As Grindelwald never extended his campaign of...
As Grindelwald never extended his campaign of terror to Britain, however, the details of his rise to power are not widely known here
Educated at Durmstrang, a school famous even then for its unfortunate tolerance of the Dark Arts, Grindelwald showed himself quite as precociously brilliant as DumbledoreRather than channel his abilities into the attainment of awards and prizes, however, Gellert Grindelwald devoted himself no other pursuitsAt sixteen years old, even Durmstrang felt it could no longer turn a blind eye to the twisted experiments of Gellert Grindelwald, and he was expelled
Hitherto, all that has been known of Grindelwald's next movements is that he "traveled around for some months It can now be revealed that Grindelwald chose to visit his great-aunt in Godric's Hollow, and that there, intensely shocking though it will be for many to hear it, he struck up a close friendship with none other than Albus Dumbledore
"He seemed a charming boy to me," babbles Bathilda, "whatever he became laterNaturally I introduced him to poor Albus, who was missing the company of lads his own ageThe boys took to each other at onceBathilda shows me a letter, kept by her that Albus Dumbledore sent Gellert Grindelwald in the dead of night
"Yes, even after gucci handbags discount they'd spent all day in discussion \a150\a150 both such brilliant young boys, they got on like a cauldron on fire \a150\a150 I'd sometimes hear an owl tapping at Gellert's bedroom window, delivering a letter from Albus! An idea would have struck him and he had to let Gellert know immediately!"
And what ideas they wereProfoundly shocking though Albus Dumbledore's fans will find it, here are the thoughts of their seventeen-year-old hero, as relayed to his new best friend(A copy of the original letter may be seen on page 463
\iGellert \a150\a150
Your point about Wizard dominance being FOR THE MUGGLES' OWN GOOD \a150\a150 this, I think, is the crucial pointYes, we have been given power and yes, that power gives us the right to rule, but it also gives us responsibilities over the ruledWe must stress this point, it will be the foundation stone upon which we buildWhere we are opposed, as we surely will be, this must be the basis of all our counterargumentsWe seize control FOR THE GREATER GOODAnd from this it follows that where we meet resistance, we must use only the force that is necessary and no more(This was your mistake at Durmstrang! But I do not complain, because if you had not been expelled, we would never have met
Albus\i
Astonished cartier santos wit and appalled though his many admirers will be, this letter constitutes the Statute of Secrecy and establishing Wizard rule over MugglesWhat a blow for those who have always portrayed Dumbledore as the Muggle-borns' greatest champion! How hollow those speeches promoting Muggle rights
seem in the light of this damning new evidence! How despicable does Albus Dumbledore appear, busy plotting his rise to power when he should have been mourning his mother and caring for his sister!
No doubt those determined to keep Dumbledore on his crumbling pedestal will bleat that he did not, after all, put his plans into action, that he must have suffered a change of heart, that he came to his sensesHowever, the truth seems altogether more shocking
Barely two months into their great new friendship, Dumbledore and Grindelwald parted, never to see each other again until they met for their legendary duel (for more, see chapter 22)What caused this abrupt rupture? \iHad\i Dumbledore come to his senses? Had he told Grindelwald he wanted no more part in his plans? Alas, no
"It was poor little Ariana dying, I think, that did it," says Bathilda"It came as an awful shockGellert was there in the house when it happened, and he came back to my house all of a dither, told pink chanel bag replicas me he wanted to go home the next dayTerribly distressed, you knowSo I arranged a Portkey and that was the last I saw of him
"Albus was beside himself at Ariana's deathIt was so dreadful for those two brothersThey had lost everybody except for each otherNo wonder tempers ran a little highAberforth blamed Albus, you know, as people will under these dreadful circumstancesBut Aberforth always talked a little madly, poor boyAll the same, breaking Albus's nose at the funeral was not decentIt would have destroyed Kendra to see her sons fighting like that, across her daughter's bodyA shame Gellert could not have stayed for the funeralHe would have been a comfort to Albus, at least
This dreadful coffin-side brawl, known only to those few who attended Ariana Dumbledore's funeral, raises several questionsWhy exactly did Aberforth Dumbledore blame Albus for his sister's death? Was it, as "Batty" pretends, a mere effusion of grief? Or could there have been some more concrete reason for his fury? Grindelwald, expelled from Durmstrang for the near-fatal attacks upon fellow students, fled the country hours after the girl's death, and Albus (out of shame or fear?) never saw him again, not until forced to do so by the pleas of the Wizarding world
Neither sale chanel quilted handbag Dumbledore nor Grindelwald ever seems to have referred to this brief boyhood friendship in later lifeHowever, there can be no doubt that Dumbledore delayed, for some five years of turmoil, fatalities, and disappearances, his attack upon Gellert GrindelwaldWas it lingering affection for the man or fear of exposure as his once best friend that caused Dumbledore to hesitate? Was it only reluctantly that Dumbledore set out to capture the man he was once so delighted he had met?
And how did the mysterious Ariana die? Was she the inadvertent victim of some Dark rite? Did she stumble across something she ought not to have done, as the two young men sat practicing for their attempt at glory and domination? Is it possible that Ariana Dumbledore was the first person to die "for the greater good"?
The chapter ended here and Harry looked upHermione had reached the bottom of the page before himShe tugged the book out of Harry's hands, looking a little alarmed by his expression, and closed it without looking at it, as though hiding something indecent
"Harry \a150\a150"
But he shook his headSome inner certainty had crashed down inside him; it was exactly as he had felt after Ron leftHe had trusted Dumbledore, believed him the embodiment of goodness and leather chanel bag wisdo