Preface by Frederick Austin
I first laid eyes on Albus Dumbledore on the first day of term in 1968, when I was in line with all the other first years awaiting the placement of the Sorting Hat atop my head. Thanks to the spelling of my last name my wait was not long, and I was proclaimed a Ravenclaw in only a few moments, but that first gaze has remained etched in my memory ever since.
Albus Dumbledore is one of the most complex, controversial individuals in our recent history, known for his sheer genius, his power unmatched by none but Voldemort, and the biography – though it little deserves the name – written by Rita Skeeter shortly after his death. Though he still holds in my mind the position of a benevolent, if distant headmaster – as he does for most of the adult population of Britain – the controversy of his association with Gellert Grindlewald, his handling of the two Voldemort crises, and his treatment of Harry Potter have cast a shadow over his legacy, through which the truth of his dealings and person are difficult to discern.
For these reasons, most works dealing with his life have focused on the tangible, provable aspects in an attempt to avoid the fallacies, deliberate though they may be, of The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. However, I now have the opportunity to write of the less tangible – his motivations, beliefs, and experiences – thanks to my assumption three years ago of the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts, despite considerable opposition thanks to my status as a Muggleborn (a term that still holds a place in my mind despite the recent efforts of the Equality Movement).
In my position, I have the opportunity to regularly engage in conversation the portrait of Albus Dumbledore. Through numerous discussions I have persuaded (or perhaps pestered) him into giving interviews from which I have constructed the details of his life. His only condition, apart from accuracy in my writing, was that in addition to the more formal biography that will soon be published, I write a much shorter book in a tone more formal than my usual works of his life from his perspective. Such is how this book was born, though in my capacity as a History professor I still include historical notes at the end of some chapters. As any embellishments in the book were included by Headmaster Dumbledore himself, I feel reasonably secure writing such a book that deviates from my other published works which most certainly are not written in a storytelling format.
The name of this work was selected by Professor Dumbledore after a particular discussion where I read him passages of The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. While he listened to the story with his usual good grace, despite how much it pained him, he stated afterwards that, though it contained many inaccuracies, it saddened him regarding just how accurately it portrayed some of his flaws and mistakes. He therefore suggested this work be a dual companion and opposition piece to that work, so one could see multiple perspectives of his greatest error, and chose the name The Life and Times of Albus Dumbledore.
It is my hope that you, the reader, may appreciate the story told in these pages of Albus Dumbledore, including such details as why he became a Professor when he could have been the Minister, the somewhat surprising anecdote of how he first met Fawkes, his phoenix companion, and the behind his notorious appreciation for lemon drops.
