Top 12 Fan Theories About Dumbledore's Endgame

Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts school, has hidden many truths from everyone in his circle over the course of the books. Snape was not wrong when he described Dumbledore as raising Harry like a pig for slaughter. Yes, ever since Dumbledore witnessed Trelawney unconsciously foresee the one who could defeat Voldemort, he had been weaponizing Harry to fulfill the prophecy. Till today, people are still debating about the extent of which Dumbledore manipulated Harry to grow from The Boy Who Lived into The Chosen One. Here are some of the most plausible fan theories about Dumbledore's ultimate plan that readers of the books might not have caught up on:

Dumbledore is a skilled Legilimens who could have easily explored Sirius' mind and deducted that he is innocent of mass murder. Instead, we are left to assume that after Sirius was sentenced to imprisonment, he and Dumbledore never met which means Dumbledore never got the chance to discover the truth. But this seems unlikely since Dumbledore never leaves behind any lose ends. Additionally, he is the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, which provides him full access to all Azkaban inmates. If his word is enough to free Snape, he could have easily freed Sirius as well. And yet, Sirius was left to rot in Azkaban for 12 years. 

One of the most curious aspects of Sirius' imprisonment is he never stood trial while actual Death Eaters did. Barty Crouch Sr. was so convinced that Sirius was guilty that he immediately sent him to Azkaban. It is almost as if someone more powerful and influential - Dumbledore - had something to do with it. It is highly probable that Sirius, being Harry's godfather, would have insisted he raise Harry if he was freed from all charges. That would have deprived Harry from the sacrificial protection that his Aunt Petunia provides him. And not to mention how inconvenient it would be for Dumbledore to groom Harry into pig for slaughter that he has been planning all along. Also, Sirius is quite a playful person and Dumbledore must have had his doubts on whether he could raise a future hero properly. 

  

He makes Hagrid tell Harry that Slytherin is the house of bad wizards when they first meet. He probably even arranged for the Weasleys, a family who are exclusively comprised of borderline anti-Slytherin Gryffindors, to meet Harry at King's Cross when he first boards the Hogwarts Express. This is a bit of a stretch but notice how Molly Weasley appears to be unsure of which platform the Hogwarts Express leaves from and makes this publicly known, attracting Harry's attention. This is definitely puzzling since she has so many children who she sends off to Hogwarts every year.

Dumbledore arranged for Harry to be acquainted with the Weasleys, all friendly, kind-hearted Gryffindors, so that Harry would be influenced to pick that Hogwarts house. This is after all post-First Wizarding War Hogwarts and Slytherin mainly comprises of Death Eater's children and that would be such a toxic environment for Harry to be in. Not to mention that many of these Death Eaters believe that Harry himself is a powerful Dark Wizard since he seemingly defeated Voldemort as an infant.

Yes, this sounds extreme. But think about it; nobody died the second time the Chamber of Secrets is opened while Harry is at Hogwarts. After the cat Mrs. Norris is found petrified next to the graffiti announcing the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore must have become aware of the danger his school is in. Dumbledore already knew the Chamber was previously opened by Tom Riddle 50 years ago. But what he did not know is where the Chamber is or who is controlling the Basilisk this time. His only option is to let everything unfold to gather more information, all while minimizing collateral damage. 

Thus, to trick the culprit into thinking they are killing Muggle-borns, Dumbledore manipulated the situation to his advantage. He indirectly supplied the Basilisk with victims, all while making sure they were protected from its deadly stare through various ways. This is why all its victims were only petrified and none died, unlike the first time the Chamber was opened. Come to think of it, not even the cat died. Could it have been Dumbledore had foreseen it way beforehand? Dumbledore probably predicted that Harry and his friends were also conducting their own parallel investigation, which is how he was able to send them Fawkes and the Sorting Hat during Harry's time of need. Harry defeated the Basilisk and Riddle, saved Ginny, and returned to safety with the diary. This is a crucial moment because Dumbledore finally learns that Voldemort had been making Hocruxes.

Nope. It was obviously not Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hogwarts is not a perfect school. But why would someone as intelligent as Dumbledore hire Lockhart, one of the Wizarding world's biggest con artists ever for the job? Some say Dumbledore hired him as a joke. Some say it was to expose him as the fraud he was. Some even claim he did not care who was hired to teach that subject since the job was jinxed by an adult Tom Riddle. But all that seems unlikely since it would jeopardize the students' education.

The actual reason Dumbledore hired Lockart is because he wanted to teach Harry the value of humility. Harry first arrived at the school a year before as The Boy Who Lived. He was already a celebrity in the Wizarding world. At the end of that year, his stardom had grown since he defeated Voldemort a second time. All this fame could have easily gone into Harry's head, especially considering the fact he was reaching puberty. With Lockart as his teacher, Harry would have been able to witness on a daily basis how an inflated ego and undue arrogance can make a person extremely unlikable. Speaking about teaching Harry something important, it was not as if he and his classmates learned nothing on Defense Against the Dark Arts that year. If there is one good thing Lockart did during his tenure at Hogwarts, it was organizing the Dueling Club. It was here where Harry saw Snape using the disarming spell against Lockart, and it eventually became Harry's signature spell. But Lockart is not the only incompetent Defense teacher Dumbledore had for the job with double motives, which leads us to our next point.

After sneaky Quirell played host to Voldemort for almost an entire year right under his nose, you better bet Dumbledore would be extra cautious on who he allows into Hogwarts next. Was Barty Crouch Jr. really so convincing as Mad-Eye Moody that he successfully fooled Dumbledore for months? Highly unlikely. The fact that Harry's name ended up in the Goblet of Fire should have been a dead giveaway someone new in the school is up to no good. It is safe to assume that Dumbledore would have learned the truth by then. 

In fact, how many ways would have Voldemort resorted to in order to regain his body? Chances are the Regeneration Potion is the only way - and it involves using the blood of an enemy. Voldemort has many enemies, but he narrowed down on Harry because he wants Lily's protection as well. But Dumbledore knows Voldemort continues to underestimate the power of love and allows to let Barty Jr. to continue to fool him to make sure Harry's blood is used to regenerate Voldemort. Thus, instead of bypassing Lily's sacrificial protection as he had hoped, Voldemort inadvertently anchors Harry to the living world through him. 

7) Umbridge is part of his plan

Maybe not Professor Dolores Umbridge specifically, but anyone appointed by the corrupt Ministry for Magic. Why would Dumbledore, the leader of a secret society made up of the most powerful Aurors, not choose one of them himself to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts, especially now that this is unarguably the most important subject with Voldemort? 

Notice how when Harry, Ron and Hermione finally decide to set up Dumbledore's Army during a secret meeting at Hog's Head, Dumbledore is clearly aware of this. All this time, both Mundungus Fletcher and Aberforth were keeping an eye on Harry. Dumbledore does nothing to stop Harry and his friends even though he knows what will happen to them if Umbridge finds out. Dumbledore probably allowed it to happen so that Harry gets to assume a leadership position as a Defense tutor for his friends. It is also the perfect avenue for him to practice fighting tyranny.


7)  He let Harry believe that they were double-crossed by Snape on purpose

Many readers argue that things would have been so much easier if Dumbledore simply revealed to Harry that Snape was actually working as a triple agent for them. However, this would have been extremely dangerous since Voldemort can easily infiltrate Harry's mind. Had Harry known the truth about Snape, the Potions master's life would have been in danger since his cover would have been blown. Snape himself however is a highly accomplished Occlumens, which allows him to deflect mind-reading spells effortlessly. This is why he is able to survive being around skilled Legilimens like Voldemort, Quirinus Quirrell, Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr., Narcissa Malfoy and Draco Malfoy for so long. 

However, his mastery of Occlumency made both Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix question his loyalty to them respectively. This was why it is crucial that Snape killed Dumbledore himself, not just to save Draco from the trauma, but to gain Voldemort's complete trust. Perhaps this is why he arranged for Snape to teach Harry Occlumency - to block Harry's mind from being exposed to Voldemort or anyone else. Unfortunately, the animosity between Harry and Snape made private lessons impossible, and Harry ended up learning nothing. This is why Dumbledore had to devise another plan to prevent Harry's mind from being penetrated and manipulated by Voldemort, which leads us to the next point.

While fighting Voldemort in the Ministry's headquarters, Dumbledore purposely prolonged the duel. Both wizards are equally powerful and the duel would have gone on forever, which is probably why the prophecy predicted that ultimately, it will be a young boy who might bring down Voldemort. As Voldemort grew restless, he then possessed Harry, taunting Dumbledore to kill him. It probably did not cross his mind that when a wizard possesses another person's body, they can experience whatever that person is going through. While possessing Harry, Voldemort experiences the pain of loosing a loved one - Harry had just lost Sirius, and has lived a hard life with almost no love until he entered Hogwarts. Voldemort, who does not understand love, cannot bare this pain. 

From here onward, Voldemort never possesses Harry nor does he even come close to manipulating his mind the same way he did to lure Harry into the Department of Mysteries that night. It is only at this point does Dumbledore start being more honest with Harry by telling him the real reason Voldemort wants him dead. In the following year, they even explore old memories and find out the truth about Voldemort's plan to stay immortal, all while knowing that the Dark Lord will not even dare infiltrate Harry's mind anymore. However, any other Death Eater that Harry encounters outside Hogwarts might discover Snape's true loyalty, which is perhaps why Dumbledore keeps this one last information from him.

9) He planned for Snape to take over as headmaster

Sure Dumbledore planned to die at the hands of Snape, but could have he gone as far as to arrange for Snape to be made the next headmaster? It makes sense since Dumbledore's semi-sentient portrait in the headmaster's office can continue to guide Snape even after its subject's death. At one point, Professor McGonagall explains to Harry that a magical portrait is not the real person but is only a memory of how the painter remembers their subject. It is for this reason the headmasters' portraits are painted before they die - so they can be conditioned to behave like its subjects, making these portraits more sentient than others. 

It is also important to note that an official anointment from the school is needed for someone to be made headmaster. Even a more powerful outside force like the Ministry of Magic cannot appoint a headmaster, which was the case for Dolores Umbridge, who count not even gain access into the headmaster's office during her brief tenure as headmistress. However, Snape was able to gain access into the office because Dumbledore himself clearly chose him as his successor, surpassing Voldemort's appointment. The headmaster's office thus became a safe space where Dumbledore could serve as a guide to Snape and Voldemort could never intervene. It was under the orders of Dumbledore's portrait that Snape delivered Godric Gryffindor's sword to help Harry and his friends.

10) Harry needed to think he really had to die

Had Harry known he had the chance to survive Voldemort all along, he would not have been as successful in defeating the Dark Lord. When Harry walks into the Forbidden Forest to sacrifice himself, he does so willingly. Nobody coerced him to do so, but someone (read: Dumbledore) definitely misled him into doing it. First, we know the most powerful magic is love. Harry sacrificed himself out of love for his friends and this provided everyone fighting for his side at Hogwarts with the same kind of protection his mother gave him as a child.

Second - and this is hard to prove because there is no way Dumbledore went so far as to plan for Draco to disarm him and win the Elder Wand, and then for Harry to in turn disarm Draco and become its true master -  but Harry somehow ended up becoming master of all three Deadly Hallows. Even though Voldemort now wields the Elder Wand, its allegiance is to Harry. Since Harry chose not to defend himself against Voldemort, the Wand was not fighting off Harry. Therefore, its allegiance did not change. Dumbledore even states, "And that, I think, will have made all the difference." Had he tried to fight back and lost, he would have lost the allegiance of the Wand.

When in Limbo, Harry meets Dumbledore at a place that resembles Kings Cross. There, he is given a choice to either move on to the Afterlife, or return to the world of the living. Dumbledore explains that Harry is not truly dead because he did not fight Voldemort, which allowed for the Elder Wand to protect him. However, this does not explain how Harry was given a choice to either move on to the Afterlife or return to the realm of the living. What was it that gave Harry this level of power?

Notice at this point in the story, Harry, as Dumbledore himself points out, is now master of all three Deadly Hallows; making him the master of death. But why then did Dumbledore make it seem as if it was his mother's blood that protected him instead? Simple. Because if there is one thing Dumbledore fears, it is overwhelming power. That was even the reason he did not want to become Minister for Magic. Dumbledore never trusted himself. He feared Harry would become power-hungry had he known the level of power he truly possessed. By the way, isn't it weird how Harry becomes somewhat like a Christ-figure by sacrificing himself for his loved ones and then ends up meeting a God-like figure at a place called Kings Cross?