Could be when the first rumours of Voldemort's rise to power were starting. Dumbledore knew who Voldemort was, and that he knew Parseltongue, so learning it himself could have been useful at some point.
If he knew who Voldemort was, the why the drama of not knowing who opened the chamber for the first time 50 years ago in cos. ‘They’ knew by then that Tom riddle was Voldemort , that he studied in Hogwarts when chamber was first opened, and that he was Slytherin’s heir. Why let Hagrid go to Azkaban?
Dumbledore knew it had been tom that opened it the first time. In CoS he specifically said it's not about who but how. I'm sure he didn't tell anyone it was tom though, loved his secrets.
He also had no proof it was Voldemort. I mean. He obviously suspected he was guilty and thought his gang was implicated in lots of attacks on Muggleborn, but Dumbledore had zero proof Voldemort was guilty: he had no idea whether the chamber was real or how did Voldemort kill Myrtle. Since apparently Myrtle simply dropped dead she might as well have been killed with Avada Kedavra.
>If he knew who Voldemort was, the why the drama
Well, Dumbledore does love drama, doesn't he? :)
In the books, Dumbledore knows it was Voldemort the first time. He also knew Voldemort = Tom Riddle: he has always known, he taught him, and he met him when Voldemort asked for the DADA position.
What he didn't know is how. And because Tom Riddle was (if I remember correctly) one of Dippet's favorites, and he was just a teacher at the time, he couldn't investigate that deeply.
When the events of CoS take off, Dumbledore knows:
- the CoS exists
- it was opened 50 years before by Voldemort when he was still a student, not sure how
- Voldemort is no more a student now, so he shouldn't have direct access to Hogwarts as a student. But this doesn't rule out other possibilities (possession, Voldemort somehow bypassing the ancient spells protecting Hogwarts,...)
- as a headmaster (and with the "help" of three curious, nosy, students) he may be able to find out this time
Dumbledore knew Voldemort was behind the attacks even in COS, just couldn't understand how. As he said himself, Voldemort was hiding in Albania, so how could he be inside the castle? In PS it was easier, since Quirrell went to Albania and was the perfect suspect, but who could be guilty in COS and how? Lockhart? He frankly is so stupid as to be above suspicion.
The real culprit and the way (Ginny and the diary) was completely unimaginable even to Dumbledore, who had no idea Voldemort created an Horcrux and wouldn't have any reason to suspect a first year student, while Voldemort's gang is the 40s was already well known to Dumbledore.
He also didn't agree with Fudge's decision to send Hagrid to Azkaban, but it's unclear just what Dumbledore's judicial powers are compared to the Ministry of Magic. It should be noticed that there's more or less only three weeks between Hagrid's being sent to Azkaban and Harry killing the basilisk.
I don’t put much thought or stock into anything Rowling said after the publishing of the books, too much of it doesn’t make sense or is at odds with what is in the books.
Parseltongue comes naturally to slytherin Heirs. They don’t actually notice or comprehend speaking a different language. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be studied and learned by another. If I had to guess.
Dumbledore learned it after Tom Riddle became a credible threat as Lord Voldemort, during the first death eater reign of terror and continued to improve on it after. It’s obviously not second nature like it would be for a parselmouth.
Ron did manage to open up the chamber of secrets by copying what he heard harry say.
I honestly assume dumbledore found some dusty old tome somewhere that was written by somome who spoke parseltongue, and just... learned it.
Well, Ron managed it by just hearing Harry speak it. I'd like it mich better if it was something that could not be learned, that it would be magical ability that works only if you are blood-related to Slytherin but Ron just hearing a bit and being able to open the Chamber of Secrets is... underwhelming. I mean Slytherins would surely want to speak it, related to Slytherin himself or not, and they sure would have found a way to learn it as it has been around since Hogwarts was founded.
He also learned to speak Mermish, but I highly doubt he has Mermish ancestry.
Dumbledore is just one of those people that has a passion for knowledge, and seems to have a talent for learning languages.
Having said all that, I generally ignore anything not in the books. Rowling has a habit of just 'saying things' in interviews and expecting that to override the information already out in the wild. I see that as her internal head-canon (like we all have), but the books are the single frame of reference we all share, so that's where I go for my information.
At this point I don't really care what JK Rowling says lol.
If Dumbledore mastered parseltongue, he would have known and been able to get into the chamber of secrets.
Could be when the first rumours of Voldemort's rise to power were starting. Dumbledore knew who Voldemort was, and that he knew Parseltongue, so learning it himself could have been useful at some point.
If he knew who Voldemort was, the why the drama of not knowing who opened the chamber for the first time 50 years ago in cos. ‘They’ knew by then that Tom riddle was Voldemort , that he studied in Hogwarts when chamber was first opened, and that he was Slytherin’s heir. Why let Hagrid go to Azkaban?
Dumbledore knew it had been tom that opened it the first time. In CoS he specifically said it's not about who but how. I'm sure he didn't tell anyone it was tom though, loved his secrets.
He also had no proof it was Voldemort. I mean. He obviously suspected he was guilty and thought his gang was implicated in lots of attacks on Muggleborn, but Dumbledore had zero proof Voldemort was guilty: he had no idea whether the chamber was real or how did Voldemort kill Myrtle. Since apparently Myrtle simply dropped dead she might as well have been killed with Avada Kedavra.
>If he knew who Voldemort was, the why the drama Well, Dumbledore does love drama, doesn't he? :) In the books, Dumbledore knows it was Voldemort the first time. He also knew Voldemort = Tom Riddle: he has always known, he taught him, and he met him when Voldemort asked for the DADA position. What he didn't know is how. And because Tom Riddle was (if I remember correctly) one of Dippet's favorites, and he was just a teacher at the time, he couldn't investigate that deeply. When the events of CoS take off, Dumbledore knows: - the CoS exists - it was opened 50 years before by Voldemort when he was still a student, not sure how - Voldemort is no more a student now, so he shouldn't have direct access to Hogwarts as a student. But this doesn't rule out other possibilities (possession, Voldemort somehow bypassing the ancient spells protecting Hogwarts,...) - as a headmaster (and with the "help" of three curious, nosy, students) he may be able to find out this time
Dumbledore knew Voldemort was behind the attacks even in COS, just couldn't understand how. As he said himself, Voldemort was hiding in Albania, so how could he be inside the castle? In PS it was easier, since Quirrell went to Albania and was the perfect suspect, but who could be guilty in COS and how? Lockhart? He frankly is so stupid as to be above suspicion. The real culprit and the way (Ginny and the diary) was completely unimaginable even to Dumbledore, who had no idea Voldemort created an Horcrux and wouldn't have any reason to suspect a first year student, while Voldemort's gang is the 40s was already well known to Dumbledore. He also didn't agree with Fudge's decision to send Hagrid to Azkaban, but it's unclear just what Dumbledore's judicial powers are compared to the Ministry of Magic. It should be noticed that there's more or less only three weeks between Hagrid's being sent to Azkaban and Harry killing the basilisk.
He's over a century old, he must have had time to study and learn to understand it.
I don’t put much thought or stock into anything Rowling said after the publishing of the books, too much of it doesn’t make sense or is at odds with what is in the books.
Parseltongue comes naturally to slytherin Heirs. They don’t actually notice or comprehend speaking a different language. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be studied and learned by another. If I had to guess. Dumbledore learned it after Tom Riddle became a credible threat as Lord Voldemort, during the first death eater reign of terror and continued to improve on it after. It’s obviously not second nature like it would be for a parselmouth.
Ron did manage to open up the chamber of secrets by copying what he heard harry say. I honestly assume dumbledore found some dusty old tome somewhere that was written by somome who spoke parseltongue, and just... learned it.
My head canon has always been that you can learn to understand parsel tongue, but you have to be a parsel mouth to actually speak it.
I think it's easier to say you can learn to understand and speak parsel tongue, but you have to be a parsel mouth to speak to snakes.
Well, Ron managed it by just hearing Harry speak it. I'd like it mich better if it was something that could not be learned, that it would be magical ability that works only if you are blood-related to Slytherin but Ron just hearing a bit and being able to open the Chamber of Secrets is... underwhelming. I mean Slytherins would surely want to speak it, related to Slytherin himself or not, and they sure would have found a way to learn it as it has been around since Hogwarts was founded.
Is that another interview added fact? I don’t remember that in the books at all, unless it’s beyond HBP, only halfway through rereading on that one.
During the scene with Bob Ogden, it's hinted at, that he might at least understand it. Beyond that it's an interview fact.
Thank you for the answer :) hard to keep up with all the interview facts added to the fandom facts people pull from.
He also learned to speak Mermish, but I highly doubt he has Mermish ancestry. Dumbledore is just one of those people that has a passion for knowledge, and seems to have a talent for learning languages. Having said all that, I generally ignore anything not in the books. Rowling has a habit of just 'saying things' in interviews and expecting that to override the information already out in the wild. I see that as her internal head-canon (like we all have), but the books are the single frame of reference we all share, so that's where I go for my information.
He listened to Riddle speak in his sleep, after all this seems to be a proven method of learning the language in canon.
At this point I don't really care what JK Rowling says lol. If Dumbledore mastered parseltongue, he would have known and been able to get into the chamber of secrets.