What does Dumbledore even do?

I've been listening to Harry Potter with my kids every night so this is my first time hearing the books as an adult...

What's very unclear from Harry's perspective is... What on earth does Dumbledore even do all day??

* Aside from meals, Dumbledore is rarely around.
* Dumbledore doesn't teach any known classes.
* There are only a handful of teachers to manage and Dumbledore sure doesn't seem to be managing them... It's rare that he's even talking with other teachers.
* Dumbledore doesn't seem that involved in the operations of the school either...
* Dumbledore doesn't do typical discipline that a headmaster would be involved in either...

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Watched Harry Potter for the first time ever in my 20s and loved it!


I was a big reader as a kid but HP was the one series I for whatever reason never got into. Thus the only exposure I had to HP was visiting the theme parks recently, and after visiting I wanted to learn the backstory of the lore, and since I don’t have time to read anymore, I started the movie series with HP and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

It reminded me a lot plot-wise and production-wise of The Phantom Menace, but more relatable as it is on Earth.

I can’t believe I was missing out on this and can’t wait to watch the rest of the movies!


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@harrypotterbackup

Could Hermione, Harry and Ron have hidden inside her beaded bag?

The bag was bottomless, right?

Could they have tossed it into some bushes and then crawled into it, in order to hide from Death Eaters or Snatchers?

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What's the biggest spoiler you got before you finished the book?



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How does Voldemort make money?

I know that the other death eaters probably have jobs and all that. But how does Voldemort make money to live and eat and all that? Probably a stupid question but my brain won't leave me alone with it so forgive me 😭

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Legilimency and Occlumency

Knowing that Voldemort was skilled at legilimency and used it to his advantage. And that a skilled Legilimens can use it as an advantage in a duel. Why didn’t Dumbledore make it a more standard part of the curriculum at Hogwarts. Seems that at least occlumency would be valuable in the war he suspected was coming. I get it is a rare skill to master, but even rudimentary training would seemingly help. Should have at least been part of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

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I dont know if this is stupid or genius

I really think that Lee Pace could make a really good Lucius Malfoy.

https://redd.it/1o9ozxu
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Anyone else have HP tattoos that they’re proud of?

For context my first ever tattoo was a Harry Potter tattoo. A raven in the deathly hallows symbol with blue roses. It does need a bit of a touch up but I still love it so much.

I’ve been reading online that there’s a whole business in people covering up their HP tattoos due to JKs views. And whenever people say they want to get to a HP tattoo then they’re advised to not go through with it.

HP was such a huge part of my childhood and I could never hate it regardless on what JKs views are. Anyone else still show off their HP tattoos proudly? So far in my personal life no one has made any negative remarks towards my tattoo and hoping it stays that way 🙏🏼




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Who is the dumbest character in HP?



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I haven't seen the movies in maybe 20 years

Watching PS now and those reaction scenes for the first quidditch game were a choice. Haha. Feels so awkward.

Of note, so far:
- Ron being so certain McGonagall is not in the class when they are late, even though the entire class is writing and silent. Paired with Harry not knowing what Seamus is trying to do, when turning water into rum. Those two really found each other.

- That whole 3rd floor corridor scene, rhe way they set it up, the trio could just have exited the way they came instead of running further into the 3rd floor. And then Hermione blaming the other two for it. There were no shenanigans. She was a willing participant based on the scene.

I'm having a good natured chuckle and still enjoying the world it's in.

EDIT 1: Now why, Harry James Potter, do you need to stand on the broom to catch the snitch? Surely it's more efficient to stay seated and fly at the correct level? In fact, it was at seated level until you stood!

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What does Professor Binns do wrong and how could History of Magic be an interesting class?

Most of the classes in Hogwarts like Charms or Herbology have no real analog in our world for children of the same age. The only three exceptions are: Defense Against the Dark Arts, which could be likened to self-defense courses like karate/taekwondo or light combat sports like fencing, Potions, which could be likened to chemistry, and History of Magic, which is modelled on actual history courses. Because History of Magic is so similar to actual history in our world, we can use examples from our world to discuss the issues with Binns' teaching style.

I believe that our educators would immediately point out that Binns lectures are explicitly designed as the caricature of how to make lectures boring and unengaging from a now-deceased form of pedagogy. Binns creates an environment that doesn't allow for engagement.

1. His lectures are droning and monotone, lacking variation, interaction, or enthusiasm. He would need to engage in active learning, storytelling, and inquiry-based approaches.
2. Binns does not engage with debates, simulations, role-plays, or investigations of bias in sources.
3. Binns does not try to make history relatable or connect it to other magical subjects. He never asks the students to opine on how they understand the history.
4. Binns rarely learns students' names, interests, or even acknowledges their presence and/or awakeness.
5. In a school where you literally can use magic to make things exciting, Binns uses no magic, no multimedia, no recreations of historical scenes, no visualizations of old documents or persons, etc.

So, what would you do to make History of Magic more exciting? Or do you believe that History of Magic is inevitably a dull course?

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Richard Harris or Michael Gambon?

Who is your Dumbledore? The closer to the one you picture in your mind when reading the books?

Although he could only be in the 2 movies, for me Richard Harris every time.

I actually picture him being different in some scenes...e.g. When Harry's just been announced as the 4th champion.

Possibly the duel in Order of the Phoenix.

I just felt like Richard Harris was the more "natural" Dumbledore.

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Was Dumbledore was never disarmed once in his entire life before being disarmed by Draco?

We know that the elder wand changes its loyalty the moment its previous user is defeated. Thats what we saw when Dumbledore was defeated in the Astronomy tower and again after harry defeated malfoy. But that simply means after possessing the elder wand, Dumbledore simply was never disarmed once in his entire life. Do you agree?

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@harrypotterbackup

What lesson would you add to Hogwarts curriculum?

The obvious aside, like Maths, Science, English what do you think should be included in Hogwarts education but is missing?

I’d say magical healing should at least be taught at NEWT level. Imagine having the ability to heal injuries and cure disease but not making it universally taught. Seems like a huge oversight.

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What would you call Harry’s kids?

What would you call Harry’s kids. Personally I would pick James Sirius, Albus Remus and Lily Ruby. This honours the people he saw as parental figures. I know that this doesn’t take Ginny into account, but I think that her closest relative would be Molly and Fred, both of whom already have kids named after them.

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petunia just got worse for me

re reading the deathly hallows and currently on the part where harry is going through snape’s memories and i realised petunia got on platform 9 3/4 to see lily off when she was 11. and she still sneered at harry and left him at the train station when he first set out for hogwarts. ahh
i mean, i know she’s done worse stuff, but this is the first time i realised this and just got one more reason to despise her

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@harrypotterbackup

I just finished all the movies and oh baby it was a heck of a journey!

That was one of the most phenomenal movie series that i ever watched. Period.
But i would like to know..
If there's more to the story in the books?
Please guide me what to do!
Cause I can't get enough of it!!!

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Did Barty Crouch Jr. actually get 12 OWLs?

I know in GoF Barty Crouch Senior says his son got 12 OWLs, but he was a raving lunatic at the time. I'm wondering if he was just speaking crazy and creating a manic false reality where he thinks he has a perfect son rather than the deatheater one he actually has - and that remark is part of that delusion.

But then it could have been confirmed somewhere else that I'm not aware of.

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Americans and RoW - were there any phrases in the HP books that made no sense to you?

As a Brit, all the little phrases Rowling used - like “Might as well be hanged for a dragon as an egg” - just naturally made sense to me, since they’re often adapted from old British sayings (this one comes from “Might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb”).

But I’ve noticed a few of my American friends didn’t really get that one.

Were there any other phrases or idioms in the series that didn’t make much sense to you - even after the international edits?

Or did this one actually make sense, and my friends are just unfamiliar with the expression?

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@harrypotterbackup

Who would you choose as your best friend if you went to Hogwarts?

I did post this question a while ago but deleted the old one and made a new account to start a fresh because I preferred it. That’s why I thought, why not ask again.

So, if you were a student at Hogwarts in any era, who would you choose as your best friend? This time, only one because it’s more intriguing that way.

I would still choose Draco Malfoy because we’re both Slytherins and I laugh alongside him anytime Snape is sarcastic or uses dry humour, even at the expense of Harry. I also know we would get along very well, solely because through reading the book, I know my replies to him would also be opposite to Harry, as is my opinion on Draco as well.

https://redd.it/1oa2kbz
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