The REAL Reason Dumbledore Knows Everything - DARK Harry Potter Theory

Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today we’re going to be discussing ALBUS DUMBLEDORE and a theory about how he always seemed to maintain some level of control.

First things first, Dumbledore is unquestionably one of the most powerful and INTELLIGENT wizards to have ever lived. While at school, Dumbledore’s magical abilities consistently turned heads, particularly his skills surrounding charms and transfiguration. He also did exceptionally well on his N.E.W.T.S and O.W.L’s. Griselda Marchbanks, a professor working for the Wizarding Examinations Authority, remarked that Albus was able to do things with a wand that ‘she had never seen before’ - remember that.

He was remarkably wise, cunning, tactical and even emotionally intelligent.

But while Dumbledore may very well be all of these things, the series sometimes portrayed him to be practically omniscient. So much so, that it’s even remarked upon by other characters:

“You are omniscient as ever, Dumbledore." "oh, no, merely friendly with the local barman”

And while this may have been a somewhat playful comment on Dumbledore’s behalf, I think that there may actually be some pointers in the story that help to explain Dumbledore’s seemingly all-knowing perspective.

Dumbledore (throughout the books) just seems to give off an overwhelming ‘feeling’ that he KNOWS what’s going on around him at all times.

What gives?

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[dis-topia]

Im just imagining all these dark wizards going around with black cloaks, scary wands, deadly potions frog cards

[JohnSmith-nnyk]

I honestly think Dumbledore uses a very low level/powered legilimens on everyone he encounters and while he doesn't delve deep because he has so much experience and is frighteningly intelligent so what ever fleeting images or feelings he senses he can then extrapolate from there.

[nafemurray]

While you may be right, I think it was more the deluminator. Just like Ron heard Hermione when she said his name, Dumbledore was one of the most talked about figures of the day. He would have been able to find out alot of things by purely listening to it.

[jkrause]

I was certain that like any good general, Dumbledore would have his network of spies, even many more than just Mundungus Fletcher & Severus Snape. And so the use of the chocolate frog card is quite brilliant. Whether Dumbledore was a puppet master or, a completely reformed and altruistic wizard doesn't interest me. For me, he simply out generaled Tom Riddle at every turn.

[johnlipinski]

Tbh i think its crazy how things like Harry Potter end but the lore continues. Things like HP, LoTR, even H.P Lovecraft. It truely shows how genius the authors are and how well the world building is.

[michellechouinard]

Dumbledore saw the world as a chess board, and every person was a piece on that chessboard... including HIMSELF. He sacrificed himself to save Draco, and to ensure that Snape would be Voldemort's favorite so the deception could continue. He made some very hard decisions that probably haunted him - but they were necessary decisions. You may remember the slogan "For the Greater Good" that Grindelwald was known for. I do not think Dumbledore stopped believing in this slogan. I think that he fully believed the ends justified the means, as long as the ends were "for the greater good." His perception of WHAT was good changed greatly after the death of his sister, of course. I do believe he was kind, that he had noble intentions, but... his morality was questionable. Is it moral to force one's friend to commit murder and tear his soul apart, if it's for the greater good, for example? He used Severus - honestly, it's very sad because Severus never had a single friend except Lily who cared about him unconditionally - and he used Harry, sending him to what could have been his death - and who knows how many other people in order to end Voldemort.
Dumbledore would DEFINITELY have done this, if he could do so without anyone figuring it out. I think he would have believed that the ends justified the means: that the questionable morality of spying on people was nothing compared to the protection he provided the wizarding world, by staying in the know.

[SaniSensei]

I think whenever he doesn't know something, he's just really god at winging it. Mostly due to 100+ years of experience.

[BjornV]

It is plausable and one of the few Dumbledore theories I actually find very believable and compelling. And yes, I believe that Dumbledore never abandoned the philosophy of "for the greater good". I think for Dumbledore, the End did always justified the means, though with age and experience, he had a more noble view of what this End is supposed to be. So this isn't something out of character for him I believe, it was possible.

[grec.]

Brilliant!
The way I started smiling and nodding in that part: "Harry could not understand how the Dumbledore in the chocolate frog's card could not stay there all the time" because I immediately saw it in my head; that Albus used these chocolate frog cards the same way magic portraits work. Because I saw the genius behind this theory and I'm all here for it. Now I want this to be canon so bad. Haha.

[michaelmaki]

He probably doesn’t need it but I could easily see him using more normal portraits transfigured into chocolate frog cards to do dedicated spying on important people and positions. I disagree with wizards seeing this as an invasion of privacy since basically everyone knows Wizarding portraits of all kinds do this. The only ones that are bound to their frames are photographs. This is something every young witch and Wizard is instructed and conditioned to so I would dare say that most witches and wizards fully consider the loyalty of local portraiture when having secret rendezvous. The advantage of the Chocolate Frog Card Spy’s, being that you can tuck them away out of sight and if found they are found they are not considered significant in the moment it takes to throw them away, so Dumbledore Can tuck his Spycards into closets and corners that politicians normally gather in and hopefully be included inside any muffling or secrecy charms. The cards are small enough to not be found on any casual search and any in-depth search would find cards either empty or playing bumbling Dumbledore, charming old doger. The most valuable thing a spy can do is not be discovered as a spy.

[corbingarrett]

I've always thought it was a little bit of everything. I think the chocolate frog cards are a good theory if maybe not confirmed, but also like you said Dumbledore didn't need the chocolate frog cards to see what was going on in the ministry or in st mungos, he already had the other headmasters portraits for that. Plus all the information passed to him from the order of the phoenix and other witches and wizards that were loyal to him, plus all the other portraits in Hogwarts, and the ghosts and teachers of Hogwarts. Dumbledore had way more than just chocolate frog cards to give him information.

[richewilson]

Yeah I can see him planting some of these cards in people's homes in some way in some shape or form that he can eavesdrop on them easily.
Also he mentions how Voldemort does not acknowledge candy or anything whimsical in the wizarding world so that would stand that he used this as one of his secret ways of undermining Voldemort.

[OdFrosty]

I’m sure this will get lost in all the other comments but here’s my theory of why Dumbledore has so much knowledge on the future. As we’ve seen in the 3rd Fantastic Beasts film, the Chillen (sorry if spelled wrong) gave people the ability to see the future. What I think is that when we see Newt on the Marauders map that was him bringing the Chillen for Dumbledore to use. We also know that Dumbledore was chosen specifically by the Chillen.

[Corlock]

Honestly, I always saw the chocolate from cards as something akin to the coins given to members of Dumbledore's Army. A means of communication between members of the Order if the Pheonix. And a means of communication they could obtain relatively easily if they ever lose it. Just buy a handful of chocolate frogs, you're sure to get a Dumbledore card, they're very common after all. I'm not sure I see it as all that useful for a spy network, as I think the chocolate frog cards are a lot like baseball cards. Everyone collects them as kids, but they lose them, throw them out, or otherwise get rid of them as they get older. If anyone does collect them into adulthood, they're likely kept stored away. And given that Dumbledore's card is common, it's unlikely to be given pride of place in a collection. So, I don't think his portraits are likely to be in a position to overhear important information. But I could definitely see them as a guaranteed method of hidden communication for members of the Order.

[someonlinedouche]

Yeah this is a big fat no. I see how it can be plausible, but that it's EXTREMELY unlikely. The amount of coincidence that he'd get valuable information is highly unlikely and highly impractical to get information this way. Portraits are one thing, but it's not at all possible, in my opinion. He has eyes and ears everywhere. He's had a lifetime of experience, and he's smart. He knew people and how they worked. Dumbledore may appear omniscient, but he knew how people worked.

[LyleFrancisDelp]

Harry said it himself at the end of Philosopher's think Dumbledore pretty much knows everything that goes on around here.

For all practical purposes, that's Rowling talking through Harry. We can assume that DD is manipulating the whole series.

[viewatyourownrisk]

A key facet to this theory that could be added.

Those cards could be dropped at locations of interest. If found, they would be an innocuous "chocolate frog card" and likely disregarded as noteworthy.

[Mr.Glidehook]

It makes sense. Like all people of magic, in even the oldest lore, there's always a dark side. As Sirius once told Harry, "...besides, the world is not made up of Death Eaters and...We've all got dark and light inside us." Literature is full of powerful people and creatures, many of which never acted any one way exclusively. Myths were often terrifying tales of warning, not just to entertain but also to teach. For example, in the first Doctor Strange movie, the powerful Ancient One was using both dark and light, and she was called on it, accused of being a hypocrite. I think we all like a bit of nastiness in our heroes; they're more realistic that way. Dumbledore was never going to be any different. He couldn't be. For the greater good, he crossed any line he had to, and by consulting a centaur and Sybil Trelawney, he had to have become somewhat skilled himself in seeing ahead. He needed a spy network, but the cards were only part of it, and as you pointed out, those were limited. Consider that anyone close to Nicholas Flammel had already been around many powerful people, including influential Muggles. The latter less so, but he knew his way around. In other words, and because he was so protective of the magical world that he used every trick he could to protect Harry and everyone else to do it. Some methods had to be questionable, and I think it unlikely that even his closest associates knew everything he could do. Except, perhaps, for Moody and McConagall. I suspect that she had secrets nobody can ever know. Albus was a good man, but never above cheating when it was for the best.

[theafaith]

Never thought of this but it definitely sounds like him. He may have had some kind of built-in "alert" when a card fell into certain hands, rather than spying on the general population.

[NightBane]

I can easily imagine someone as Dumbledore using cards for such purposes, and even somehow manipulated the makers of the cards to do this effect.
If he's willing to sacrifice people to defeat someone, then ain't so unlikely for him to do such a breach of privacy