Note: Though the original novels are obviously the primary source, this blog will also include information from the movies, video games, published screenplays, Pottermore, official website, interviews, and various other official secondary sources. Most if not all of these sources do not contradict the original material in any overly meaningful way, and those that do have been excluded.
Background
Full Name: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Age (at death): 115 years
Height: 6’0” | 182.88 cm
Weight: 168 lbs | 76.2 kg
Titles:
Headmaster of Hogwarts
Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards
Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot
Leader of the Order of the Phoenix
Likes: Chamber music, ten-pin bowling, candy
Born in Mould-on-the-Wold, England in the late 1800’s, Albus Dumbledore was a prodigy from a young age. Attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one of the greatest magical institutions in the Wizarding World, he could soon perform magic that many adult wizards and witches had never seen before, and on top of his skill, he possessed remarkable charisma and a genius intellect. Those who knew him believed that he was destined for greatness.
However, his home life was considerably less pleasant. When he was little, his younger sister, Ariana, was attacked and left mentally scarred by a group of Muggle boys, and his father Percival was sentenced to prison for retaliating against them. His mother, Kendra, sought to keep their family secluded from others after this, and his brother Aberforth became bitter, preferring to settle disagreements with force rather than words. Eventually, later in Albus’ time at school, a magical outburst from Ariana ended up killing Kendra, leaving Albus the head of a broken family.
However, Albus would not let any of this hinder him too much, as his young mind was steeped with ambition. After his time at Hogwarts, he came into contact with a prodigy of similar talents to his own, Gellert Grindelwald. The two quickly became best friends, and even more than that, falling in love and making plans for the future together. Gellert believed that wizards had a right to dominate Muggles “for the greater good”, and Albus, blinded by his own feelings and bitter about the familial responsibilities that he had never asked for, quickly became taken in by this ideology, believing - as so many others had before him - that he was destined for greatness.
Albus’ and Gellert’s romance wouldn’t last, however, and Albus soon found himself confronted by Aberforth, who angrily intended to stop Albus from leaving, as Ariana needed him. Gellert cast a spell to torture Aberforth, laughing at his pain, and Albus stepped in, realizing the kind of horrible person that Grindelwald was. Soon enough, a three-way duel erupted between them, which only concluded when a stray spell accidentally struck Ariana, killing her. Grindelwald departed, Aberforth angrily blamed Albus, and Albus was crushed under the weight of his own guilt, his ideologies and ambition thoroughly shattered.
In the following years, Dumbledore became an educator at Hogwarts, a far cry from the grand revolutionary that he had once envisioned himself as. He had learned his lesson: that power was not for him. Meanwhile, Grindelwald began to amass an army of followers who shared his ideals, intent on fulfilling his dream of Muggle subjugation. He even acquired a powerful magical artifact called the Elder Wand, which he and Albus had been fascinated by years prior. Eventually, though Dumbledore had become a staunch pacifist in the years following Ariana’s death, the threat of Grindelwald became too great, and he was forced to step in and combat his old lover directly. The two fought and, in a legendary duel considered to be the greatest in history, Dumbledore prevailed, ending Grindelwald’s ambitions forever, and taking the Elder Wand for himself - not to use it for conquest, but to tame it, and prevent its power from falling into the wrong hands.
Years later, however, a new Dark Lord would rise. In a small London orphanage, Dumbledore came to meet with a young wizard named Tom Riddle, and offered him admission to Hogwarts. Riddle agreed, and soon proved himself to be a prodigy nearly of Dumbledore’s own caliber. It turned out, however, that Riddle saw wizardkind as superior to Muggles, just as Grindelwald had before him, and after graduating Hogwarts, he set out to gather followers and discover the secrets of immortality. Eventually, Riddle took on a new name - Lord Voldemort - and began a campaign to conquer the planet in the name of wizard superiority.
Recognizing the threat that Voldemort posed, Dumbledore formed an organization to combat him, the Order of the Phoenix. In a war to end all wars, wizardkind fought back against Voldemort’s armies, but was unable to defeat him for good. As he had with Grindelwald, however, Dumbledore hesitated to fight Voldemort directly, and Voldemort was not keen to challenge Dumbledore either, as out of every wizard in the world, Dumbledore’s power alone frightened him.
Soon enough, however, Voldemort would be defeated not by Dumbledore, but by an infant child, as had been prophesied beforehand. When he turned his wand on the infant Harry Potter, who unbeknownst to him had been granted magical protections from his mother, the Killing Curse rebounded upon Voldemort, destroying his body and leaving him nothing but a disembodied soul wandering the world. After this, Dumbledore would take steps to protect Harry from Voldemort’s spirit and his followers, as well as create a plan to defeat Voldemort, should he ever return. Over a decade later, his fears were realized, and Voldemort returned greater and more terrible than ever before, starting a new Wizarding War and resuming his attempts to conquer the world.
All was not lost, however, as Dumbledore had a plan. He had deduced the method through which Voldemort had become nearly immortal - by placing pieces of his own soul into various magical objects. Together with Harry, Dumbledore would seek to find all of Voldemort’s Horcruxes and destroy them, leaving him mortal once again. This included Harry himself, who had been imbued with a piece of Voldemort’s soul upon the latter’s defeat years earlier; luckily however, upon his return, Voldemort had taken a bit of Harry’s blood for himself, to nullify the protections from Harry’s mother. In doing so, he had tethered Harry to life for as long as he himself was alive, and so any attempt to kill Harry would merely destroy the Horcrux within him, leaving Harry unharmed. Dumbledore had all of this figured out years in advance, and planned around it, orchestrating Voldemort’s final defeat far ahead of time.
(It all sounds very convoluted, but it mostly makes sense in context)
However, Dumbledore would not be able to see his plan through to the end. Cursed to die by one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, a magical ring, he planned his own murder - with his murderer, Severus Snape - a full year in advance, intending for Snape to gain ownership of the Elder Wand, and for him to become Voldemort’s most trusted follower, having killed the one whom Voldemort was most afraid of. This was a key part of his plan for Voldemort’s defeat, and though parts of it went wrong, it all… mostly worked out. Snape died because of the stuff that went wrong though, rip bozo.
Anyway, in the end, Dumbledore was never afraid to die even for a moment. He believed that to the well-organized mind, death was merely “the next great adventure”. Though he had made many mistakes early in his life, he was able to recognize when he wasn’t the right man for the job, and entrusted Voldemort’s defeat to the next generation, before departing from the world on his own terms - though, he did have one last spiritual heart-to-heart with Harry when everything was almost said and done. Even in death, Dumbledore’s legacy was befitting of one of the most powerful and influential wizards the world had ever known.
Experience
Having over 100 years of experience and magical knowledge, a genius intellect, and prodigious natural talent, Dumbledore is the most knowledgeable and skilled wizard in his world.
He had at least seven years of formal instruction as a student of Hogwarts, and in the time since has spent decades as a professor of Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts, and later the school’s headmaster. He has experience fighting and leading in three separate magical wars, one against Grindelwald and two against Voldemort, and he is considered a wizard of unparalleled ability, to the point where no one on Earth - and potentially in all of history - would be a match for him. Even Voldemort, whose knowledge of magic is acknowledged by Dumbledore to be potentially more extensive than any wizard alive, was no match for Dumbledore in skill; according to Dumbledore’s colleague McGonagall, though Voldemort may possess magical powers that Dumbledore does not, this is solely due to the fact that Dumbledore is “too noble” to use them, not due to any lack of capability.
His intelligence is great enough to create convoluted plans years ahead of time, acting as the mastermind behind Voldemort’s final defeat, despite the fact that the majority of the events leading up to it took place after Dumbledore’s death. The blood connection which allowed Harry to survive Voldemort’s curse at the end of the series is something that Dumbledore planned out three years ahead of time. He is also a world-renowned scholar, famous for his contributions to potion-making and alchemy, among other things. At one point, he was seemingly even smart enough to figure out that Harry and Hermione had gone back in time hours in advance, stalling Cornelius Fudge in order to give them time to free Buckbeak, despite having no discernable means of knowing that they had gone back in time to begin with. He just… knew. Somehow. Because he’s Dumbledore, I guess.
Arsenal
Elder Wand
Wands in Harry Potter are objects through which a wizard channels their magical power. Wands are somewhat sentient, choosing their owner, and as such only bestow their full power onto someone whom they recognize as their master.
Dumbledore’s wand is functionally similar to any other wand, but it is also remarkable. Made of elder wood and with a Thestral’s tail hair as its core, it is the Elder Wand, an ancient magical artifact and one of the three Deathly Hallows. Also known as the Deathstick and the Wand of Destiny, it is much more powerful than any ordinary wand in the hand of its chosen master, to the point where it is considered unbeatable - though even in-universe this is clearly an exaggeration, as Dumbledore himself defeated it with a normal wand. The Elder Wand’s allegiance is ever-changing, and it will unfailingly dedicate itself to a master who has won it from its previous owner. This can be achieved through killing the owner, defeating them in battle, or simply disarming them against their will, which is how Draco Malfoy unknowingly won the wand from Dumbledore at the end of the latter’s life.
Deluminator
Dumbledore possesses a magical cigarette lighter of his own design, which has several magical functions. Its main use is absorbing light from the vicinity, and later releasing the light outward (either returning to its original location, or manifesting as balls of light floating in the air, in the event that the original light source is no longer present). However, it also possesses several other loosely-explained applications, such as leading Ron back to Harry and Hermione when he wanted to find them, or dissipating the mirror dimension that Dumbledore created in his fight with Credence.
Pocketwatch
Dumbledore possesses a magical pocket watch which has planet symbols moving around the edges instead of numbers. The exact manner in which this watch functions is unknown, but from it, Dumbledore is seemingly able to tell the time, as well as track the location of other people.
Fawkes
Fawkes is Dumbledore’s pet phoenix, whom he can summon to his side at any time he chooses. This is a result of Dumbledore’s bloodline; a phoenix will come before any Dumbledore in need to assist them. Fawkes possesses limited pyrokinesis, healing tears which can heal otherwise-incurable wounds, teleportation, and flight. His beak and talons are sharp weapons, able to gouge out the eyes of Salazar Slytherin’s Basilisk, nullifying its sight-based petrification ability. Being a phoenix, Fawkes also has the ability to be reborn from the ashes when he dies, and has shielded Dumbledore from fatal attacks in combat, before being reborn as a baby moments later.
Abilities
Wizard Physiology
Wizards are established to be more resilient than ordinary Muggles. They can withstand ailments more easily due to subtly different physiology, have longer life spans, and are resistant to most non-magical illnesses - though magically-inflicted afflictions are more difficult to cure. Moreover, wizards are naturally resistant to things like illusions and memory manipulation, which can fool Muggles but have no effect on those with magical abilities. For instance, Hogwarts would appear as a decrepit ruin to any Muggle who stumbled across it, but wizards can see it just fine. Wizards have even been completely unaffected by a memory-erasing storm which mind-wiped the entirety of New York City.
Magic (Overview)
Magic in Harry Potter is a supernatural force controlled by a wizard, witch, or magical creature, which alters the world around them in some manner. Largely speaking, Harry Potter is in the middle between a hard and soft magic system, meaning that there are some established rules for what can or can’t be done, but this isn’t always the case, and the story does not always provide a completely detailed explanation of what these rules are.
Generally speaking, spells are cast using a specific wand movement and/or incantation, which achieves a specific desired effect; however, skilled wizards can cast magic without any need for an incantation, or even a wand (see the Wandless Magic section below). That said, individual spells still have specific effects, though many spells can be modified to alter the effects in varying ways.
In terms of specific limitations, it is impossible to (completely) resurrect the dead, and it is impossible to create food from nothing. Magically-inflicted maladies and injuries are also much more difficult to repair than normal ones, even when using magic to treat them. Beyond that, the biggest limitations are simply the individual wizard’s knowledge and spellcasting ability; if they do not know how to achieve a specific effect with magic, they will not be able to do so.
Wandless Magic
Contrary to popular belief, skilled wizards such as Dumbledore do not actually require a wand to use magic, with Dumbledore in particular semi-frequently forgoing the use of one. A wand helps the wizard to channel and direct their magical abilities, but is not required, and skilled enough wizards can dispense with them entirely. Even some student-level wizards have shown to be capable of carrying out entire duels without wands, with no apparent decrease in power or spell variety.
Spells & Other Magic (Explicitly Demonstrated)
The following is a list of spells and magic types that Dumbledore has explicitly demonstrated throughout the course of the series and in secondary media.
Age Line: Spell which prevents people above or below a certain age from entering a specified place. Dumbledore placed one of these around the Goblet of Fire, and was able to set the line to react in a manner of his choosing - specifically, it ejected people who attempted to cross it, and made them grow beards.
Amplifying Charm (Sonorus): Spell which amplifies the sound of the user’s voice, allowing them to project their words to a large area. Used by Dumbledore during the Triwizard Tournament.
Anti-Apparition Charm: Charm which prevents people from teleporting within a certain area. Dumbledore was able to freely manipulate the Anti-Apparition Charm placed around Hogwarts.
Apparition: Near-instant teleportation. Requires concentration from a novice, but experienced wizards can spam it in combat without issue. Maximum range is at least hundreds of kilometers, as it can be used to travel from Scotland to near London.
Confundus Charm (Confundo): Charm which causes confusion and misdirection in a target. Primarily used to fool people, such as by making them unaware of their situation, forgetful, or more prone to suggestion; however, it can also be used to fool magical objects and prevent them from working properly, such as the Goblet of Fire. Effects of the spell can be long-lasting and very complex, and typically the person or object placed under the spell is unaware of the fact that they have been influenced by it.
Conjuration Spells: A category of complex transfiguration spells, which are used to conjure objects, animals, etc. out of thin air. This can be used in a variety of ways, and various specific examples are listed below.
Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus): A charm used to magically disarm the target of whatever they are holding. A sufficiently powerful Disarming Charm can also have a blasting effect, as demonstrated when Dumbledore used the spell on Barty Crouch Jr. and blasted him across the room, knocking him unconscious.
Disillusionment Charm: A charm through which the user camouflages their body, taking on the coloration of their surroundings as though they are a chameleon. Dumbledore’s skill with this charm is established to be so powerful that he can become completely invisible.
Energy Projection Spells (Vermillious, Verdimillious, Periculum, etc.): Spells which produce bursts, beams, or sparks of energy to attack an opponent. Dumbledore used one such spell in a beam struggle with Voldemort.
Fire Whip: Spell with which Dumbledore creates a whip made out of fire to ensnare or strike an opponent. He used this in his duel against Voldemort.
Firestorm: Spell with which Dumbledore creates a massive torrent of flames around himself which can scorch enemies across a wide area. Used against a horde of Inferi while severely weakened and dying.
Flame-Freezing Charm: Charm with which Dumbledore can nullify the burning effects of flames without extinguishing them, causing them to instead give off a pleasant sensation to anyone or anything they touch. Used on Tom Riddle’s wardrobe, to set it on fire without damaging it.
Fogging Spell (Nebulus): Spell that creates a massive layer of fog, which can extend to an entire city. Used to blanket all of London in fog during his meeting with Newt Scamander.
Full Body-Bind Curse (Petrificus Totalus): Curse that locks a target’s entire body into a stiff board-like position, petrifying them in place and making them unable to move anything but their eyes. Used by Dumbledore to freeze Harry in place, to prevent him from intervening in Dumbledore’s death.
Gubraithian Fire: Spell which produces an enchanted flame which will burn forever. Dumbledore provided this fire to Hagrid as a gift to the giants.
Healing Magic (Episkey, Vulnera Sanentur, etc.): Magic which can be used to heal wounds, including severe lacerations and broken bones.
Human-Presence-Revealing Spell (Homenum Revelio): Spell which can detect the presence and location of others, even if they are not visible to the naked eye. Dumbledore’s skill with this spell is great enough to detect Harry and Ron when they are wearing Harry’s Cloak of Invisibility.
Legilimency (Legilimens): Form of magic used to read and penetrate minds, discerning thoughts, unearthing memories, and sometimes mentally assaulting an opponent. This does not require an incantation, wand movement, nor the user to be in close proximity to the target, as shown when the Legilimens Queenie was able to use it to detect someone’s thoughts over a long distance. This isn’t to say there are no limitations, however; distance is still a factor, and things like eye contact make Legilimency much easier. From the likes of Snape and Voldemort, Legilimency can penetrate Harry’s mental resistances, who had previously shown to be resistant to the Imperius Curse. Dumbledore is a highly skilled Legilimens.
Memory Removal Spell: Dumbledore can use his wand to extract memories from his own mind and place them elsewhere. Grindelwald has shown that it is possible to do this to others as well, though never quickly and never in combat.
Mending Charm (Reparo): Charm which can be used to repair damaged or destroyed objects, so long as the pieces remain. Used by Dumbledore to repair Slughorn’s destroyed living room.
Mirror Dimension: Ability with which Dumbledore can create a separate mirror dimension to fight his opponents within. In his duel with Credence, he created a mirror dimension as large as Berlin, and was able to later dissipate it using the Deluminator.
Occlumency: Counterpart to Legilimency, which is used to protect one’s own mind from external mental attacks. As with Legilimency, Dumbledore is a capable Occlumens, making it highly difficult to control, read, or otherwise affect his mind in any meaningful way.
Orb of Water: Spell with which Dumbledore telekinetically encases his opponent within a massive sphere of water, lifting them into the air and attempting to batter and suffocate them. Used in his duel against Voldemort.
Patronus Charm (Expecto Patronum): Spell used to repel Dementors through the use of positive memories. Can also be used for long-distance communication. Dumbledore’s Patronus takes the form of a phoenix.
Piertotum Locomotor: Spell which can be used to animate and control statues to fight on behalf of the user. Dumbledore used this during his duel with Voldemort, bringing the golden statues within the Ministry of Magic to life, and using them for both offensive and defensive purposes. McGonagall also used this spell to bring a number of stone knights to life during the Battle of Hogwarts.
Portkey Spell (Portus): Spell used to turn everyday objects into a Portkey, which is an enchanted item that teleports anyone who touches it to a different location. Dumbledore used this to teleport Harry back to Hogwarts after the battle in the Department of Mysteries.
Reviving Spell (Rennervate): Spell which can be used to resuscitate unconscious people. Used by Dumbledore on Victor Krum and Barty Crouch Jr.
Shield Charm (Protego): Spell which is used to create an invisible magical barrier to block attacks. Can be single-directional or omnidirectional, and can repel both magic attacks and physical things. Can be small enough to protect only one person, or large enough to shield an entire castle. Can also be enhanced with specific properties, which help to repel people in an additional manner. Some of these will be listed below.
Silencing Charm (Silencio): Spell which can be used to silence all sound from an opponent, making them unable to speak or produce noise. Dumbledore used a modified version of this when speaking to Severus Snape, to prevent anyone around them from hearing their conversation.
Slowing Charm (Arresto Momentum): Charm which can be used to slow the velocity of an object or person. Used by Dumbledore to slow the speed of Harry’s fall during a Quidditch match.
Spell Nullification: Type of enchantment which can make an object or individual resistant to a specific type of magic. Used by Dumbledore to nullify the use of Unlocking Charms on the Hogwarts gates.
Teleportation Spell: Spell which can be used to teleport the target to a faraway location. Used by Dumbledore to teleport Harry’s luggage to the Burrow.
Trans-Species Transfiguration: Type of transfiguration which can be used to transmute an organism into another species. For example, Barty Crouch Jr. used one such spell to transfigure Draco Malfoy into a ferret. Dumbledore was so skilled in this that he wrote a notably impressive paper on the subject.
Vanishing Spell (Evanesco): Spell which can be used to erase things from existence by transfiguring them “into non-being”. Dumbledore has used this to vanish the hats of several enchanted skeletons, the container for the Goblet of Fire (22:00), several glasses of mead, and a snake created by Voldemort. It has been shown in secondary media that it is possible to vanish humans with this spell in a combat situation, as a girl was able to accidentally vanish her sister.
Wand-Lighting Charm (Lumos, Lumos Maxima, Lumos Solem, etc.): Spell which produces light from the end of the user’s wand. This can be amplified with several spell variants, producing large beams or pulses of light.
Spells & Other Magic (Extrapolated)
The following is a list of other spells demonstrated in the series, which Dumbledore himself has not explicitly shown, but should be capable of doing. As the most skilled and knowledgeable wizard in the world, it would be unreasonable to suggest that Dumbledore could not reasonably perform the vast majority (if not all) of the known spells, especially given his comparability to Voldemort, whose knowledge of magic is stated to exceed anyone else.
This list will be excluding spells that Dumbledore clearly shouldn’t be aware of, such as the ones invented by Snape, and specific magical abilities that require more than knowledge or skill to attain.
Anteoculatia: Dark charm which causes the target to spontaneously grow antlers.
Arrow-Shooting Spell: It’s a spell that shoots fuckin’ arrows, I dunno what to tell you.
Ascendio: Spell which ascends the target upward; can be used on oneself or on a different target.
Atmospheric Charms: Weather-modifying charm which can create small weather formations indoors, such as miniature storms.
Avifors Spell (Avifors): Spell which transfigures the target into birds.
Babbling Curse: Curse which causes the target to babble uncontrollably, which can be used to distract an opponent while dueling.
Banishing Charm (Depulso): Opposite of the Summoning Charm; a charm which launches the target away from the caster.
Bat-Bogey Hex: Hex which transfigures the target’s boogers into bats, and causes them to attack the target.
Bewitched Sleep: Spell which magically puts the target to sleep.
Bewitched Snowballs: Spell which causes enchanted snowballs to pelt the target relentlessly.
Blasting Curse (Confringo): Curse which blasts the target with an explosion.
Brachiabindo & Emancipare: Jinx which binds the target’s limbs with invisible chords, and counter-spell which nullifies this.
Bubble-Head Charm: Charm which creates an air bubble around the user’s head, providing them with a continuous supply of oxygen, allowing them to breathe in conditions where they would not be able to.
Cantis: Charm which causes the target to break out into song.
Cheering Charm: Charm which causes the target to feel elated, sometimes excessively so, to the point of causing uncontrollable fits of laughter that can last for an entire hour.
Conjunctivitis Curse: Spell which causes swelling in the target’s eyes; typically used to impair their vision, especially those such as giants or dragons, which have vulnerable eyes.
Curse of the Bogies (Mucus ad Nauseam): Spell which gives the victim a nasty cold and extremely runny nose, accompanied with constant sneezing.
Dancing Feet Spell (Tarantallegra): Spell which causes the target’s legs to go wildly out of control, making it look as though they are dancing. At one point, an improper use of this spell accidentally triggered the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
Deboning (Brackium Emendo): “Healing” magic which vanishes the target’s bones, leaving the affected area as a useless, floppy lump of flesh.
Densaugeo: Hex which causes the target’s teeth to grow uncontrollably, which will not stop until it is magically halted.
Deprimo: Spell which blasts a hole through the ground beneath one’s feet.
Descendo: Charm which causes objects to fall or move downward, which can be used to drop things on someone or to otherwise affect the environment.
Deterioration Hex: Hex which impairs foes and reduces their stamina.
Diminuendo: Charm which causes a target to shrink to a small size.
Disintegration Spell: Fatal spell which causes the person whom it hits to burst into tiny pieces, disintegrating. Used by Molly Weasley to kill Bellatrix Lestrange in the movies.
Doubling Charm (Geminio): Charm used to duplicate objects, creating an exact (albeit worthless) replica of the object that it is used on. Can also be used to cause an object to duplicate uncontrollably when touched.
Draconifors Spell (Draconifors): Spell which transfigures the target into a small dragon.
Drought Charm: Spell which can be used to dry up small sources of water, such as puddles and ponds.
Earth Spells: Magic which can be used to manipulate the earth, such as dirt and stone. The most powerful wizards can use this kind of magic to erupt mountains from the ground.
Ebublio Jinx (Ebublio): Jinx which traps the target within a large bubble. In the Goblet of Fire video game, can also be used to transfigure the target into bubbles.
Engorgement Charm (Engorgio): Charm which causes the target to grow or swell rapidly. Can affect living organisms, objects, oneself, and even things such as fire.
Engorgio Skullus: Dark charm which can be used to greatly swell the head of the target, at least by a factor of two.
Exploding Charm (Bombarda): Charm which causes the target to explode. Unlike the Blasting Curse, which takes the form of a projectile, this charm seems to directly detonate the target.
Expulso Curse (Expulso): Curse used to blast the target with great force.
Extinguishing Spell: Charm used to extinguish fire.
False Memory Spell: Spell which can implant false memories into the target; used by Voldemort for nefarious purposes, and by Hermione to place decades of false memories into her parents’ minds, giving them entirely new identities in mere moments.
Feather-Light Charm: Charm which makes heavy objects significantly lighter and easier to move.
Finger-Removing Jinx: Jinx which removes the target’s fingers.
Fire-Making Spells (Incendio, Lacarnum Inflamarae, etc.): Various spells which can produce fire and heat; can be modified for greater power or specific effects.
Flagrante Curse (Flagrante): Curse which causes objects to burn extremely hot when touched; typically used to discourage thieves.
Flintifors: Spell which transfigures the target into a matchbox.
Freezing Charm (Immobulus): Charm which immobilizes a target, preventing them from acting. Can also be used to make objects (such as an alarm system) stop functioning.
Freezing Spell (Glacius): Yeah, a Freezing Spell is a totally different thing than a Freezing Charm. Who knew? Spell which produces ice, either from thin air or by freezing already-existing water in the user’s vicinity.
Fur Spell: Spell which causes the target to become covered with fur.
General Counter-Spell (Finite, Finite Incantatem): Spell which nullifies spells and magic effects; can be used to stop individual spells, or as an AoE effect that can cover the area of an entire house, in order to hide the use of magic.
Gouging Spell (Defodio): Spell which carves chunks out of the target.
Hardening Charm (Duro): Charm which transfigures a target into solid stone.
Herbivicus Charm (Herbivicus): Charm which increases the growth rate of plants.
Impediment Jinx (Impedimenta): Spell which momentarily halts the target in place, stalling their movement for a few seconds.
Impervius Charm (Impervius): Charm which causes objects to repel water.
Incarcerous Spell (Incarcerous): Spell which conjures ropes which wrap around the target and bind them in place.
Inflating Charm: Charm which inflates the target, causing them to swell and float up into the air.
Insect Hex (Entomorphis): Dark charm which temporarily gives the target insect-like qualities, such as being unable to speak, growing feelers, and walking around on all fours.
Jelly-Brain Jinx: Jinx which temporarily reduces the mental capacity of the target.
Jelly-Legs Curse (Locomotor Wibbly): Curse which causes the victim’s legs to feel wobbly and collapse, as though they were made of jelly.
Knee-Reversal Hex: Causes the victim’s knees to reverse direction, pointing backward instead of forward.
Knockback Jinx (FLIPENDO!): Jinx which knocks the target backward. Very exciting.
Lapifors: Spell which transfigures the target into a rabbit.
Levitation Charm (Wingardium Leviosa): It’s Le-vi-OH-sa, not Le-vi-oh-SA. Charm which levitates objects into the air.
Locomotor Mortis: Curse which binds the legs of the target together.
Melofors: Spell which encases the target’s head with a large pumpkin… yes, really.
Memory Charm (Obliviate): Spell which erases the memories of its target; capable of fully wiping a person’s mind and leaving them permanently hospitalized, as it did to Gilderoy Lockhart.
Meteolojinx Recanto: Counter-charm which can be used to nullify the effects of Weather-Modifying Charms, returning the weather to its natural state.
Muggle-Repelling Charm (Repello Muggletum): Charm used to prevent Muggles from entering or seeing an area, via illusions and manipulating their mind to alter their movements.
Oscausi: Dark charm used to seal a person’s mouth by covering it with skin. Would be a perfect tool for all your friendly neighborhood Illuminati murderers.
Pimple Jinx (Furnunculus): Jinx which causes a person’s skin to break out into severe boils.
Piscifors: Spell which transfigures the target into a fish.
Pus-Squirting Hex: The single nastiest-named spell in this entire franchise; causes pus to squirt from the victim’s nose… because reasons.
Reductor Curse (Reducto): Blasts objects or targets into pieces; capable of reducing the target to mist or ashes when sufficiently powerful.
Repello Inimicum: Spell which, when cast in conjunction with a barrier spell, can cause anyone who attempts to pass through the barrier to be incinerated (50:42).
Revelio Charm (Revelio): Charm which can reveal concealed things or remove magical disguises, as well as reveal hidden writing or markings. Has a variety of applications, but basically any time a wizard wants to “reveal” something that can’t be seen, they will use this spell.
Revulsion Jinx (Relashio): Jinx which forces the target to release its grip on whatever it is holding. Different from a Disarming Charm in that it can be used on objects, such as chains.
Sardine Spell: Dark charm which causes the victim to sneeze sardines.
Sea Urchin Jinx: Causes spikes to erupt all over the victim’s body as though they are turning into a sea urchin, causing them extreme discomfort.
Seize-and-Pull Charm (Carpe Retractum): Charm which produces a chord of light from the user’s wand, which can be used to pull objects toward the caster, or to pull the caster toward the object.
Severing Charm (Diffindo): Spell which can be used to cut/tear/slice objects.
Shrinking Charm (Reducio): Charm which causes the target to shrink; stated to be capable of reducing something down to microscopic size. Can be used on oneself, to shrink down until you are too small to see.
Slugulus Eructo: Spell that causes the target to start vomiting up slugs.
Smokescreen Spell (Fumos): Charm which creates a defensive cloud of smoke that decreases visibility; hinders the opponent’s aim and allows the caster to remain unseen.
Snake Summoning Spell (Serpensortia): Spell which conjures a snake to attack the opponent.
Softening Charm (Spongify): Charm which softens objects, making them rubbery and bouncy.
Sonorous Charm: Not to be confused with Sonorus, the incantation for the Amplifying Charm. This is totally different, just stupidly-named. Emits a loud noise from the user’s wand which can disrupt things in its path and harm opponents.
Sponge-Knees Curse: Curse which makes the target’s knees feel spongy, making it difficult for them to stand. Those of you who are paying attention might be thinking, “what makes this different from the Jelly-Legs Jinx?”, and the answer is… uh, nothing, they’re basically the same thing. But different. I guess.
Star-Shower Spell (Stella Cascadia): Spell which causes over a hundred small meteors to rain down in the caster’s vicinity.
Sternius: Dark charm which causes the target to sneeze uncontrollably.
Stickfast Hex (Colloshoo): Hex which sticks the target’s shoes to the ground, leaving them unable to move.
Stinging Jinx: Jinx which stings the target’s skin, causing them to swell up dramatically.
Stunning Spell (Stupefy): Spell which knocks the target unconscious, though is ineffective against a sufficiently durable target, such as a dragon or half-giant.
Summoning Charm (Accio): Spell which summons a desired object to the user, pulling it toward them at high speeds, potentially near that of light, if certain statements are to be believed.
Supersensory Charm: Charm which enhances the user’s senses, granting them some kind of 360-degree awareness, to the point where they would be able to drive a car without needing mirrors.
Surgito: Counter-charm which removes an enchantment placed on the target; has been used to break a person out of mind control.
Switching Spell: Spell used to switch the position of two objects, by simultaneously transfiguring them both into one another.
Tempest Jinx: Atmospheric jinx which conjures bolts of lightning from the sky, to strike the target.
Tongue-Tying Curse (Mimblewimble): Curse which ties the victim’s tongue into a knot.
Trip Jinx: Jinx which causes the target to trip and fall.
Unlocking Charm (Alohomora): Charm which unlocks doors and other locked things.
Water-Making Spell (Aguamenti, Aqua Eructo, etc.): Spell which produces water from the user’s wand; can be modified to produce larger amounts of water or manipulate the water in certain trajectories.
Weather-Modifying Charms: Charms which modify the weather; can be used to create things like thunderstorms, blizzards, and tornadoes.
Windy Spell (Ventus): Spell which produces a jet of powerful wind from the end of the victim’s wand.
Dark Magic
The following is a short list of extremely dark magic that Dumbledore could potentially be able to use, but would not use in-character. It has been stated that his morals are the only thing keeping him from having all the same powers as Voldemort, indicating that he would be capable of using such spells. Additionally, it has been indicated that he would at minimum be capable of using the Killing Curse, as Snape at one point believed that Dumbledore was going to kill him with it (though, obviously, he would never do so in-character).
Cruciatus Curse (Crucio): Unforgivable Curse which tortures the target with excruciating pain, which only ends when the caster cancels the spell. Has been known to drive the victim to insanity after extended use, though requires from the user an intense desire to cause pain, and thus is difficult for good people to use, even while bloodlusted.
Entrail-Expelling Curse: A spell which has only been mentioned and not elaborated on, but presumably causes the target’s entrails to be magically expelled from their body.
Fiendfyre: Cursed, enchanted flames which can rage out of control and grow to immense size, consuming everything in its vicinity and taking the form of giant flame monsters. Capable of destroying that which it consumes beyond any magical repair, making it one of the only methods capable of destroying a Horcrux.
Imperius Curse (Imperio): Unforgivable Curse with which the user can gain full mental control over the target, forcing them to do whatever the caster desires. That said, an opponent with sufficient constitution can resist it.
Killing Curse (Avada Kedavra): Unforgivable Curse which bypasses durability and instantly induces supernatural death onto any target that it hits, without physically harming them. Cannot be blocked with magic, though it has bounced off of physical obstacles. In-universe, can only be resisted through an act of love from another person, or other types of specific blood-related magic. Does not affect the soul at all, which is consistent with how death in the verse works in general.
Mutatio Skullus: Curse which causes the victim to mutate an extra skull.
Feats
Overall
Widely considered to be the greatest sorcerer in the world
Defeated Grindelwald in their legendary duel
Founded the Order of the Phoenix, and led them in two Wizarding Wars
Received Order of Merlin, First Class
Discovered the twelve uses of dragon’s blood
Worked on alchemy with Nicolas Flamel
Defeated Credence Barebone with minimal difficulty
Easily knocked out and apprehended Barty Crouch Jr.
Overwhelmed Voldemort in their fight and forced him to retreat
Has possessed all three Deathly Hallows
Orchestrated Voldemort’s final defeat over the course of several decades
Strength
Creates a mirror dimension as large as Berlin (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore)
Creates a large torrent of fire while heavily weakened (Half-Blood Prince book & movie)
Covers London with a sheet of fog (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald)
Creates and levitates a large sphere of water (Order of the Phoenix book & movie)
Creates an explosion larger than one of Hogwarts’ towers (Order of the Phoenix Wii game)
SCALING
Voldemort destroys the large forcefield around Hogwarts (Deathly Hallows Pt 2 movie)
Voldemort charges a storm cloud with a lightning bolt (Deathly Hallows Pt 1 movie)
Voldemort shatters a large part of Azkaban (Order of the Phoenix movie)
Voldemort creates a tremor that shakes Hogwarts from his location in the Shrieking Shack (Deathly Hallows book)
Voldemort splits the Brockdale Bridge in half (Half-Blood Prince book)
Voldemort creates a large shockwave in his fight with Dumbledore (Order of the Phoenix movie)
The fire from Grindelwald’s Protego Diabolica was powerful enough to destroy all of Paris over time (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald)
Grindelwald covers an entire city with silk banners (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald)
Credence shatters part of a skyscraper (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)
Credence destroys part of a mountainside (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald)
The movie’s original screenplay simply says that he destroyed the mountain
Credence breaks apart buildings in his fight with Dumbledore (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore)
Harry freezes a large amount of running water (Prisoner of Azkaban PC game)
Peter Pettigrew creates an explosion that caused a large crater (Prisoner of Azkaban book)
Crabbe’s Fiendfyre destroys the Room of Hidden Things (Deathly Hallows book and movie)
Hufflepuff’s Cup floods the Chamber of Secrets (Deathly Hallows Part 2 movie and game)
Thunderbird summons a storm over New York (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)
Wizard calls down a “great storm” from the sky, and another wizard blows it away with a cyclone (Wonderbook: Book of Spells)
Wizard nearly causes a mountain to erupt from the ground (Wonderbook: Book of Spells)
Magic book creates a pocket space which contains mountains (Wonderbook: Book of Spells)
Student causes a blizzard around Hogwarts (Hogwarts Mystery)
Two students cause over a hundred small meteors to rain down on a courtyard (Hogwarts Mystery)
Two students vaporize large ice spikes (Hogwarts Mystery)
Archibald Alderton blows up a hamlet by accident (Philosopher’s Stone GBC game)
Tempest Jinx can conjure storms (Prisoner of Azkaban GBA game)
Zaccaria Innocenti triggers the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius (Harry Potter Official Website)
Speed
Draws his wand so fast that Harry could barely see it (Half-Blood Prince book)
Noted to have the agility of a much younger man, even while literally dying (Half-Blood Prince book)
Apparition is fast enough to take him from Scotland to near London in seconds (Half-Blood Prince movie)
SCALING
Voldemort flies from Nurmengard Prison (in Austria) to the English Channel in a short time-frame (Deathly Hallows book)
Grindelwald is fast enough to tag people mid-Apparition (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald)
Harry flies his Firebolt far away from Hogwarts at high speed (Prisoner of Azkaban movie)
Credence crosses Manhattan at high speed (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)
Aurors evade lightning (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald)
Wizard dodges consecutive lightning bolts (Wonderbook: Book of Spells)
Cedric Diggory and other characters move slightly in tandem with lightning during a Quidditch match (Prisoner of Azkaban movie)
Student wizard dodges bolts of natural lightning (Magic Awakened)
Video of this is dead and there don’t seem to be any others available, so still images will have to do for now
Ron and other characters move in tandem with beams of light (Prisoner of Azkaban PS2 game)
Various characters have reacted to objects summoned with Accio, which potentially pulls things at near-light speed (Various books & movies)
Durability
Wizards fairly commonly survive spells from each other, suggesting their durability to be somewhat relative to their output. That being said, this is arguably inconsistent narratively and would not apply to the highest-end feats, as top tier characters like Dumbledore and Voldemort have never directly taken hits from one another.
Wizards are naturally more resilient than Muggles (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)
Tanks his own tower-sized explosion (Order of the Phoenix Wii game)
SCALING
Peter Pettigrew survives his own explosion, which caused a large crater (Prisoner of Azkaban book)
Wizards of unknown proximity survive an explosion that destroys the Roman Colosseum (Wonderbook: Book of Spells)
Weaknesses
Physically an unimposing fighter; largely reliant on magical abilities in combat
Various spells have specific limitations or drawbacks depending on the skill of the caster, though Dumbledore’s inordinate capability makes this less of an issue
Wow, this was really comprehensive. Good job. Between the speed feats you mentioned here and JK Rowling stating that summoning objects with Accio spell pulls things towards the magic user at "close to the speed of light", it seems like there is a pretty consistent presidence for sub-light/relativistic Harry Potter.
ReplyDeleteRIP Edward Elric. 💀
Also, does this blog mean you'll be doing a battle featuring Dumbledore in the near future? Because if he's fighting Gandalf, that would suck considering both me and my friend CrowMVP/ThatCorvidOnTwitter are big supporters of Gandalf vs Raiden from Mortal Kombat.