Albus Dumbledore's Childhood
Albus Dumbledore was born in 1881 to Percival and Kendra Dumbledore. Three years after his birth came his brother Aberforth and after him, his sister Ariana. Three Muggle children attacked Ariana, then six years old, after they saw her using magic. As a result of this attack, she became mentally ill for the rest of her life. Most of the time she was harmless, pleasant, and scared, but sometimes she suffered uncontrollable outbursts of aggression. Albus's father, Percival, attacked the three young Muggles in retaliation for the attack on his daughter, and was sentenced to Azkaban for life. To prevent Ariana being admitted to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Kendra moved the family to the village of Godric's Hollow, and her illness was concealed. Neighbours assumed that Ariana was a Squib. When Dumbledore attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he befriended Elphias Doge, who was generally mocked due to his greenish face, legacy of his having previously contracted dragon pox. During his education at Hogwarts, Dumbledore was known as the most brilliant student to have ever stepped into the school. He won many awards and became well connected with the most notable wizards of the day; e.g. Nicolas Flamel, Bathilda Bagshot, Adalbert Waffling. His essays and research found their way in newspapers such as Transfiguration Today, Challenges in Charming, and The Practical Potioneer. His house affiliation is that of Gryffindor. This information was given to Harry Potter by Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on the Hogwarts Express. He was joined by his brother, Aberforth, who proved to be quite different from Albus, not possessing the extraordinary magical talent - while Aberforth settled matters with duels, Albus settled with discussion. When Ordinary Wizarding Levels came about in Harry's fifth year, the elderly Griselda Marchbanks, Head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority, who personally examined the school-age Dumbledore for his Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests in Charms and Transfiguration, remarked to Dolores Umbridge that the young, talented Dumbledore had "...done things with a wand I'd never seen before." When Dumbledore and Doge left Hogwarts, they planned to take their "then-traditional" tour of the world. On the eve of their trip, the 18-year-old Dumbledore suffered the death of his mother Kendra, killed by Ariana, who was on one of her outbursts. Because Dumbledore's parents were absent (his father being in Azkaban and mother deceased), Albus became the head of the family and it became his duty to put food on the table (they were not left with much gold). He was forced to remain in his house with his sister Ariana while Aberforth completed his education.Gellert Grindelwald's Childhood
Grindelwald attended the wizarding school Durmstrang from which he was expelled in his sixth year for his "twisted experiments," that nearly resulted in the deaths of some of his fellow students. Durmstrang, which is known for its acceptance of the dark arts, found these experiments too dangerous and evil, even for their school. He left the symbol of the Deathly Hallows (a circle with a vertical line in the center enclosed in a triangle) on one of the walls in Durmstrang before departing. After Durmstrang, he went to live with his great-aunt Bathilda Bagshot in Godric's Hollow.Albus and Gellert Meet
The young Dumbledore became friends with Gellert Grindelwald after they were introduced to each other by Bathilda Bagshot, and together they dreamed of ruling the world "for the greater good" by uniting the legendary Deathly Hallows. Both wizards had the idea that the Wizarding world should take its rightful place on top of the Muggles, and both believed that wizards should rule over them and put them in their rightful place amongst the entire world. Dumbledore would later remark that his conscience was only soothed with the hollow phrase "for the greater good," and that deep down he knew what Gellert Grindewald was (but was still taken with his abilities and ideas at the same time, while being isolated at home with parental responsibilities). Even if they were forced to destroy a few along the way, it would be "for the greater good" and that the sufferings and losses would be rewarded a hundred-fold in the end. However, Dumbledore's thirst for power and knowledge also led to the neglect of his own family. Because both needed to travel to gain followers, Dumbledore planned on taking Ariana with him while Aberforth left to attend Hogwarts. Two months into the friendship, Aberforth approached both and told Albus that he could not take Ariana for she was not fit to handle all the pressure that would insure upon her. Grindelwald told Aberforth that he was a stupid boy who would stand in the way of his brother; once the new wizarding world order took place, Ariana and wizards worldwide would not have to hide, for the Muggles would be taught their own place in the world. Grindelwald used the Cruciatus Curse upon Aberforth and all three began to duel. During this Ariana became enraged and tried to help, but she ended up dead: one of their curses rebounded, hitting and killing her. For the rest of his life, Dumbledore felt guilty, never certain whether it was his own curse or another that had actually killed his sister. Grindelwald stormed back to Bagshot's home and departed to begin his own rule. Meanwhile, a funeral was set for Ariana. Aberforth became enraged during the service and punched Albus in the nose, breaking it, giving its known crooked appearance. Albus later felt great remorse for his mistakes during adolescence.Grindelwald's Defeat
After Grindelwald's rise to power, Dumbledore delayed meeting him again for several years due to his fear of being confronted with his sister's death and the fact he himself might have been the one to have accidentally killed her. Both wizards were highly intelligent and skilled in battle, and those who witnessed the battle say that no wizarding duel ever matched that of Dumbledore and Grindelwald in 1945. Grindelwald, who at the time possessed the supposedly unbeatable Elder Wand, lost to Dumbledore. Grindelwald had stolen the wand from Gregorovitch, a European wandmaker; however he was recognised by the light of the wand due to his use of a stunning curse on Gregorovitch as he fled. It is necessary that Grindelwald became the master of the wand for it to have passed on through Dumbledore as it does. After Dumbledore triumphed over Grindelwald, the defeated dark wizard was imprisoned in the top-most cell of Nurmengard, a prison Grindelwald himself had built for his opponents. He remains there until the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when Voldemort arrives, seeking the Elder Wand. Grindelwald, showing no fear of Voldemort, lies and tells him that he never owned the wand, and Voldemort kills him in rage. In the chapter King's Cross, Harry suggests to Dumbledore that Grindelwald lied to Voldemort in order to prevent him from breaking into Dumbledore's tomb, where he knew the Elder Wand lay. Dumbledore suggests that in his later years Grindelwald had felt remorse for his evil actions.Quotes
Humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for them.
Albus Dumbledore
It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
Albus Dumbledore
There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.
Albus Dumbledore
In fact, being - forgive me - rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger.
Albus Dumbledore