WithFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,J.K. Rowlingweaves a new tale in theHarry Potteruniverse about magizoologist Newt Scamander and his adventures in 1920s New York City. The basic plot line is simple: during this tumultuous time for wizarding kind in America, some of Newt’s creatures escape and threaten to expose magic to the mortal world. But there’s a more nefarious threat at play, one that may have something to do with one of the most powerful dark wizards of this world.
The name Gellert Grindelwald has been popping up all over the film’s marketing materials: MACUSA President Picquery referenced Grindelwald attacks in the trailers, and Rowling herself discussed the character in afeaturette. “They’re talking about the first time a wizard rose and threatened the world order,” she said. During the international fan event for the film,Fantastic BeastsdirectorDavid Yatesalso said Grindelwald is “going to become a much more prominent part of the stories going forward. Any more than that, I really couldn’t say.”
Rowlingannouncedfour moreFantastic Beastssequels are on the way, so it seems like we won’t be hearing the last of this wizard anytime soon (Johnny Deppwill play the character throughout the franchise). And with the first film’s release impending, we dove into theHarry Potterbooks and movies to learn more about the villain who preceded Lord Voldemort.
Grindewald, the Student
In theDeathly Hallowsbook, a passage fromThe Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledoredescribes Grindelwald: “In a list of the Most Dangerous Dark Wizards of All Time, he would miss out on the top spot only because You-Know-Who arrived, a generation later, to steal his crown.”
Before he earned his infamy, he was a blond, curly-haired young wizard enrolled at the Scandinavian school for magic, Durmstrang Institute. The grand-nephew of Bathilda Bagshot, the historian behindA History of Magictextbook, he proved to be an exceptionally bright and talented student. He is described as “charming” in the books, but Grindelwald was expelled from the school at the age of 16 for “the twisted experiments” he conducted.
Not much is known about what those experiments entailed, but a letter from Albus Dumbledore to Grindelwald reads, “Where we meet resistance, we must use only the force that is necessary and no more. (This was your mistake at Durmstrang!…)”
From Durmstrang to Dumbledore
Grindelwald’s activities in the months that followed are unknown, but in his late teens he moved in with his great-aunt at Godric’s Hollow, where the Potters would later be buried. There, Grindelwald first met Dumbledore, who moved home to take care of his brother Aberforth and sister Ariana after their mother died.
When Rowling brought Dumbledore out of the closet in 2007, sherevealedhe fell in love with Grindelwald during this time. “That added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was,” she said. “To an extent, do we say it excused Dumbledore a little more because falling in love can blind us to an extent? But, he met someone as brilliant as he was, and rather like Bellatrix [Lestrange with Voldemort], he was very drawn to this brilliant person, and horribly, terribly let down by him.”
Grindelwald never reciprocated that love. “I think he was a user and a narcissist, and I think someone like that would use it, would use the infatuation,” Rowlingexplainedfor the bookHarry, a History(viaHarry Potterfan siteSnitch Seeker). “I don’t think that he would reciprocate in that way, although he would be as dazzled by Dumbledore as Dumbledore was by him, because he would see in Dumbledore, ‘My God, I never knew there was someone as brilliant as me, as talented as me, as powerful as me. Together, we are unstoppable!’ So, I think he would take anything from Dumbledore to have him on his side.”
Grindelwald was enthralled by the legend of the Deathly Hallows, which is probably why he went to live at Godric’s Hollow — it was the home of the Peverell brothers, who many thought to be the same brothers in the story of the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility. Dumbledore shared in this interest, as well as a desire to lift the Statute of Secrecy, which keeps witches and wizards in hiding from the Muggle world. Dumbledore had a personally scarring experience with Muggles. When Ariana was young, three Muggle boys saw her doing magic and attacked her. Whatever they did to her left her mentally and magically unstable, and she would require constant care for the rest of her life.
Grindelwald and Dumbledore believed in wizard supremacy and used “For the Greater Good” as a slogan for these pursuits. However, a letter written by Dumbledore shows he had a less domineering view of the matter: “Your point about Wizard dominance beingfor the muggles’ own good— this, I think, is the crucial point. Yes, we have been given power and yes, that power gives us the right to rule, but it also gives us responsibilities over the ruled.”
Their joint plans — and relationship — would never come to fruition. Aberforth was always resentful of his brother for leaving him to care for their sister and only assuming responsibility when convenient. He had finally had enough and confronted Dumbledore and Grindelwald, decreeing they’d never bring Ariana, still unhinged, with them on their journey. The heated exchange erupted in a three-way duel after Grindelwald cast the Cruciatus Curse on Aberforth. Ariana attempted to help, but the chaos resulted in her death, and Grindelwald fled in the aftermath as the brothers were left with their grief.
Grindelwald’s Rise and Fall
As shown in Harry’s vision inDeathly Hallows, Part 1, Grindelwald (played then byJamie Campbell Bower) broke into the workshop of the wand maker Gregorovitch, the then owner of the Elder Wand. After stealing the artifact, he used it to ascend to power and spread infamy throughout the wizarding world, even adopting the Deathly Hallows symbol as his personal insignia.
He created a prison called Nurmengard, emblazoned with the familiar phrase, “For the Greater Good.” It was there he locked up his enemies, and it would later become his cage. Dumbledore feared his old friend in part because he believed Grindelwald knew which of them actually cast the curse that killed Ariana.
We’ll pick up with Grindelwald’s reign of terror inFantastic Beastsduring 1926. Though we still don’t know exactly how he’ll play into the events of the film, Percival Graves (Colin Farrell) is shown to possess a necklace with the Deathly Hallows symbol — Grindelwald’s symbol. The Auror and righthand man of President Picquery also tells the mysterious Credence (Ezra Miller) in a featurette, “If they succeed, we will be forced to stay in the shadows forever — and we’ve both lived in the shadows for too long,” an echo of Grindelwald’s ideology.
In 1945, Dumbledore, then the Professor of Transfiguration at Hogwarts, finally faced the dark wizard in a duel that many described as the greatest fight of all time between wizards. Dumbledore’s victory would earn him a place in history, as well as the Elder Wand. Grindelwald was then locked away in Nurmengard, which we glimpsed in another vision inDeathly Hallows, Part 1.
