Dumbledore's family

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 141530

> Julie now:
> When it comes to Dumbledore's family, so far we are only  aware
> of one person who qualifies--Abelforth, Dumbledore's brother. I  do
> suspect Abelforth will have some part in Book 7. If  Dumbledore's
> family only consists of Abelforth, however, this seems a very 
> narrow avenue to explore. What if there are other Dumbledores?
> Or other relatives not necessarily named Dumbledore (from
> the maternal side of the family)?
<snipping>
> My theory is that Eileen Prince is related to the Dumbledores. 
> Perhaps her mother was a Dumbledore (an aunt, or a cousin).
> Her mother married a Prince, then Eileen married a Snape (a 
> Muggle no less), and eventually came little Severus, cousin
> once(twice?)-removed or even great-nephew to Albus and 
> Abelforth. 

Jen: I definitely think we'll get more on Snape's background 
(comments below), but wanted to offer another option for the 
significance of Dumbledore's family. JKR dismissed the idea Harry is 
an heir of Gryffindor in the TLC/MN interview, but she didn't close 
the line of speculation for Dumbledore/Aberforth.

The most compelling evidence to me is that James and Lily were 
protected at Godric's Hollow. Since we know the Potter's weren't 
heirs, the question of why they stayed there is open again. My guess 
is Dumbledore wanted to be their Secret Keeper partially because he 
arranged the hiding place, and knew of the protections already on 
the house.

We have other evidence, most as old as the list itself, that 
Dumbledore is from the Gryffindor line. Like the griffin-door 
knocker on the headmaster's office and DD in possession of the 
sword. I'd even add DD's watch, and the one he possibly gave to the 
Weasleys to pass on to Ron as a birthday present, as likely-to-be-
revealed evidence of the Gryffindor connection. 

There's plot significance for this idea, too.

Reading COS, it ocurred to me Harry will undoubtedly vanquish the 
last Heir of Slytherin in Book 7. If the last Heirs of
Gryffindor die out, what would that mean for the split in the WW
started by Godric Gryffindor and Slytherin? If both heirs are gone, 
will that finally lay rest to the feud and help heal the split 
between the houses? From the sorting song in OOTP, it sounds like 
Slytherin leaving the castle, and whittling 'four houses down to 
three' was the basis for the split. Maybe there's even a curse that 
Slytherins and Gryffindors especially will always be at war so long 
as any of the bloodlines survive.

Back to Snape now.

Julie: 
> A blood relationship isn't necessary to explain Dumbledore's
> actions in regards to Snape, or the strong connection the two
> seem to have (especially in HBP), but it does provide an added
> dimension to various moments in the books--Dumbledore's  concern
> for Snape's welfare, Snape coming "back" to the Order (which 
> implies a previous connection), the ease with which Dumbledore
> accepts Snape--warts and all--and that repeatedly drilled in 
> "complete" trust he has in Snape. 

Jen: I do think there's some connection between Eileen Prince and 
Dumbledore's trust of Snape, although probably not blood-related. 
Eileen went to school with Riddle after all, and was probably in 
Slytherin since Snape was. But she didn't follow the pure-blood 
policy of Voldemort and the DE's. Sometimes I wonder if Snape was 
recruited by the DE's as punishment for Eileen's pure-blood 
transgression of marrying a Muggle. So that leads to the possibility 
Snape's defection had to do with some mistreatment (or murder?) of 
his mom. 

Julie:
> A blood relationship could also explain a few other things, 
> such as why Eileen Prince (aka Irma Pince) was brought to 
> Hogwarts (presumably to protect her). <snip> Maybe also why 
> Snape seems jealous at times of Harry's relationship with
> Dumbledore. (That's *my* relative, not yours!)

Jen: There is a sibling rivalry there, an undercurrent of one at 
least. My guess is it has more to do with Snape and Harry both being 
crucially important to Dumbledore's plan, maybe the two *most* 
important people. And I like the idea of Irma Pince in the witness 
protection program! Although another possibility was the furry-
headed patient on the ward with Lockhart in OOTP, Agnes, whose son 
was visiting her on Christmas day. Irma Prince is probably more 
interesting and more JKR's style, though.

Julie: 
> Plus, this could be a reason why Voldemort continues to hold
> Snape in such high esteem, even with Snape's slithery ways
> and avoidance of doing any dirty work. To have turned a relative
> of Dumbledore's to the dark side would be a coup indeed, and
> Voldemort just can't give up the idea of that victory!

Jen: He does, doesn't he? Hold him in high esteem. It must be his 
skills, because likely another DE would be AK'd on the spot for not 
returning to the graveyard. Well, except Voldemort doesn't have too 
many followers left at that time, maybe he was just willing to take 
whomever showed an interest. Open recruitment policy. ;)

I completely agree we'll get backstory to explain more about the 
trust issue. There are too many clues given already to Snape's 
history, plus the very juicy plot holes we're all waiting to see 
filled--why did he become a DE in the first place and what made him 
switch sides? I liked Magpie's explanation btw, that Dumbledore 
considered all Hogwarts students to be on his side until they joined 
Voldemort's, and that's why he said Snape 'rejoined their side'--
doesn't that just fit Dumbledore?!?

Jen