Dumbledore is gay

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "sistermagpie"
<sistermagpie at ...> wrote:

> But...can Dumbledore really put up a barrier? He's the same 
> as he's always been. It's not like he's suddenly acting differently 
> towards you. Isn't it you who have put up a barrier having learned 
> this character is gay? Because if he were throwing the barrier up 
> he'd have to have done it where he actually existed, inside the 
> pages, wouldn't he?

If Dumbledore had put up a barrier between me and him, it would have
been inside the pages as you said. But if Dumbledore *would* have put
up a barrier between me and him *if* we had actually met is a
different question. 

To which the answer seems to be, definitely yes, and it has nothing to
do with eros. DH revealed that he put up a barrier between himself and
*everyone*. Even to Harry, a barrier of secrets. Treated Snape like an
employee, not a (prodigal) son or a friend or a colleague. Left
McGonagall entirely in the dark. Even to the reader (this reader), who
had expected him to be a warmer person, to care about the people he
manipulated and got killed, and about the people he was protecting
from Voldemort (the general population of wizards and muggles).

And it could be that he put up that barrier because of heartbreak, but
his brother claimed that it was his nature, from childhood. If it
*was* his nature from childhood, one would think that Gellaert had
something besides blond good looks and brilliant intelligence in order
to be the only person who broke through before Harry. (And of course
Gellaert did -- each photo of him is described as having a merry,
laughing face, which is how the author indicates his sense of humor.
Isn't having a sense of humor supposed to protect one from megalomania?)

And sexual orientation *could* be relevant, if the reason he put the
barrier up so young was to protect his closet.

And that was all a digression. If Tonks's point was that if he met one
of us listies, he might treat the person differently depending on if
it were a man or a woman. I don't think he would but, give Tonks
credit, it is not stated either way in canon.

In canon, the reader observes him relating to Harry throughout the
series, to Snape in 'The Prince's Tale', a little bit to Slughorn when
hiring him back, and a little bit to Elphias Doge in Doge's own
account -- all males. That doesn't tell us anything about his other
relationships, such as with females. We can imagine them however we
like, except it would be anti-canon to imagine that he told McGonagall
that Snape was serving LV on DD's orders, that Snape had killed DD on
DD's orders, or told her what she was assigned to do as part of the plan.