Why Didn't Dumbledore Just HUNT Voldemort Down? - Harry Potter Theory

Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today we’re discussing Voldemort, Dumbledore, and one rather large question that I’m sure has crossed the minds of every Harry Potter fan at one point or another: Why didn’t Dumbledore just HUNT Voldemort down?

I know I know, it’s not that simple. Logistically this subject is..Precarious to say the least. But, just for a moment let’s pretend that Dumbledore decided to set off in search of Voldemort and simply killed the tyrannical dark wizard- effectively stopping him in his tracks. And if not KILL him, couldn’t he have imprisoned him in the same way that he imprisoned Grindelwald?

In the event of EITHER of these situations, what would have happened next? Would this have been any kind of a permanent solution? And of course the big one: is this situation even a feasible one? Join me as we unpack the question of why on earth Dumbledore FAILED to defeat Voldemort all by himself- instead relying on the fabled ‘Boy who lived’.

Let’s dive in.

The first thing that I want to reinforce is that Dumbledore was, unquestionably, one of the most powerful wizards in the Harry Potter universe.

From an extremely young age 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 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’.

In his youth, Dumbledore also spent much of his time with Gellert Grindelwald, another one of the wizarding world’s most powerful wizards. By association, it’s likely that the two boys skillsets merged to some extent- resulting in each wizard achieving a greater level of power than what would have been independently possible.

As Dumbledore grew older, he left no stone unturned when it came to magical abilities- becoming a master of transfiguration, charms, potions, elemental magic, occlumency, and more.

Dumbledore is truly the exception to the phrase ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ - as he was a master of all.

So if Dumbledore was SO powerful, what was stopping him from tracking Voldemort down and overpowering him, putting an end to the dark lord’s reign?

Well, there are a number of reasons.

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[HarryPotterTheory]

Thanks for watching folks! Check out my last 3 videos as well!:

[unLUCKY]

I mean, by learning everything he could about Voldemort and looking for the horcruxes he was essentially hunting him down, wasn't he?

[khushvendrasingh]

Dumbledore didnt hunt down Voldemort so Harry could earn 10 billion dollars worldwide hunting him

[amadhatter]

Why didn't Dumbledore go after Voldemort?
1) It would've been difficult to locate Voldemort so while he was searching blindly Voldemort could just go to Hogwarts & hold the students hostage.
2) While Dumbledore suspected Riddle created a Horcrux (or serveal) he wasn't 100% sure without Slughorn's true memory. In the books when the finally see the true memory (and confirmation Riddle created serveal Horcruxes) he then takes action to go after the Locket.
3) Just a bit of guess work on my part, but maybe Dumbledore felt responseable for Tom not growing up the right way. He saw the signs & choose not to act on it (just like with grindelwald). Maybe he felt that he'd just make things worse if he tried to play hero because he's made so many mistakes that lead to misery that he has some form of PTSD. Again not saying its true just some theory crafting.

[abelnicolaebaritone]

I mean... it was not that simple.

Voldemort wasn't just your ordinary villain that just wanted to control everything or see the world burn. He was more of a Thanos kind of villain. His theory was solid and it went something like this:

"Muggles have been killing us for centuries, burned us on stakes, envied us for our knowledge and in the end, hunted us to the point where we had to go into hiding forever. So much so, that we are now literally a victorian outdated relic. Aditionally, they don't use pitchforks and torches anymore. They pride themselves on their technology and firearms. If they wanted, they could obliterate us with a few bombs. All of this just because we had a gift they did not undrestand. Now... you want to allow the Ministry to teach magic to muggles and let them mix with us? Sure, be my guest. We'll end up being extinct in less than 10 years."

And this convinced a lot of people. Had Dumbledore killed him, it would've turned him into a martir. People had to see the horrors of his ideas first hand and understand he was just a nazi-ish xenophobe, hungry for power and he cared for nobody else than for himself. His ideas had to die with him... otherwise, the next Slytherin with racist tendencies would've been just arround the corner.

[danshaw]

Imo it makes sense, Dumbledore knew Voldemort was powerful but he was largely in the dark about just how powerful, so he tried to study him and play the long game rather than risk defeat. I think some people in the comments forget just how powerful Voldemort was. Dumbledore wasn’t scared of him as such but he was very aware that if there was anyone who could potentially defeat him it was Voldemort. Even if Voldemort never reached Dumbledores power - he certainly got close.

[RigoOXx]

Dumbles did not seek a direct fight with Voldy, because there was no good that could come out of it. Dumbledore couldn't kill Voldemort, because of the Horcruxes and possibly the prophecy too, so trying to kill him was not an option. And imprisoning him was next to impossible, because if Voldy saw himself losing, he'd just flee the scene. And even if he managed to get him in jail, the Death Eaters would get him out Dumbledore would pretty much have to guard him personally, which is just dumb for a lot of reasons.
So, there was not best case scenario. And the worst case scenario was that Dumbledore was killed, which not only leaves the world unprotected, but also gives Voldemort the Elder Wand.

And this is just regarding a duel. Add the trouble to locate Voldemort, the risk of leaving Hogwarts for too long, and a loooong list of etceteras... and it's just not worth a try.

[marielaveau]

I think that Voldemort himself was not keen to duel with Dumbledore. He was known to be scared of Dumbledore and never sought a fight with Dumbledore till he was forced into it at the ministry. And during that duel, Dumbledores main goal was to keep Voldemort in the ministry long enough to have ministry officials see him.

[robertmckenna]

Another reason that Albus Dumbledore didn’t go looking for Voldemort is that he didn’t want to risk the chance that he could be overmatched and defeated. Doing so would put the mastery of the Elder Wand at risk. Something he was certain the Dark Lord was interested in possessing.
Dumbledore knew from experience that the Elder Wand was not unbeatable, nor did it guarantee victory. The possibility of both himself dead and Voldemort in full possession of the Death Stick was not a risk I believe Albus was willing to take.

[hunterkiller]

Dumbledore: My schedule is completely full. Too many complaining parents.

[fenrirjs]

Dumbledore's age was also called into question as well during the series. While his mind was still clear and quick, his body no doubt had degraded from an extraordinarily long life of well over 100 years. And while being a wizard may have saved him from some of the drawbacks of age, I doubt it blocked all. Being light of foot and having stamina seems to play a part in wizarding battles. While Dumbledore may have to slog through a mountain of Death Eaters to get after The Dark Lord, Voldemort, on the other hand, is fresh out of the grave and ready for the smoke.

[hellalive]

Because ‘Harry Potter and the boring year at school while the Headmaster fixes everything’ doesn’t make billions

[jbreezy]

After the prophecy I understood why dumbledore chose not to seek out voldy. Before it it might be because he is better off protecting others or that he should not go after Voldemort after the duel or that Voldemort would not be defeated.

[Barboron]

'You flatter me.' Dumbledore said calmly

[rhueoflandorin]

I always thought it was because the prophecy named Harry as the only one with the power to vanquish the dark lord---the only person who stood a chance of defeating Voldemort, and thus Dumbledore knew it was not his own destiny to destroy Voldemort, but instead, Harry's....So he sought instead to protect, teach, guide and ...well...manipulate harry into the path that would best-ensure he had the tools and the will power and selflessness needed to defeat voldemort once and for all...

[pratikvora]

It's such a beautiful thing that Harry always aspired to be like Dumbledore and Dumbledore wished he was more like Harry!

[Zeke_O]

Dumbledore did go after Voldemort for years, amassing more knowledge about Riddle than anyone else. He was searching for all of his Horcruxes which would’ve been the only way to beat him.

It also meant that, at some point, Albus would have to let Riddle “kill” Harry to remove that last horcrux.

Had Dumbledore not been cursed with the ring, he would’ve probably helped Harry destroy the remaining horcruxes before going after Voldy.

This is strategic genius at its best, rather than running in all smashy-smashy like a Marvel movie.

Lastly, Dumbledore could not have imprisoned Voldemort successfully. Grindelwald had lost all of his followers when he was imprisoned. Do you really think Death Eaters wouldn’t have broken him out, specially with Dementors on their side?

Dumbledore had the plan he had, because that was the only plan that would’ve worked permanently.

[someonlinedouche]

Dumbledore was never alone. He had competent people who worked with him. He could have done a lot more before Voldemort ever returned from his first death but he didn't. One of Dumbledore's greatest problems is he always kept his suspicions and ideas to himself. He never tried to get help from his friends and allies. All the deaths of the Second War need not happen. His own issues were not needing to hunt Voldemort down but putting a stop to how he became immortal.

[darchangel]

1:50 it was said of Dumbledore and Grindelwald that they pushed each other constantly to new heights, each drawing out from the other only the finest and best of their power (paraphrased)

[Zdahszdahs]

He was protecting Harry as he had already heard the prophecy & knew the only way to defeat Voldermort. He didn't know why but trusted in it. Later being proven right as he found out about the Horcruxes.