a distinct popping sound when they apparate, Dumbledore notably is able to apparate silently; the only other wizard shown to possess this skill is Voldemort. Dumbledore is known to be able to understand Mermish and Gobbledegook (Goblin language) and Parseltongue. Possessions Dumbledore's office houses "a number of curious [...] instruments." Among them is a Pensieve, a stone receptacle used to store and review memories, which witches and wizards are able to extract from their heads as a type of fluid. Harry first discovers this device in Goblet of Fire, and it is frequently used for flashback scenes throughout the remainder of the series. In the first chapter of Philosopher's Stone, Dumbledore is seen using the Deluminator, a device for removing and later returning light, and for use as a homing device. It is confirmed in Deathly Hallows when the object is inherited by Ron that the Deluminator is of Dumbledore's own design. Dumbledore is the possessor and master of the Elder Wand, an extremely powerful object known also as the "Wand of Destiny" or the "Deathstick", and one of the Deathly Hallows. Unlike many of the wand's previous owners, Dumbledore keeps its identity a closely guarded secret. He also has a pet phoenix named Fawkes. It is revealed in Philosopher's Stone by Mr. Ollivander that Harry's wand carries a phoenix feather as its magical core and that particular phoenix only gave one other feather, the one in Voldemort's wand that gave Harry his scar. It is later revealed in Goblet of Fire that Fawkes was the phoenix whose feathers provide the magical core in Harry's and Voldemort's wands. Backstory Through various interviews and discussions about the character, Rowling has established that Albus Dumbledore was born in July or August 1881 to Percival and Kendra Dumbledore. The character had previously referenced his brother Aberforth, and in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it is revealed that Albus is three years older than Aberforth. The same book introduced their sister Ariana who, at six years old, suffers a vicious attack by three male Muggle youths who had witnessed her doing magic. Frightened, they first try to get her to repeat what they had seen, and upon her failure to recreate it due to her young age, they try to stop her from being "different". The severe trauma of the attack leaves Ariana unable to function socially or to properly perform magic again.