Fantastic Beasts 2’s Big Twist: Credence Is Aurelius Dumbledore
At the end of The Crimes of Grindelwald, the titular dark wizard and his followers have taken refuge in Nurmengard Castle. It’s here that Grindelwald finally gives Credence the answers the young man has been craving, but not without some manipulation on his part. In the sequence, Grindelwald begins to sow discord between Credence and his brother before even revealing who that is. Further, as the sequence continues to build to the big reveal, the baby bird Credence was nurturing evolves into a Phoenix and Grindelwald makes reference to a legend that phoenixes come to men in his family when they’re in dire need. Finally, Grindelwald reveals Credence is a Dumbledore, the younger brother of Albus Dumbledore , and his name is Aurelius.
Of course, fans may be left wondering whether Grindelwald is telling Credence the truth. After all, Grindelwald is known to lie and manipulate to get what he wants, he even did just that to Credence in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Further, it would make sense for him to use Credence’s identity as a manipulation tactic to;motivate the Obscurial to kill Albus – which is the end goal we already know Grindelwald is working toward by recruiting Credence. As such, the movie does leave room for doubt that Credence actually is Aurelius Dumbledore. But if we;choose to believe that Credence really is Aurelius Dumbledore, then the question becomes what that means about his birth and how he fits into Harry Potter lore.
Is Credence Aberforths Son
Credence is actually Aurelius Dumbledore, suggested to be a mysterious fourth Dumbledore sibling that no one ever knew about. And apparently, his brother is bent on killing him. . The fallout sent each man in different directions: Albus became a teacher, Aberforth raised some goats and Grindelwald got a bad undercut.
Grindelwald’s Interest In Aurelius Likely Has To Do More With Ariana Than Albus
While the final moments of;The Crimes of Grindelwald made it seem like Grindelwald had recruited Aurelius Dumbledore just as a way to get back at Albus, his interest in Aurelius’s Dumbledore heritage may have more to do with Albus’s younger sister than with Albus himself. Assuming again that Ariana was indeed an Obscurial, Grindelwald would have seen first hand the true power that an Obscurial harnesses at a young age, as he;had actually been close to Ariana back when he was still friends with Albus.
When Grindelwald discovered not only that Aurelius was an Obscurial, but a Dumbledore as well, he likely became incredibly interested in using Aurelius’s power. He had more than likely seen Ariana as a missed opportunity, and saw Aurelius at his second chance.
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He’s One Of The Last Dumbledores
While the Dumbledore family was historically a well known family in the Wizarding World, the generation including Albus and Aurelius is actually the final generation of the family. Ariana did not live long enough to have children, Albus never had kids before he passed away in the 1990s, and Aberforth was single for his entire life. This means that Aurelius is one of the final members of the Dumbledore family to ever live.
It was briefly recorded that Albus had an aunt named Honoria,;but Honoria, much like Aberforth, never married or started a family as far as we know. All things considered, Aurelius Dumbledore has quite the legacy to live up to in the upcoming;Fantastic Beasts movies.
Who Is Aurelius Dumbledore
Aurelius Dumbledore is the lost brother of Albus Dumbledore, revealed by Gellert Grindelwald to Credence Barebone at the end of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
This could go against all our canon knowledge we know Albus Dumbledore only has a brother and a sister , so another sibling could complicate things. We have a few theories on how this would fit in the established canon:
1. This could be a lie told by Grindelwald to convince Credence to go after Albus Dumbledore after all, we know Gellert Grindelwald is seductive and manipulative. He could be lying to Credence Barone, as he did before . If you watch the film again, note that Abernathy and Rosier change the Lestrange Archives in the French Ministry and put them in the Lestrange family;mausoleum. We dont know if they modified them they could have hidden something important about Credence identity. Also, when Grimmson is talking to Grindelwald below the bridge, he says he killed the woman, as if that was the order. Why? Because probably the half-elf woman knew the truth about Credence and she could be a dangerous loose end.
2. What is part of Credence is Arianas Obscurus. After Arianas death, her Obscurus went to live in Credences body. That would explain why Grindelwald says Your brother he is talking to the Obscurus, not to Credence. Why is he changing its name and referring to it with another name instead of Ariana? We dont know.
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How Is Credence Dumbledores Brother
Credence, its implied, survives the first Fantastic Beasts film by secretly sneaking away from the scene of his presumed death. . In the final moments of the new film, Grindelwald reveals a crucial secret to Credence: Credence is the long-lost younger brother of Albus Dumbledore himself and his real name is Aurelius.
He Could Be The Most Powerful Wizard Of All Time
As already mentioned, Aurelius is the longest living Obscurial ever recorded. Typically, the Obscurus would destroy its host after ten years, yet Aurelius was able to stay alive 16 years longer than expected. This not only hints that he is able to control the Obscurus inside of him, but that he may even be stronger than the Obscurus itself.
Another example of his incredibly powerful magical strength was the spell he cast at the ending of;The Crimes of Grindelwald. As seen in the first;Harry Potter, most wizards and witches show some slight outburst of power when they hold a wand for the first time. For example, Harry’s wand briefly lit up the first time he held it in Olivander’s shop. Aurelius, on the other hand, managed to send a massive blast of magic into a mountain, causing a monstrous avalanche, which is certainly a much greater magical feat than lighting up a wand for a couple seconds. There’s no telling what Credence can accomplish with proper training.
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He’s Only A Half Sibling Of Albus
Considering that Aurelius was born in 1901,;his Dumbledore heritage kind of messes up the timeline of his birth. If he really is Albus Dumbledore’s brother, he can only be his half brother. Albus’s mother, Kendra Dumbledore, notably passed away in the summer of 1899 after an outburst from her daughter Ariana.
At this time, Albus’ only living parent was Percival Dumbledore, who was;sentenced to life in Azkaban in 1890. While it was first believed that Percival lived out the rest of his life in Azkaban, it now seems possible that he escaped at some point around 1900, in which time he met Aurelius’s biological mother. Hopefully, the details of this will be revealed later down the road, but for now, it’s safe to say that Kendra Dumbledore is definitely not Aurelius’s mother.
He Had A Strong Connection With His Adoptive Sister Modesty
Credence’s entire childhood seemed rather depressing, with him being mistreated by his foster mother and by the other foster children. The only member of Credence’s foster family that ever showed him any sympathy was his younger sister, Modesty. In;Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, we see that;Modesty and Credence have a strong relationship, with Modesty comforting Credence after he was beaten by Mary Lou.
The reason why these two are so close is primarily credited to the fact that both of them had a deep interest in magic, which went against the beliefs of everyone else at the foster home. This shared interest kept these two foster siblings close, with Modesty even stepping up to defend her brother near the end of the movie.
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Are Dumbledore And Grindelwald Lovers
Their relationship was incredibly intense, says the Harry Potter author. Translation for the non-Harry Potter set: Dumbledore and Grindelwald are both wizards introduced in the original Rowling books; Rowling revealed after publishing her series that Dumbledore was gay, and very much in love with Grindelwald.
He May Be Albus’ Cousin Rather Than His Brother
While it was exciting to learn that Credence was actually the lost brother of Albus Dumbledore, there were a number of;Harry Potter fans;who weren’t convinced by Grindelwald’s revelation. The fact that Kendra Dumbledore had passed away in 1899 and that Percival Dumbledore was supposedly in Azkaban over a decade before Aurelius was born made a number of fans skeptical.
One explanation for Aurelius’ heritage claims that when Grindelwald referred to Albus as Aurelius’s “brother,” he actually meant “kinsman,” as that was what “brother” once meant centuries ago. In this sense, Aurelius and Albus would actually be cousins rather than brothers, with Aurelius possibly being the son of Albus’s aunt Honoria. This theory may be a stretch, but it would certainly explain Aurelius’s parentage issue.
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How Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald Changes The Harry Potter Backstory
JK Rowlings latest film includes new plot details that change the events of the original seven books. Warning: contains spoilers.
VERY HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD FOR FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD.
As the second film in JK Rowlings Fantastic Beasts franchise is released, we are given more and more backstories that change our understanding of the events referred to in the original Harry Potter books. Heres a rundown of how the twists and turns from The Crimes of Grindelwald affect the Harry Potter stories we know and love. Be warned: very intense spoilers are coming.
Is Credence Really A Dumbledore
Fantastic Beasts 2s Big Twist: Credence Is Aurelius Dumbledore. At the end of The Crimes of Grindelwald, the titular dark wizard and his followers have taken refuge in Nurmengard Castle. . Finally, Grindelwald reveals Credence is a Dumbledore, the younger brother of Albus Dumbledore , and his name is Aurelius.
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How Does The Timeline Work Now
The Crimes of Grindelwald doesnt just introduce new faces to the Potter world it brings back some old friends in young forms that dont really make a ton of sense.
Chief among those is the appearance by a young Professor McGonagall, whose brief scenes in Crimes of Grindelwald dont fit the franchises established timeline. McGonagalls birthday had previously been worked out by fans at the Harry Potter wiki to be in 1935, eight years after Crimes takes place. McGonagall herself notes in Order of the Phoenix that she had only been teaching at Hogwarts for thirty-nine years this December in 1995, putting her start date in 1956. And yet Crimes has her as an adult, already teaching at the school in 1927. The obvious answer is that the Professor McGonagall in the film is an older relative again, Rowling loves to bring in recognizable names from different generations except that the films credits and Rowlings official script both indicate that the character in the film is Minerva McGonagall. Thats confusing, but its unlikely to be a mistake its more likely that Rowling is changing the timeline somehow.
Why Credence Is A Dumbledore
Credence Barebone was born around 1901, allegedly to the Dumbledore family, as Aurelius Dumbledore, according to Gellert Grindelwald. In 1901, Credence was taken by his aunt on a ship heading to America. He was switched in the crib by a young Leta Lestrange for her half-brother Corvus because he was crying.
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Is Credence Really Dumbledores You
Its important to note that, while disguised as Graves in the first Fantastic Beasts film, Grindelwald shamelessly lies to Credence in order to exploit him. First, Grindelwald lies and says he wants to help Credence learn wizardry, in order to get Credence to help him locate the Obscurial not realizing that Credence is the Obscurial. Later, he reveals this offer to have been a trick, deeming Credence an unmagical squib and blowing him off completely until realizing his mistake.
Grindelwald clearly has no idea that Credence is even a wizard at this point, let alone which powerful wizarding family he might belong to.
Grindelwald also apparently lies to Credence at the end of The Crimes of Grindelwald by implying that Dumbledore wants him dead an obvious lie on Grindelwalds part, since as far as we know, Dumbledore doesnt even know who Credence is.
So its entirely possible that Grindelwald could be lying to Credence when he reveals that Credence is part of Dumbledores family. And there are plenty of reasons to think that he is.
What doesnt seem possible is that Dumbledore himself doesnt know he has a long-lost brother, but that Grindelwald who, again, appeared to have no idea who Credence was in the first film, which takes place just a few months before this one somehow does.
So in essence, either Grindelwald is lying, or Rowling is completely voiding the canonical timeline or else theres some other plot twist afoot that has to explain this plot twist.
Ariana Dumbledore Obscurials And A Dark Twin
What if Grindelwald isnt completely lying though and Credence really is Aurelius Dumbledore, the brother of Albus Dumbledore? Of course, if Credence wasnt the son of Kendra Dumbledore, who died 19 years before he was born, and hes not the son of Percival Dumbledore who was rotting away in Azkaban, how could that be true? The answer could be as wild as it is tragic.The key to unraveling this incredible mystery might be found in the first movie, when we saw Newt Scamander had successfully extracted the Obscurus of a young Sudanese girl shortly before she died. He kept it contained in a protective bubble and assured Tina it couldnt harm anyone without its host, the Obscurial.
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Images: Warner Bros.
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What Is Dumbledore And Grindelwald’s Relationship
JK Rowling revealed Dumbledore is gay awhile ago, which has people wondering how the relationship between the two panned out. Fans wondered if he would be explicitly gay, but it looks like it’s more subtle.
While it’s not obvious in the movie, when the minster says to Dumbledore “I know you were like as close as brothers” he tells him they were “closer”.
Add to that the fact Dumbledore sees Grindelwald in the Mirror of Erised and it all hints at a deeper relationship.
He’s 26 During The Events Of Crimes Of Grindelwald
According to the script of;Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the voyage where Aurelius was switched from his crib took place in 1901. Considering that Aurelius appeared to be a newborn during this voyage, there’s a very good chance that 1901 was also the year that he was born.
Considering that;The Crimes of Grindelwald takes place in 1927, that would make Aurelius about 26 years old. This actually makes quite a bit of sense as his actor, Ezra Miller, is also currently 26. While this is a bit older than some fans thought he was in;Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , the timeline still fits perfectly fine, even if it means that he was still living in his foster home in his mid-20s.
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Rowling Vaguely Teased Aurelius’s Existence Back In 2005
In an interview back in 2005, J.K. Rowling briefly brought up that there is a deeper story for the Dumbledore family than she had revealed at the time, saying, “Dumbledore’s family would be a profitable line of inquiry, more profitable than sweet wrappers.” Rowling than said she would say nothing more on the matter.
While most people later presumed she was talking about the revelation regarding Ariana and Aberforth in;The Deathly Hallows, which released two years later, their inclusion in the book wasn’t exactly “profitable.” However, a five-part movie franchise focusing on Dumbledore’s incredibly powerful younger brother does fit the definition of “profitable.”;Though it’s unclear if this is actually what Rowling was referring to back in 2005, the author is known for planning ahead, so it’s certainly possible.
Are there any other interesting facts about;Aurelius Dumbledore that we forgot? Let us know in the comments!
Dumbledore Chose Newt Scamander To Fight Grindelwald In His Place
Its become more and more textually explicit that Dumbledore recruited Newt Scamander to defeat Grindelwald as he could not, seemingly for two reasons. Dumbeldore says to Newt, You do not seek power or popularity, you simply ask: is a thing right? And its also implied that Newts empathy for animals is something Grindelwald does not share, giving Newt a weapon Grindelwald doesnt understand and often underestimates.
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Fantastic Beasts: 20 Things Fans Didn’t Know About Dumbledore’s Hidden Brother
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald revealed that Dumbledore apparently had another sibling that even he did not know about: Aurelius.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwaldrevealed that Albus Dumbledore apparently had another sibling that even he did not know about: Aurelius Dumbledore. Aurelius appears to be the youngest member of the Dumbledore family, being around 15 years younger than Albus’s late younger sister, Ariana.
Aurelius had previously been one of the highlights of 2016’s;Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them,;where he was known as Credence Barebone, the Obscurial wizard who lived in an abusive foster home in New York City. Much of;The Crimes of Grindelwald;focused on “Credence” trying to learn more about his heritage, with a good chunk of the movie making it look as though;he was descended from the Lestrange family and was actually the estranged brother of Lita Lestrange.
However, as revealed by Grindelwald, Credence actually descended from the Dumbledore’s, creating a;much richer history about his past than we had previously anticipated. While most of Aurelius Dumbledore’s heritage is still kept secret, likely only being known by J.K. Rowling herself, there is still quite a bit we know about this mysterious character.
With this in mind, here are the;20 Things Fans Didn’t Know About Dumbledore’s Younger Brother.