Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Missing Mirror
In chapter twenty-eight of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows we get some more disturbing Dumbledore backstory, and Aberforth Dumbledore moves from being that goat guy to being a selfless unsung hero.
(Please be advised that this is a reread and I will be discussing book and movie spoilers.)
The trio get back to Hogsmeade and have half a second to get all nostalgic about how awesome Hogsmeade is (I am looking for a home there, any day now) before the night is rent by the piercing sounds of Lucius Malfoy discovering hair that isn’t his in his brush –oh, sorry, some Death Eater alarm, and get saved by Aberforth Dumbledore, one of my top five underappreciated characters. Now, I said I mostly loved the adaptation of Deathly Hallows Part 1. But alas, I’ve got way more issues with Deathly Hallows Part 2, starting with the fact that we are given more run time and just…cut out all the Dumbledore backstory. Even worse, Harry is sassily like “IDGAF about your issues with your brother get bent Abe” and while I LOVE Sassy book Harry this snotty movie Harry needs a smack.
Oh no did I just…turn into Vernon Dursley?!
So Aberforth is like “bitches that patronus you saw is my beloved goat, I named her Shirley, don’t ask about the potential bestiality jokes JKR has insinuated now that she’s using me as a redemptive character” and genuinely…is Aberforth the superior Dumbledore? I would like a lively debate about this, and not just with the voices in my head.
Aberforth uses his steel balls to scare off the Death Eaters by himself (his literal steel balls, swings them on a rope at their heads) and Harry realizes the eye he’s been seeing in the mirror, the dude that sent Dobby to save them all, was Aberforth. We have to think about Dobby dying some more
and then Aberforth is like “alright, time for you all to sensibly hide” while the trio is like “No sorry we’ve got a crackpot plan of your brother’s that is probably going to kill us, three teenagers” while Aberforth has a full body seizure form the force of his disgusted eye roll.
Here we go guys, it’s time for the final piece of the Dumbledore backstory! Deep breath because I’m going to spit it out rapid fire, but turns out Ariana was tortured in unknown ways (yuck and yikes) by some Muggle kids and turned into a ticking time bomb, right after which Dumbledore senior got his revenge on the kids, got sent to Azkaban, Mrs. Dumbledore got killed by Ariana, and Dumbledore, Aberforth, and Grindelwald get into a spat that ends with Ariana dead, and no one knowing who did it.
Rewinding to that a bit, Aberforth, in a point to him being the best Dumbledore sibling, confronted Albus and said he had to stay home and take care of Ariana instead of swanning about with Grindelwald subjugating Muggles, and gets tortured by Grindelwald for his efforts before the threeway duel ends with Ariana dying. Maybe I’m a sadist, but I kind of want to know who did cause Ariana’s death?
All at once we realize what Dumbledore would see in the mirror, what he saw when he screamed for help after drinking LV’s potion, and the secret that clearly tormented him the rest of his life. And not that this has anything to do with anything, but I can’t imagine being Aberforth. Being the forgotten brother to the most notable wizard of the age, who everyone refers to by his last name, the same last name as yours, and you’re just the wacky goat guy who runs a shady bar, knowing you were the one who tried to do the noble thing and sacrifice your hopes and dreams for your sick younger sister.
Aberforth tries to talk the trio into running and hiding again which, is perhaps the words of a man who no longer believes, but also is perhaps the words of a man who thinks a borderline child should stay safe and not throw away his life for his elder brother’s crackpot schemes.
Harry’s like “Homey I’m the Boy Who Lived, my wacky plans always save the day unless you’re Sirius Black” and then Aberforth agrees to help get them into Hogwarts through the portrait of Ariana, and the help of a little friend who has, how shall we say it? Gone full Longbottom.
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The superior Dumbledore: Aberforth or Albus?
Who do you think struck the blow that killed Ariana?
Is Aberforth right to tell Harry to run and hide? Why or why not?
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