The Disconnect of the Past and the Future

Harry Potter was one of the best series I have ever read. Throughout all seven books, characters have grown and developed in ways that were never expected. Once I hit the seventh book though, I could finally have the chance to look back on the past of the characters and finally learn how they were able to become who they finally were at the end of the book. In fact, with some of the characters, you didn't know who they actually were until the very last book. But I also think that the very last book in the Harry Potter series; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, shows that your past does not always affect who you turn out to be.

        One of the characters that displays this theory very clearly is Dumbledore. Up until the seventh book, he was a character that was almost literally perfect. He was perfect, that is, until you found out about his past. On his note that he wrote to Grindlewald when he was around 17 (page 357), he states that "We must take control [of the muggles] for the greater good". Later in the book, his desire that he had a young age to be the conqueror death by obtaining the Deathly Hallows was shown to be a very strong desire. But this all sounds absurd when looking at who Dumbledore actually became. On page 681 it is said that "the news that he [Dumbledore] had less than a year to live seemed a matter of little or no concern to him.” This does not sound like the man that had such a great desire to be the conqueror of death. It is also well known that Dumbledore was a very big muggle supporter throughout his older years. All in all, it is very obvious that Dumbledore’s past did not make him who he became.
        But possibly the reason why Dumbledore was able to be the good person that he was because he never really got a true taste of power. It is hard to know what Dumbledore would be like as Ministry of Magic, or as just as very powerful wizard, such as Voldemort. Would he be the man who he actually ended up being? Or would he terrorize and attempt to gain control of all Muggles, just as Voldemort has coincidently tried to do. Would Dumbledore be like Voldemort? While the idea seems outrageous, knowing what Dumbledore’s past was like, the idea starts to sound less and less crazy. When he was young, he very easily brushed off the awful things that Grindlewald committed at Durmstrang as nothing much at all. Going back to his note to Grindlewald, he says "We must use only the force that is necessary and no more (This was your mistake at Durmstrang! But I do not complain, because if you had not been expelled, we would never have met.)" I do not complain. It seems unbelievable that Dumbledore would not complain about the things that Grindlewald committed at Durmstrang, things that were enough to get Grindlewald expelled.
      But the Dumbledore that I knew would complain. He would complain a whole lot. After all, it was his choice to not go into power. He turned down the offer to become the Ministry of Magic. It was because of these choices, that Dumbledore was led to become a great man. To make those kind of difficult choices, and be able to choose something that would not fulfill your wants, but would make the world a better place, shows that Dumbledore would probably not end up being like Voldemort, even if he did end up coming to power.
     So maybe your past only affects your future only if you chose it to be that way. Using this kind idea, Draco Malfoy might as well be the next Dumbledore. Using this kind of idea, anybody could really be the next Dumbledore if they tried hard enough. And that’s what’s really great about your past not affecting your future, people could really be anybody that they wanted as long as they tried.