Order of the Phoenix - book 7 ---Spoiler---

[Fortescue]

I found this remark in the interview JKR did with the HBP Cub Reporters and thought it interesting:


Samatha Scattergood for Waterstones - Which is your favourite member of the Order of the Phoenix?

JK Rowling: I keep killing all my favourite members of the Order of the Phoenix, but there is one member of the Order of the Phoenix that you have not yet met properly and you will ** well, you know that they are a member, but you haven't really met them properly yet and you will meet them in seven, so I am looking forward to that.


I can only assume this person is going to be Aberforth Dumbledore. It coud be now that Albus is gone, Aberforth's secret role in the Order of the Phoenix is brought up and he becomes a mentor to Harry.

Any thoughts?

[Tonks]

Yeah, I thought of Aberforth too, but there are some other Order members we have met but don't really know so well.. The ones I can think of off the top of my head are Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Doge, Sturgis Podmore, and Hestia Jones. These four members were all part of Harry's Advance Guard who came to pick him up at the Dursley's in OotP (along with Emmeline Vance, but she's already dead :()

See, to me Aberforth seems a bit irresponsible... and kind of dirty - :o but was obviously loyal to his brother and the Order. I sorta wonder if this will continue now that his brother has died..

[Finnegan]

See, to me Aberforth seems a bit irresponsible... and kind of dirty - :o but was obviously loyal to his brother and the Order. I sorta wonder if this will continue now that his brother has died..

Well, his brother wore really silly clothes and made rather pointless speeches, didn't he? But then, he was a Manipulative-Scheming-B******, which should explain the boots ... ;) In any case, I doubt that Aberforth is the kind of book that you should judge by its cover - he seems to play it down so much that there's got to be more to him. Because while it might seem ironic that Albus Dumbledore's brother is nothing but a bartender, he is Albus Dumbledore's brother, right? And I don't think he'd be completely useless with a wand, if possibly a little less dedicated (to manipulting and scheming) - isn't it often the really talented sibling who goes off and does something his parents are not at all fond of?

Anyways - I think it might be Aberforth, though I doubt that he'll play a very big role - he'd be too much of a poor substitute in Harry's mind. Maybe a small, significant role?

[Tonks]

Well, his brother wore really silly clothes and made rather pointless speeches, didn't he? But then, he was a Manipulative-Scheming-B******, which should explain the boots ... ;) In any case, I doubt that Aberforth is the kind of book that you should judge by its cover - he seems to play it down so much that there's got to be more to him. Because while it might seem ironic that Albus Dumbledore's brother is nothing but a bartender, he is Albus Dumbledore's brother, right? And I don't think he'd be completely useless with a wand, if possibly a little less dedicated (to manipulting and scheming) - isn't it often the really talented sibling who goes off and does something his parents are not at all fond of?
Ouch. Point taken. :o

Actually, I suppose that Aberforth does make a lot of sense because JKR said we "hadn't met them properly yet". We've sort of properly met Dedalus, Elphias, Sturgis, and Hestia.. well, been introduced at least, but they haven't been expanded on..

Kind of makes me wonder what circumstances Harry could be introduced to Aberforth - and what his reaction would be.. Being Albus' brother, I'm going to assume that Aberforth grew up with him and as such might know a bit more about his brother than most people, including Harry. Or maybe Aberforth is one of the members of the Order who happens to know a little bit about the Horcruxes - I suppose it makes sense that Dumbledore would sort of trust his family more and share bits and pieces with his brother that he might not have shared with any old member..

[Fortescue]

I think the significant thing about the way JKR has painted our perception of Aberforth is her references to him, however slight, to this point in the story.



Rita SKeeter's Scoop GoF, pg 454
"An Excellent point," said Professor Dumbledore. "My own brother, Aberforth, was prosecuted for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat. It was all over the paper, but did Aberforth hide? No, he did not! He held his head high and went about his business as usual! Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been bravery...."

------

The Woes of Mrs. Weasley - OotP, pg 174

The little people in the photograph jostled among themselves, and those hidden right at the back appeared at the forefront of the picture.
"That's Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, only time I ever met him, strange bloke...

--------

In the Hog's Head - OotP, pg 336-37

The barman sidled toward them out of the back room. He was a grumpy-looking old man with a great deal of long gray hair and beard. He was tall and thin and looked vaguely familiar to Harry.

"What?" he grunted.
"Three butterbeers, please" said Hermione.
The man reached beneath the counter and pulled up three very dusty, very dirty bottles, which he slammed on the bar.
"Six Sickles," he said.
"I'll get them," said Harry quickly, passing over the silver. The barman's eyes traveled over Harry, resting for a fraction of a second on his scar. Then he turned away and deposited Harry's money in an ancient wooden till whose drawer slid open automatically to receive it."

------pg 339

The barman had frozen in the act of wiping out a glass with a rag so filthy it looked as though it had never been washed. Possibly he had never seen his pub so full.
"Hi, said Fred, reaching the bar first and counting his companions quickly. "Could we have .... twenty-five butterbeers, please?"
The barman glared at him for a moment, then, throwing down his rag irritably as though he had been interrupted in something very important, he started passing up dusty butterbeers from under the bar.

-------pg 342

The whole group seemed to have held its breath while Harry spoke. Harry had the impression that even the barman was listening in. He was wiping the same glass with the filthy rag: it was becoming steadily dirtier.

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The White Tomb - HBP pg, 641

(This is Harry's view of the people who showed up for Dumbledore's funeral - an excerpt)

...and some people Harry merely knew by sight, such as the barman of the Hog's Head and the witch who pushed the trolley on the Hogwarts Express.

That is all the mention of Aberforth I know of in the first six books. Not glowing praise - but it could be that he is much more adept than we are being led to believe. He seems to be a recluse, but the reason for that might be due to his work for the Order and a reluctance to point out to the general public that Albus and Aberforth are brothers. He might come into Harry's life and be a great help to him in his quest for the missing Horcruxes.

Aberforth was at Hogwarts at the end of HBP and Harry still only recognizes him as the barman at the Hog's Head - we saw for the first time in the series that JKR did not end the book with Harry walking away from the train with the Dursley's, but still at Hogwarts. Could Aberforth properly introduce himself to Harry at the beginning of book 7 - and be of aid to Harry in his quest and a more visible member of the Order of the Phoenix?