The muggle and the wizarding worlds have recently broken into despair due of the sudden demise of legendary actor Michael Gambon. The Irishman will forever be remembered as the person who portrayed one of the best fictional characters ever. Yes, we are talking about Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!
Gambon took over the role from Richard Harris, who sadly died in 2002 after playing Dumbledore in the first two films. He seamlessly continued the legacy of Harris in the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and went on to deliver some of the most memorable performances in the franchise’s history.
Michael Gambon embodies all facets of Dumbledore, from his whimsical humor to his wise and solemn personality like an oak tree.
Since his inception as Albus Dumbledore, Gambon has absolutely owned the character. So, here we count some of the best moments of the great man in the Harry Potter franchise.
Also, every great moment is concluded with an even greater quote from Dumbledore. So, read until the very end and fill your wisdom baskets to the brim!
Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.
1. “Happiness can be found in even the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
With Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the wizarding world takes a turn for the darker, leaving behind the innocence and whimsy of the previous two films.
A notorious mass murderer, Sirius Black, is on the loose, and the Ministry of Magic has stationed Azkaban guards called Dementors at every entrance of Hogwarts.
For those unaware of dementors, imagine getting every cheerful thought sucked out of your living memory and being left with your deepest sorrows and gruesome fears. Yes, your happiness is dinner for them!
Amid all this, Dumbledore gets up in his Start-of-Term speech and delivers one of the most iconic dialogues of the entire series. This few seconds’ worth of speech is enough to cement Michael Gambon as the immaculate Albus Dumbledore in our hearts forever!
He starts the speech with a word of caution for all the students and then reminds them that happiness is just a state of mind. Even in the darkest of times, happiness can be found only if one configures their mind to be optimistic!
Happiness can be found in even the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.
This quote has remained a perennial fan favorite even after so many years because it sums up the entire philosophy of Harry Potter. It teaches us to be brave and face everything head-on with a smile!
2. Dumbledore saves ‘more than one innocent life.’
Besides being one of the greatest sorcerers of the century, Albus Dumbledore is exceptionally kind, and Michael Gambon’s pensive countenance portrays it perfectly.
The qualities are best portrayed in the climax of Prisoner of Azkaban when Dumbledore gives Harry and Hermione a cheeky little hint making them break a hundred school rules but saving ‘more than one innocent life.’
By this time, Harry just realized that Sirius is innocent but has just been captured by the Ministry to be executed. However, there is no evidence to further his cause. So, Dumbledore sends Harry and Hermione back in time to save Sirius.
Here, the second innocent life refers to Buckbeak the Hippogriff. It is wrongfully sentenced to death after Lucius Malfoy convinces the Ministry that it is a vicious creature and should be put down. The duo releases Sirius and sets him free on the back of Buckbeak.
It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
3. ‘Harry, Did You Put Your Name In The Goblet Of Fire?’
We now enter the fourth part of the Harry Potter saga, The Goblet of Fire, where the dangers are graver than ever. The wizarding world is preparing for the Triwizard Tournament, a prestigious and perilous competition that only allows students of age to enter.
However, fate has other plans for Harry Potter (who is in his fourth year) when his name mysteriously comes out of the Goblet of Fire. What follows is a shocking and violent confrontation between Harry and Gambon’s Dumbledore, who pins him against a cabinet and demands to know:
Harry, Did You Put Your Name In The Goblet Of Fire?
This line has become a cult classic among fans, as it reveals a rare glimpse of the aggressive and intimidating side of the revered headmaster.
However, it has also generated some memes among the book readers, who point out that J.K. Rowling meant for Dumbledore to ask Harry ‘calmly.’
Either way, the line remains one of the most iconic lines of the great man!
4. Dumbledore Pulverizes Fake Mad-Eye Moody
The climax of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire really takes things to a whole new level as Harry is used to resurrect the Dark Lord himself. After a year of double-crosses and secrets, we finally know that Barty Crouch Jr. has been polyjuicing himself to become Mad-Eye Moody and discreetly guiding Harry toward Lord Voldemort.
After the third task’s disaster, Moody (Barty Crouch Jr.) takes Harry to a secret cabinet and reveals his nefarious plans. Just as he is about to kill him, Dumbledore makes the coolest entry ever.
The door is flung open, and the old man flattens Barty with a single flick. In an instant, his calm and composed aura gives way to something terrible. The glimmer in his bespectacled eyes is replaced by cold fury, and it seems like he will vaporize the traitor with his bare sight!
Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living and, above all, those who live without love.
5. Dumbledore Saves The Day At Harry’s Hearing
Harry Potter and the Order and the Phoenix is one of the darkest films in the Harry Potter saga, producing two utterly badass Dumbledore moments.
The film opens with a chilling scene of Harry and his cousin Dursley being ambushed by two hooded dementors, forcing Harry to use a Patronus charm in self-defense.
This lands him in trouble with the Ministry of Magic, who summons him for a trial that could end his wizarding career. As Harry faces the daunting prospect of losing everything he holds dear, his mentor arrives to save the day.
Witness for the defense, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
With a masterful display of wit and logic, the headmaster defends Harry’s case and clears him of all charges. What can the man not do?
6. The Ultimate Showdown
Just as Harry Potter is known as ‘The Boy Who Lived,’ Albus Dumbledore has a reputation for being the only wizard Voldemort himself fears!
Until now, we wondered how the calm and composed headmaster could take on the greatest wizard ever. However, everything changes after the fifth film.
After a deadly battle at the Department of Mysteries, Harry follows Bellatrix Lestrange into a chamber when a sudden chill spreads across our spines. Voldemort finally appears in his full-fledged form to kill Harry fifteen years later. Then, just as all hope seems lost, Dumbledore himself arrives to save the day.
A clash of titans begins as the two most formidable wizards of their time face each other in a duel of epic proportions. Dumbledore remains calm and composed as he counters Voldemort’s deadliest curses and ensnares him in enchantments that even the Dark Lord has difficulty escaping.
At last, Voldemort realizes the futility of his efforts and resorts to using Harry as a shield by possessing his mind, a desperate move that ultimately fails.
It is important to fight and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay though never quite eradicated.
7. Dumbledore Drinks The Potion Of Despair
The Prisoner of Azkaban hints at the formidable power of Dumbledore when it is reported that he single-handedly handled a horde of dementors in Hogwarts.
However, it is not until The Half-Blood Prince that we witness the full extent of his mastery over dark forces.
In the climax, Dumbledore leads Harry to a hidden cave where a fragment of Voldemort’s soul lies within a bewitched locket. To reach the locket, Harry must force Dumbledore to drink a venomous potion that drains his vitality and reduces him to a pitiful state.
It is a harrowing sight to behold the mighty wizard in such agony. Harry tries to soothe him by fetching water from a nearby lake, but this triggers an attack from a legion of undead creatures called the “Inferi.”
Harry is dragged down by an Inferius, and we start fearing the worst. Suddenly, a flash of fire pierces the dark surface like a spear of light. It strikes the Inferius, freeing Harry from its grip.
He emerges from the lake and is stunned by the sight. Dumbledore, pale and weary, was holding back a horde of Inferi with a storm of magical fire.
This scene brings out the best of Michael Gambon as it shows the deepest shades of Albus Dumbledore. From a man wriggling in pain and begging for death to a maestro fighting to save a boy who holds the key to saving mankind-the scene is thrilling to the core!
It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness. Nothing more.
8. Severus, Please
Having retrieved the Horcrux from the cavern, Harry accompanies the weakened Dumbledore back to Hogwarts. There, they find that the castle has been infiltrated by a band of Death Eaters. Harry and Dumbledore are quickly cornered at the summit of the Astronomy tower, where Draco Malfoy is waiting to execute his command of the Dark Lord and kill Dumbledore.
Dumbledore, however, displays no trace of dread. Harry, concealed behind a curtain, is ready to intervene and attack Draco, but Severus Snape creeps behind him and motions Harry to stay silent.
The following scene makes every true Harry Potter fan cry their eyes out. We expect Snape to stop Draco and save the person who’s always been by his side. We expect Snape to be loyal for this one time. We hope Dumbledore to weave his otherworldly magic and just escape the situation somehow.
However, nothing happens. Dumbledore’s last words are, ‘Snape, please’ before a resounding echo of ‘Avada Kedavra’ erupts from Severus Snape, and the life is instantly sucked out of Albus Dumbledore’s body which is hurled from the lofty heights of the Astronomical Tower.
Silence follows.
To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.
9. King’s Cross Station
The final chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is a roller coaster of emotions as we learn shocking facts about Dumbledore’s murky past. However, even after Harry has followed Dumbledore’s plan and let Voldemort kill him, the old wizard has one more surprise for him.
Harry finds himself in a place resembling King’s Cross Station.
There, he encounters a form of Dumbledore, who explains that Harry’s selfless act has destroyed the piece of Voldemort’s soul inside him, leaving Harry’s soul untouched and alive.
The final piece of Dumbledore’s ingenious puzzle falls into place, revealing his ultimate design to destroy Voldemort once and for all — and to spare Harry’s life in the process.
With this stunning disclosure, Dumbledore bids farewell to Harry for the last time, and we see Michael Gambon bidding adieu to the Harry Potter franchise on an all-time high!
Of course, it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?
10. About Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a film series based on the eponymous novel series by J. K. Rowling. The series is distributed by Warner Bros. and consists of eight fantasy films, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and culminating with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
The film series follows Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, and his journey to take down the evil wizard Lord Voldemort and save Hogwarts, the Wizarding School he attended, with his best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
The series was mainly produced by David Heyman, and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson as the three leading characters: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.
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