Aberforth Dumbledore

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Aberforth Dumbledore, a fictional character of the Harry Potter fantasy book series written by J. K. Rowling, is the brother of Albus Dumbledore. He was a member of the original Order of the Phoenix, and still may be but it is not mentioned.

He is briefly mentioned in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Dumbledore tells Harry and Hagrid that Aberforth was not bothered by nasty letters he had received after being prosecuted for practising inappropriate charms on a goat. Not much else is known about him other than that he is odd and may or may not be literate.

Jim McManus will portray Aberforth in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Aberforth is the bartender at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade, as revealed by J. K. Rowling in an interview ([1]). She first provided hints of this in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when Harry noted a strong odour of goats in his bar and felt that he looked familiar (he had been shown a photo of Aberforth earlier in the book, and as Albus Dumbledore's brother, he looks like him). In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry sees him in the company of Mundungus Fletcher, who appeared to be selling stolen goods from Grimmauld Place. This, despite Sirius telling Harry that Mundungus has a life time ban from the Hog's Head for offending Aberforth and that Aberforth has a long memory. The last we've seen of him is at the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince attending his brother's funeral.

Although not referred to as Aberforth, the bartender of the Hog's Head is mentioned occasionally by Dumbledore as a source of information. When Voldemort returned to Hogwarts to ask Dumbledore for a teaching job some ten years after leaving school, Dumbledore shows that he has unexpected knowledge of Voldemort's meetings at the Hog's Head. He explains his knowledge by saying that he is 'friendly with the local barmen'.

Sybill Trelawney told Harry that when she was being interviewed for a job at Hogwarts at the Hog's Head, and just after she had (unknowingly) spoken the prophecy involving Harry and Lord Voldemort to Albus, that they were interrupted when the 'rather uncouth barman' burst in the room along with Severus Snape. Severus claimed to have become lost on the stairs.

It is expected that we will learn more about Aberforth in the seventh and final Harry Potter book.

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