The main driving force of the Harry Potter films may be the franchise’s titular protagonist, but the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore, is a close second. His machinations led to the inevitable downfall of Lord Voldemort during the final battle of the Second Wizarding War. However, people often forget that even though Dumbledore was a living legend, he was also an ordinary man with a point of origin, including a family. During the events of the Harry Potter films, Dumbledore actually receives assistance from his younger brother, Aberforth, in some of his missions.

Even after Dumbledore dies, Aberforth continues to assist those his brother cared about. Considering that Aberforth did not have a good relationship with his brother for most of their life, it demonstrates the power of love and family, as well as Aberforth’s courage to do the right thing. Were it not for Albus’ oft-forgotten brother, Harry might have never defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort.

Aberforth Dumbledore Preferred to Remain Anonymous

One thing readers notice right away is how little Aberforth stands out. When Aberforth Dumbledore is first encountered in the Harry Potter books, he is described as the grungy-looking owner of the Hog’s Head Inn — a much grimier pub than Hogsmeade’s other dining establishment, the Three Broomsticks. However, regardless of the run-down nature of the Hog’s Head Inn, Aberforth provided a safe place for Harry and his friends during their fifth year when they planned to form a group to combat the tyrannical rule of Dolores Umbridge.

Later, during Harry’s sixth year, Aberforth acquired some magical items — including one-half of a magical mirror — that Mundungus Fletcher had stolen from the deceased Sirius Black. This would later become significant, as Harry acquired the other half of the mirror that Aberforth had purchased, giving the younger Dumbledore brother a way to check in on Harry during difficult times. Still, Harry paid little attention to the strange man who had provided shelter for his friends last year and who now seemed to be buying items that belonged to his beloved, late godfather.

Throughout it all, Aberforth kept a low profile. He worked in a disreputable place and barely interacted with people, even if he did oppose Voldemort both times that the Dark Lord rose to power. In general, Aberforth knew how important it was to defeat Voldemort, but because of his complex relationship with his brother — the most well-known wizard of the modern era — the younger Dumbledore brother preferred to keep to himself.

The Cause of Aberforth’s Rift With Albus

Though the Dumbledore brothers were of an advanced age by the time of the Harry Potter books, the issues between them had been persisting since their late childhoods. The fallout between Albus and Aberforth centered around the fate of their younger sister, Ariana Dumbledore. When she was six, Ariana was attacked by a group of muggle boys who saw her performing magic. The assault traumatized Ariana, leading her to internalize her magic and transforming her into an obscurial — a being whose magic would manifest in dangerous and chaotic ways. Aberforth’s father attacked the muggles in retaliation and was sent to Azkaban Prison for his crime, where he later died.

This left Aberforth and his mother to look after Ariana, who grew increasingly unstable. Tragically, Ariana’s uncontrollable magic would later accidentally kill their mother, but Aberforth never blamed her for any of this. He loved Ariana more than anyone else in their family and was willing to leave his education at Hogwarts to care for her, but was prevented from doing so by Albus, beginning the first hints of resentment towards his older brother, exacerbated by the fact that Albus did not wish to look after Ariana and was angry that his own plans had been put on hold because of his sister’s ailment.

By that point, Albus had met and befriended the young dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald, and the two began conspiring to find the Deathly Hallows and lead a revolution to conquer the muggle world. Aberforth learned about these plans and was disgusted. He confronted Albus, yelling that he could not be a leader of wizardkind when he was so neglectful of his own family. Albus would later admit that his brother’s words brought him back to reality, but Grindelwald was furious and attacked Aberforth. This triggered a three-way duel between Aberforth, Albus, and Grindelwald, resulting in the tragic death of Ariana when a stray curse struck her. Both Dumbledore brothers were heartbroken by what had happened, but Aberforth blamed Albus for the loss of their sister, cementing the rift between them.

Aberforth’s Contributions to the Battle of Hogwarts

Albus and Aberforth’s traumatic past is key to understanding their actions in Harry Potter. Though the younger Dumbledore resented his older brother, he kept an eye on the Hogwarts Headmaster, perhaps to maintain some link to the last of his family. After Albus’ death, Aberforth kept an eye on Harry as the young man traveled around England to find and destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes. On one occasion, he even sent Dobby the House Elf to save the Harry, Hermoine, and Ron from Malfoy Manor.

Aberforth then provided shelter for Harry and his friends when they returned to Hogwarts, revealing that the students hiding from the new regime running the school had been accessing his pub for food and water through a secret tunnel to the room of requirement. He was initially dismissive of Harry’s attempts to stop Voldemort, believing that Dumbledore should never have given him such a task when he was so unprepared for it, but his heart softened when Harry revealed the full extent of Dumbledore’s grief over the damage his early decisions did to their family. Harry’s sincerity finally enabled Aberforth to forgive his brother, prompting him to give Harry access to the tunnel back to Hogwarts.

This same tunnel would be used to evacuate the students from the castle before the battle began, and Aberforth himself entered Hogwarts to participate. Aberforth fought bravely alongside the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix and was there to witness the death of Voldemort. After the battle, Aberforth returned to his life of isolation in the Hog’s Head Inn, though he had acquired some measure of peace following the war, managing to let go of his resentment towards his older brother.

Regardless of how a lifelong grudge may have affected his life, Aberforth proved that his courage, loyalty, and love never wavered. He always did the right thing, even when it meant interacting with someone he blamed for the most horrific moment of his life. In a lot of ways, his story is concrete proof that love is the most powerful magic of all, as it enabled Harry to get exactly to the place he needed to be for the final battle.