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Disclaimer: There will be Fantastic Beasts<\/em> \u00a0spoilers \u00a0GALORE. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Second disclaimer: I’m not kidding about \u00a0this. Seriously, you’ve been warned. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n (If you haven’t seen the movie and you’re still here, I can only assume you’re sussing out spoilers deliberately, and that’s fine. You know \u00a0what you’re about. I can respect that.)<\/p>\n At the end of \u00a0Fantastic Beasts<\/em>, \u00a0it’s revealed that head Auror Percival Graves is \u00a0actually the Dark wizard Grindelwald running around New York City in a Colin Farrell man suit. This brings up questions such as “Who \u00a0is \u00a0<\/em>Grindelwald?” and “What’s his deal?” and “Where is the real Percival Graves? Does he even exist?” In roughly 700 years we’ll be getting \u00a0the next Fantastic Beasts<\/em> installment, so let’s talk about Grindelwald \u00a0and everything you need to know about his character \u00a0going forward.<\/p>\n GRINDELWALD IS LIKE THE OG DARK WIZARD<\/strong><\/p>\n In Fantastic Beasts<\/i>, we’re already elbows-deep in Grindelwald’s rise to power. But before he became this sort of proto-Voldemort figure, Grindelwald \u00a0was just some troubled James Dean-looking interloper \u00a0who’d gotten himself kicked out of Durmstrang for performing one too many twisted experiments. He was shipped off to live with his great-aunt Bathilda in Godric’s Hollow, \u00a0which is where \u00a0he became close friends with none other than Albus Dumbledore, the wizarding world’s resident Gandalf.<\/p>\n DUMBLEDORE WAS 100% IN LOVE WITH GRINDELWALD<\/strong><\/p>\n There was a Fantastic Beasts<\/i> press conference a few months ago where someone asked if Dumbledore’s feelings for Grindelwald would be explored or simply glossed over in the coming films, and J.K. Rowling said she didn’t want to give too much away.<\/p>\n Dumbledore is such an iconic character, and Grindelwald is such a significant part of his tragedy, that I can’t imagine it won’t come up. The two were close friends until they parted ways in 1899; Dumbledore didn’t confront Grindelwald, who went on to become the evil dictator he was always meant to be, until 1945. I imagine at some point during the next four movies, someone’s<\/i> going to have the presence of mind to ask, “Hey, Dumbledore, you’re the most powerful wizard in the whole entire world\u2014why haven’t you gone after that Grindelwald guy yet?” And Dumbledore’s going to have to say, “Well, you see, I was in love with him once, so it’s complicated. Also, he might have killed my sister. It’s a whole thing.”<\/p>\n People made a big fuss when J.K. Rowling announced that Dumbledore was gay. Personally, I feel like his being in love with Grindelwald is the only way this whole deal makes sense. People do stupid things when they’re in love. I once sat through a Charlie Sheen movie marathon for eight hours straight just because I sort of liked the guy who invited me. It’s certainly no “ignoring the increasingly obvious signs that the boy you’re crushing on the wizarding equivalent of Hitler,” but still, I get where he’s coming from.<\/p>\n GRINDELWALD WAS \u00a0ON A HUNT FOR THE HALLOWS<\/strong><\/p>\n In the film, Grindelwald gives \u00a0a Deathly Hallows necklace to Credence Barebone. \u00a0We know, then, that he \u00a0was looking for the Hallows in 1926. The question is: did he already have the Elder Wand when he went up against Newt Scamander?<\/p>\n It would seem so. By then, Grindelwald would have been in his early 40s. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows<\/i>, he’s described as \u00a0having been a young man when he stole the wand from Gregorovitch. Percival Graves’ wand in the film, however, bore virtually no resemblance to the distinct, knotted shape of the Deathstick with which we’re all familiar. Either he had \u00a0the wand hidden away somewhere, OR the filmmakers just aren’t concerned with consistency. Whatever the case may be, keep an eye out for it in the coming movies\u2014it’ll be interesting to see how Dumbledore beats the unbeatable wand.<\/p>\n GRINDELWALD HAD A THING FOR OBSCURIALS<\/strong><\/p>\n Grindelwald wasn’t just looking for Hallows\u2014turns out he was also in the market for Obscurials. An Obscurial is a witch or wizard whose magical powers have been suppressed due to physical or psychological trauma, forcing them to \u00a0develop an external, havoc-wreaking magical force called an Obscurus. We saw this play out with Credence Barebone (I thought his hair was going to be the most tragic thing that happened in this movie, but alas), but there is \u00a0another magical child from Harry Potter lore who fits the bill: Dumbledore’s sister, Ariana.<\/p>\n It destroyed her, what they did: She was never right again. She wouldn’t use magic, but she couldn’t get rid of it; it turned inward and drove her mad, it exploded out of her when she couldn’t control it, and at times she was strange and dangerous.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If Ariana was an Obscurial, it would make sense that Grindelwald recognized her potential and sought to harness her power. When she died unexpectedly, he was forced to find \u00a0a new one. It would also make Dumbledore’s feelings for Grindelwald all the more tragic, if he were using him to get to Ariana. The way Grindelwald \u00a0manipulated Credence in Fantastic Beasts<\/i> makes me wonder if he knew how Dumbledore felt and used this to his advantage.<\/p>\n THE H.M.S. GREATER GOOD<\/strong><\/p>\n Whether Grindelwald was aware of how Dumbledore felt or not, I have a feeling their relationship is going to come up again in a big way (perhaps this is how Dumbledore was able to defeat him; Grindelwald did care for Dumbledore in some capacity, after all. Maybe he couldn’t bring himself to kill him).<\/p>\n To that end, I’ve trawled the very depths of the bottom of the deepest ocean of fandom in search of a ship name for this pairing, because what are we even supposed to call them? Dumblewald? Grindeldore? I’ve learned, as a result of extensive research, that they’re sometimes called “The Greater Good,” a reference to Grindelwald’s slogan. I’ve also learned that there’s not a single Snape pairing portmanteau that isn’t funny. (Snape + Hagrid = Snagrid. Snape + Sirius Black = Snack. Snape + Lockhart = Snart. You’re welcome.)<\/p>\n Image credit: Warner Bros.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Disclaimer: There will be Fantastic Beasts \u00a0spoilers \u00a0GALORE. \u00a0 Second disclaimer: I’m not kidding about \u00a0this. Seriously, you’ve been warned. \u00a0 (If you haven’t seen the movie and you’re still here, I can only assume continue reading<\/span>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/img.sparknotes.com\/content\/sparklife\/sparktalk\/dec1grindelboreimage2.jpg\")
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