Show notes
Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today we’re discussing Albus Dumbledore and the discovery he made in his youth that made him famous. I am of course talking about his discovery of the 12 uses of Dragon’s Blood- an alchemical feat worthy of a place in the history books.
Today, when we think of Dumbledore’s achievements, the accomplishment that stands out most was his 1945 defeat of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, as he effectively saved the wizarding world from a perilous fate. After 1945, there wasn’t a wizarding household in the world that didn’t know his name.
However, what many don’t realize is that Dumbledore is also quite famous from his OTHER achievements in the wizarding world.
Dumbledore lived a long time, 115 years to be exact, and during his formative years he was able to achieve a LOT, beginning to impress other witches and wizards as early as the year 1893.
“In a matter of months, Albus’s own fame had begun to eclipse that of his father. By the end of his first year, he would never again be known as the son of a Muggle-hater, but as nothing more or less than the most brilliant student ever seen at the school.”
And for the remainder of Dumbledore’s studies, with his negative associations now a thing of the past, Dumbledore continued to excel- achieving every award and accolade imaginable.
After the death of his sister, he decided to take a trip to France where he visited his old friend Nicolas Flamel. Flamel was a famed alchemist, and it was in France that Dumbledore studied the ancient art and science of alchemy under his tutelage. After an unknown period of time, Dumbledore returned back to Britain- and it just so happened that in this time period Dumbledore became infatuated with the study of dragon’s blood- specifically it’s uses- a relatively uncharted subject in wizarding culture. Dragon blood was the blood of any of the many species of dragon, and it had 12 uses - all of which Dumbledore ‘discovered’ and subsequently published, earning him widespread recognition. Dumbledore was now world famous.
But despite this discovery catapulting Dumbledore to stardom, there are still a lot of UNKNOWNS when it comes to Dumbledore’s discovery- at least, from our perspective. While the uses of Dragon’s Blood were published in all sorts of alchemical manuscripts, we- the muggle readers- have never been enlightened as to what these 12 uses are. Today, I want to dig in and see what I can find on this subject.
First things first- what IS Dragon’s blood?
Dragon’s blood, as you might have expected, was blood extracted from any species of dragon- a dark red glutinous substance. The blood of a dragon was particularly powerful- but also adaptable- which is why it was eventually discovered to have so much practical application in the wizarding world. It’s worth noting, however, that Dragon’s weren’t the only magical creature with POWERFUL blood.
One sip of unicorn blood could keep witches and wizards alive even when they were an inch from death, but it did come with a big price tag- a condemnation to a cursed existence- a half-life.
Drinking the blood of a Re'em, a type of rare giant horse, granted the drinker immense strength for a short period of time.
And the blood of a Qilin, a mythical creature that was part-dragon and part-horse, had the ability to show people visions.
It’s clear that the blood of certain magical creatures has extremely powerful capabilities, but oddly enough the first two uses of Dragon’s blood that I want to discuss in this video seem fairly mundane by comparison.
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