumbledore is so fucking afraid of letting another dark wizard come to power that he channels his own darkness into training a human weapon from childhood to fight the darkness that he knows he can’t while pretending to be the wise wizard mentor that he wishes he actually was wow that is a super fascinating character and we should write all the fanfiction about it?”
Oh man, it is time for some HARRY POTTER OPINIONS here on this blog (also: the first time I accidentally typed “Happy Potter opinions,” and let’s all just take a moment to think about what a different series that would have been). As always, take these with several grains of salt, both because all Harry Potter opinions had by anyone are just fiction-based thoughts spiraling into the void, and, of course, because the Harry Potter series at large is narrated by a very damaged young child who, let us all recall, one time spends an entire book YELLING ALL HIS FEELINGS, and can’t remember the names of most of his non-Gryffindor classmates, and though skilled at fighting evil is at one point brought to desperate confusion when a girl he has invited to a dance becomes annoyed when he completely ignores her therein. Harry Potter is many things, but a reliable narrator is not one of them.
HAVING SAID THAT, let us discuss Albus Dumbledore, Professional Puppetmaster. Let us discuss him in bullet points (and beneath a cut, because JESUS CHRIST, this got really long).