Ariana Dumbledore

"It destroyed her, what they did: She was never right again. She wouldn't use magic, but she couldn't get rid of it; it turned inward and drove her mad, it exploded out of her when she couldn't control it, and at times she was strange and dangerous. But mostly she was sweet and scared and harmless."

- Aberforth Dumbledore on his younger sister Ariana

Ariana Dumbledore (c. 1885 - late summer 1899 ) was a half-blood witch and the youngest child and only daughter of Percival and Kendra Dumbledore. She was the younger sister of Albus and Aberforth Dumbledore. At the age of six, Ariana was attacked by Muggle boys who saw her practicing magic, and, when she couldn't show them the trick, attacked her in an attempt to stop her from using the magic. This left her traumatised to the point of rendering her magical abilities unstable and uncontrollable. This prompted her father to attack the boys and be imprisoned in Azkaban, while her mother moved the family to Godric's Hollow and kept Ariana hidden away from the general population, because she knew Ariana would be taken to St. Mungo's hospital if her condition were widely known. During a fit when she was fourteen years old, Ariana caused a magical explosion that killed her mother, after which her older brother Albus became her guardian. Ariana died when she was accidentally struck by a curse in a three-way duel between her older brothers and Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald, Albus's friend at the time; it was never known who struck the killing blow. This event would have a profound impact on both her brothers' lives.

Early life
"When my sister was six years old, she was attacked, by three Muggle boys. They'd seen her practicing magic, spying through the back garden hedge: She was a kid, she couldn't control it, no witch or wizard can at that age. What they saw, scared them, I expect. They forced their way through the hedge, and when she couldn't show them the trick, they got a bit carried away trying to stop the little freak doing it."

- Aberforth Dumbledore on Ariana's attack

Ariana was the youngest of three children of Percival and Kendra Dumbledore, born in 1885 in Mould-on-the-Wold, a wizarding village in England. At the age of six, she was seen practicing magic by a group of Muggle boys. When she was unable to show them how to do the same thing again, they violently assaulted her. The attack left Ariana emotionally scarred and unable to control her magic. Her father sought revenge against the boys and was sentenced to Azkaban for life for the crime. He refused to reveal the reason for the attack, since Ariana would have been sent to St Mungo's if her condition was discovered, as it threatened the Statute of Secrecy.

To keep her daughter safe, Kendra moved the family to Godric's Hollow and Ariana was secluded from the outside world. Many did not know that the Dumbledores had a daughter (or that Aberforth and Albus had a sister). Ariana was sweet and kind, but when she couldn't control her magic she became slightly dangerous. It was wondered why Kendra didn't send Ariana to Hogwarts; many believed Kendra had produced a Squib, and she was disgraced. Others were just curious as to why Ariana didn't attend Hogwarts.

Mother's death
"I could get her to eat when she wouldn't do it for my mother, I could calm her down, when she was in one of her rages, and when she was quiet, she used to help me feed the goats."

- Aberforth Dumbledore on his sister.

When Ariana was fourteen years old, she had an episode in which her emotions and her magic spun out of control. Her favourite brother Aberforth was not at home to calm her down, and she caused an explosion that caused the death of her mother.

Albus Dumbledore, who had been preparing to go abroad with his friend Elphias Doge, stayed in England in order to attend his mother's funeral and to take over the position of taking care of Ariana - a role he later admitted to resenting. Aberforth wanted to be the one to take care of his sister, but he had not yet finished his education, and his older brother insisted upon him graduating from Hogwarts.

Death
"I resented it, Harry. I was gifted, I was brilliant. I wanted to escape. I wanted to shine. I wanted glory. Do not misunderstand me. I loved them... but I was selfish... So that, when my mother died, and I was left the responsibility of a damaged sister and a wayward brother, I returned to my village in anger and bitterness. Trapped and wasted, I thought! And then of course, he came..."

- Albus Dumbledore to Harry Potter while they are in limbo.

At some point after Albus became Ariana's guardian, Gellert Grindelwald came to Godric's Hollow to stay with his aunt, Bathilda Bagshot, having been kicked out of Durmstrang Institute for his extreme experiments with the Dark Arts; even the school of Dark Arts could not turn a blind eye to his twisted experiments. Grindelwald also had a bad history in his country of violence but Albus ignored that. Albus and Gellert quickly became friends, as they were both extraordinarily talented and very ambitious. Some say Albus even took a special fancying to Grindelwald. The two formed a plan to take over the wizarding world and make Muggles subservient "for the greater good".

Aberforth confronted them over these plans, pointing out that Ariana was in no state to be dragged along with them as they pursued their plans. Grindelwald became furious, insisting that once they subdued the Muggles, there'd be no need for Ariana to be hidden, and a three-way duel broke out between him, Albus, and Aberforth. Ariana, aged about 14 at the time unable to control her magic, tried to stop it, and was inadvertently killed; it was never known which of the three wizards was directly responsible for her death. After this occurred Grindelwald fled and Albus started what would be a long and prosperous life in teaching.

Post-mortem


Immediately after Ariana's death, Grindelwald fled the scene, fearing retribution from the authorities and losing his friendship with Albus permanently, though it seems they retained some affection towards one another.

At Ariana's funeral, Aberforth broke Albus's nose and blamed him for their sister's death. Aberforth never forgave his brother for his part in their sister's death, nor was Albus ever able to forgive himself. Ariana was buried in the same location as her mother in Godric's Hollow, and they shared a gravestone bearing the epitaph, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," selected by Albus.

In the Mirror of Erised, Albus would forever see his family whole and intact, although he claimed to see himself holding only a pair of socks when questioned. Rita Skeeter wrote a scathing biography of Albus Dumbledore after his death in 1997, and included humiliating false statements about Ariana being a Squib whom the family mistreated.

A portrait of Ariana hangs in Aberforth's room in the Hog's Head Inn in Hogsmeade. It conceals a secret passage to the Room of Requirement in Hogwarts Castle. This passage appeared only after the students had begun using the Room of Requirement in their efforts to fight the Hogwarts administration under Headmaster Severus Snape. It was used to transport Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley to Hogwarts in 1998, and later other members of Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix who answered the call to defend the castle against Lord Voldemort's encroaching army.

Physical appearance
Harry Potter thought that Ariana, as an infant, "was a little longer than a loaf of bread and no more distinctive-looking." At the age of fourteen, as depicted in her portrait in the Hog's Head, she was described as "a blonde girl who gazed out at the room with a kind of a vacant sweetness."

Personality and traits
"...the flashing lights and the bangs set her off, she couldn't stand it... and I think she wanted to help, but she didn't really know what she was doing, and I don't know which of us did it, it could have been any of us - and she was dead."

- Aberforth Dumbledore recalling Ariana's death

Ariana was severely traumatised by the attack she suffered at the age of six. Afterwards, she was unable to control her magic, which turned inwards and made her mentally and magically unstable. At times, she was mad, strange, and dangerous, according to her brother Aberforth Dumbledore. On these occasions, she could let out her magic in uncontrolled explosions that could hurt or even kill those around her, like her mother. Most of the time, however, Ariana was kind and gentle. According to Aberforth when she was calm and sweet she would help him feed the goats. She was also brave, as she tried to intercede in the three-way duel between Albus, Aberforth, and Gellert Grindelwald, despite not being able to control her own magic, but was killed in the effort.

Parents
"...my father went after the bastards that did it, and attacked them. And they locked him up in Azkaban for it. He never said why he'd done it, because if the Ministry had known what Ariana had become, she'd have been locked up in St. Mungo's for good... We had to keep her safe and quiet. We moved house, put it about she was ill, and my mother looked after her, and tried to keep her calm and happy."

- Aberforth Dumbledore on Percival and Kendra Dumbledore

Ariana's parents, Percival and Kendra Dumbledore, were devastated by their daughter's attack. Percival attacked the Muggle boys who did it, and was sent to Azkaban for it. He never told that Ministry of Magic his reasons, knowing that if they knew about Ariana's condition, she would be confined to St Mungo's as a threat to the Statute of Secrecy. To maintain this secrecy, Kendra moved the family to Godric's Hollow and looked after her daughter. However, they may not have been very close, as only Ariana's brother Aberforth was able to keep her calm. Eventually, Ariana accidentally killed her mother in an explosion of uncontrolled magic.

Aberforth Dumbledore
"I was her favourite... She liked me best."

- Aberforth on his sister

Aberforth Dumbledore was Ariana's older and favourite brother. After her attack, Aberforth was the only one who could calm her down when she flew into a rage, something even their mother could not accomplish. The two often fed goats together in their free time. Aberforth was not present when Ariana lost control of her magic and accidentally killed their mother. Afterward, he wanted to take care of Ariana, but their older brother Albus insisted that Aberforth complete his education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry first. Soon after, Albus became friends with Gellert Grindelwald, and Aberforth stepped in when they began making plans for world domination and Muggle subjugation, pointing out that Ariana was in no state to be dragged along with them. This resulted in a three-way duel between Ariana's brothers and Grindelwald. Ariana tried to interfere and was inadvertently killed by one of them, which devastated Aberforth and caused a permanent rift between him and Albus. At Ariana's funeral, Aberforth broke his brother's nose and shouted at him that her death was all his fault.

Long after Ariana's death, Aberforth continued to keep a portrait of his late sister in the Hog's Head Inn. It conceals a secret passage to the Room of Requirement in Hogwarts Castle.

Albus Dumbledore
"They say he feared me, and perhaps he did, but less, I think, than I feared him... You see, I never knew which of us, in that last, horrific fight, had actually cast the curse that killed my sister... I dreaded beyond all things the knowledge that it had been I who brought about her death, not merely through my arrogance and stupidity, but that I actually struck the blow that snuffed out her life. I think he knew it, I think he knew what frightened me."

- Albus Dumbledore to Harry Potter about his guilt over Ariana's death

Albus Dumbledore was Ariana's eldest brother and was not nearly as close to his younger siblings as they were to each other. Although he loved his younger sister, Albus was resentful when he had to take responsibility for her after their mother's death, which forced him to stay at home, and thus abandon his ambitious plans. When he and Gellert Grindelwald made plans to subjugate Muggles and take power in the Wizarding world, Albus planned to bring Ariana with them, but Aberforth pointed out that she was in no state to go. This launched a three-way duel between the brothers and Grindelwald, and Ariana was accidentally killed in the fray. For the rest of his life, Albus lived with guilt over the part he played in her death and with the fear that it had been he who killed her.

From then on, Albus's Boggart would be Ariana's corpse. In 1991, Albus Dumbledore told Harry Potter that he saw a pair of socks when he looked into the Mirror of Erised. However, in truth, he saw "his family alive, whole and happy - Ariana, Percival and Kendra all returned to him, and Aberforth reconciled to him" He did not want to admit it to anyone, especially Harry. .

Etymology

 * Ariana is the Italian version of the Greek name Ariadne, comprised of the elements αρι (ari) "most" and αδνος (adnos) "holy".
 * 1) In Greek mythology, Ariadne was a princess of Crete who helped Theseus slay the Minotaur forever. It is interesting to note that the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur revolves around the Labyrinth, a hidden and enclosed place where people were sent to die. In this way, Ariana's name points to her secluded and tragic life.
 * 2) This mythological tale perhaps references Ariana's relationship with her two elder brothers Albus and Aberforth, and the roles they played in her life and demise. Aberforth could be compared to the heroic character of Theseus in that he fought against Albus (the Minotaur) and Gellert Grindelwald when they attempted to take Ariana with them on their ambitious quest for power and a subservient Muggle world. He was the most devoted of his siblings when it came to caring for the young girl, and her favourite (as in the tale of Theseus and the Minotaur the princess Ariadne takes an instinctive liking to Theseus). The tragic ending of Theseus and Ariadne's relationship in the myth, where Theseus deserts Ariadne on the island of Naxos and leaves her for dead, echoes the decease of Ariana and the possibility Aberforth could have cast the fatal blow that killed her, also that he failed/did not attempt to prevent her death. As in the Greek myth Ariana (Ariadne) enables Aberforth (Theseus) to defeat Albus (the Minotaur). Her death exists as the source for confrontation, for example when Aberforth breaks Albus' nose and blames him for what happened to Ariana when they are attending her funeral. Albus, much like the Minotaur, was vanquished for eternity, living a life of remorse and guilt due to his sister's death and his responsibility over the event.
 * 3) Ariana's father Percival's actions somewhat reflect that of King Aegeus, Theseus' father. Instead of committing suicide after believing his son is deceased, he commits homicide, attacking the three Muggle boys who assaulted his daughter.
 * The name could also originate from the Welsh arian, meaning "silver".

Behind the scenes

 * LEGO_Ariana.png Beardsall portrays Ariana Dumbledore in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
 * Although Ariana is identified in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Aberforth does not explain how she died or her backstory as explained in the book.
 * Harry Potter Film Wizardry incorrectly states that Ariana died in 1900, and that she was thirteen at the time.
 * The epitaph on Kendra and Ariana's gravestone - "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" - is Matthew 6:19-24 from the Christian Bible. This epitaph, chosen by Albus Dumbledore, is curiously similar to the function of one of Albus Dumbledore's inventions, the Deluminator.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7

Notes and references
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