Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald left fans with a massive cliffhanger that not only upset the lineage of one of the film’s most important figures but also raised questions surrounding the entire Harry Potter franchise.
In the closing moments of the film, Grindelwald reveals to Credence Barebone that his real name is in fact Aurelius Dumbledore and that he is the sibling of the Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
Not only did this alleged truth shock audiences, but it has also split the community who are still trying to process the reveal and determine whether or not Credence Barebone truly is Aurelius Dumbledore.
Is Credence Barebone related to Dumbledore?
It’s hard to make a concrete judgment right now whether Credence Barebone is Aurelius Dumbledore, as it does seem to match up with the story being told in Fantastic Beasts, but makes absolutely no sense in the overarching history of the Harry Potter franchise.
Aurelius is said to be the long-lost brother of Albus Dumbledore who was separated from his family while traveling on a ship to America after being switched by Leta Lestrange for her half-brother Corvus. After the ship capsized, Credence was taken to safety but placed up for adoption as soon as they arrived in America.
Over the years, Credence’s rough upbringing led to him developing an Obscurus and becoming the first wizard to survive becoming Obscurial, which provided him with extremely powerful magic. While it would make sense that a Dumbledore would be capable of this, there are several points in the original Harry Potter books that dispute Aurelius Dumbledore’s existence.
The main point would be that Dumbledore’s mother and the woman who would also be the mother of Aurelius, Kendra Dumbledore died in 1899, two years before Credence’s suspected birth. This would rule out Credence/ Aurelius being a secret half-brother to Albus. Also in Rita Skeeter’s The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, there is no mention of any Aurelius, the only siblings Albus is known to have had are Aberforth and Ariana.
With significant evidence contradicting the dramatic reveal at the end of Fantastic Beasts The Crimes of Grindelwald, along with Grindelwald’s history of being manipulative and telling lies, it would be possible that he is intentionally misleading Credence so he may take down Albus Dumbledore. It is also possible that he could really be Aurelius Dumbledore and these plot holes are something the fandom will need to learn to live with.
We won’t know for sure until Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore hits theatres later this year.
