Fans of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series know all about Lord Voldemort, but he wasn’t the first Dark wizard to try to take over the world. Before there was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, there was Gellert Grindelwald, the incredibly influential and dangerous man who started a Global Wizarding World and fought Albus Dumbledore in what eye-witnesses considered to be the greatest wizard duel of all time.
While Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them focused primarily on the many wonderful creatures and monsters in Rowling’s wizarding world, its sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, centered on the rise of the man who inspired Tom Riddle to follow his villainous path several decades later. The film featured several scenes which proved how great of a threat Grindelwald truly was at his peak—his magical skill was undeniable and allowed him to single-handedly neutralize several Aurors, but his true power laid in his silver tongue, which gave him the ability to sway even the kindest souls to his side and trick them into fighting innocents “for the greater good.’
Grindelwald’s mission to expose the magical world to the non-magical community and assert wizard dominance over Muggles brought with it a promise of power and freedom, so several witches and wizards joined the Dark wizard’s cause and earned his trust and loyalty during his rise. A select few brave souls, however, stood against him and were subjected to Gellert’s wrath and hatred.
Here are 8 Characters Grindelwald Was Close With (And 12 He Can’t Stand).
20. CLOSE WITH: YOUNG ALBUS
Albus Dumbledore grew up to be an incredibly kind and gentle adult, but even he had a dark side during his teenage years which master of manipulation Gellert Grindelwald was able to bring out. Through excerpts from Rita Skeeter’s “The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore” in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, readers found out that Albus and the notorious Dark wizard were actually close childhood friends.
When an accidental outburst by Ariana Dumbledore ended Kendra Dumbledore’s life, Albus had to put his plans to travel the world on hold so he could watch over his troubled sister. He was feeling trapped and resentful in Godric’s Hollow until he met Gellert, a handsome and charismatic wizard who was just as talented and brilliant as he was. Albus quickly became fascinated by Grindelwald’s thoughts on wizarding domination, and developed feelings for his new friend.
COULD NOT STAND: LORD VOLDEMORT
Both Grindelwald and Voldemort believed that wizards were superior to non-magical people and deserved to rule the world. Both were able to manipulate others to get what they wanted and join their causes. Both viewed Albus Dumbledore as their greatest rival, and failed to respect or see the value in “lesser beings.” They shared so much in common, so it was incredibly surprising that Gellert outright refused to help the Dark Lord in the Second Wizarding War.
When Voldemort broke into Grindelwald’s prison cell fifty-three years after his defeat to get information on the location of the all-powerful Elder Wand, Gellert simply laughed and told him that the wand would never be his. He was clearly remorseful for the way he treated Albus Dumbledore, because he refused to tell Voldemort that the Deathly Hallow was buried with his old friend.
18. CLOSE WITH: VINDA ROSIER
The famous Rosier family clearly places great importance on their pure-blood heritage, because decades before two members joined the ranks of Lord Voldemort’s Death Eaters, Vinda Rosier was Gellert Grindelwald’s lieutenant and one of his most trusted acolytes.
Vinda demonstrated a complete lack of remorse throughout Crimes of Grindelwald. When her master ordered her to eliminate a Non-Magique couple and their baby just so they could have a new headquarters, Vinda had no qualms about following through with his instructions. She showed some kindness towards Queenie Goldstein, but that was just an act to help Grindelwald gain another acolyte. She was willing to do anything to achieve her sinister aims, so it’s no wonder why Gellert took such a liking to her.
17. COULD NOT STAND: NEWT SCAMANDER
While Grindelwald was disguised as MACUSA’s Director of Magical Security Percival Graves, he tried putting the blame for the Obscurus’ attacks on New York City on Newt Scamander and his suitcase of fantastic beasts. His poor treatment of Newt and his failure to see the value in the zoologist’s collection of creatures proved to be his undoing. Newt’s Swooping Evil restrained the Dark wizard, a task which not even an army of twenty Aurors seemed capable of, and Newt cast the Revelio Charm which ended Grindelwald’s charade and revealed his true identity.
Even after all of that, Grindelwald refused to see Newt as an equal or put any thought towards his assortment of beasts. In Crimes of Grindelwald, Newt used one of his Nifflers to steal the vial containing the magic from the Dark wizard’s blood pact with Dumbledore right off of Grindelwald’s body without him realizing.
16. CLOSE WITH: QUEENIE GOLDSTEIN
When Queenie Goldstein first met Gellert Grindelwald, she jumped to her feet and pointed her wand at the infamous Dark wizard. Queenie’s sister worked for the MACUSA and helped arrest Gellert Grindelwald, so she knew all about how powerful and threatening he was. Yet, after just a few short minutes of conversation, Queenie found herself starting to side with Grindelwald.
By offering Queenie the freedom to openly love her non-magical boyfriend Jacob Kowalski under his reign, Grindelwald convinced the formerly fan-favorite witch to turn her back on her loved ones and join his constantly-growing army of supporters. Since Queenie is a skilled mind-reader, she quickly became one of the Gellert’s most valuable allies.
15. COULD NOT STAND: SERAPHINA PICQUERY
MACUSA leader Seraphina Picquery did everything in her power to keep the magical community a secret from the rest of the world, so when Grindelwald tried using an Obscurial to expose the wizarding world, he and Seraphina became instant enemies.
When an army of MACUSA Aurors appeared to have destroyed Credence and foiled Grindelwald’s plans, he lashed out at Seraphina and openly questioned the value of the Statue of Secrecy, arguing that the law protected No-Majes more than it protected witches and wizards. He began to attack the Aurors, and after Newt and Tina captured him, he mocked Seraphina by telling her that no prison could possibly hold him. Unfortunately, he turned out to be right about that.
14. COULD NOT STAND: LETA LESTRANGE
Bellatrix Lestrange was one of Lord Voldemort’s most trusted Death Eaters, but not all Lestranges seem to be fully evil. When Leta Lestrange attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, her peers all assumed she was every bit as wicked as the other members of her family. At times, the darkness inside of Leta made it seem like they may be right. When Leta was offered the chance to join Grindelwald, however, she turned it down and actually mustered up enough courage to stand against him.
In order to halt Grindelwald’s attack on the Scamander brothers, Leta momentarily made it seem like she was willing to join the Dark wizard. Once his guard was down, she launched a curse at Gellert. He admired her strength and pure-blood heritage, but Grindelwald couldn’t let this slight go unpunished and immediately ended the unexpected hero’s life.
13. CLOSE WITH: BATHILDA BAGSHOT
Bathilda Bagshot, the legendary historian and author of A History of Magic, had an incredibly tragic life. Years before her corpse was reanimated and used by Voldemort to contain his snake Nagini, she was the great-aunt of Gellert Grindelwald and had the misfortune of housing the Dark wizard in Godric’s Hollow.
Through the use of Veritarserum, Rita Skeeter forced Bathilda to tell her intimate details of Albus’ childhood for her semi-true biography “The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore”. During these interviews, Bathilda revealed that Grindelwald’s plans to gather the Deathly Hallows with Dumbledore and achieve global domination first began while he was residing in her cottage. There’s no way to know how close a bond she and Gellert shared, but since she apparently knew what her nephew was up to and didn’t kick him out of her home, they must have at least gotten along.
12. COULD NOT STAND: THESEUS SCAMANDER
Theseus Scamander ordered his fellow Aurors to stay civil during Grindelwald’s rally at the end of Crimes of Grindelwald, but when one of his co-workers disobeyed that directive, Theseus bravely joined him in trying to take down the notoriously powerful Dark wizard and his acolytes.
Grindelwald’s promise of power and freedom pulled several Aurors over to his side, but Theseus’ moral code never wavered. Grindelwald knew he was a lost cause and proceeded to attack the eldest Scamander brother, and only paused his assault when Leta Lestrange provided a distraction. Theseus isn’t a vengeful person, but he will likely continue to stand against Gellert in future films to avenge his fiancée’s noble sacrifice.
11. CLOSE WITH: ANTONIO THE CHUPACABRA
While Grindelwald was locked away in a MACUSA prison, a Chupacabra watched over him to ensure he couldn’t escape. However, thanks to his silver tongue, Gellert was able to convince the beast to switch allegiances and attack his former employers.
During Grindelwald’s dramatic thestral escape scene, Antonio assaulted MACUSA employees and showed unwavering loyalty to his new master. Grindelwald initially seemed to care for his creepy little pet, but when he deemed the Chupacabra to be too needy for his liking, he heartlessly threw it out of the carriage and sent it plummeting to the ground hundreds of feet below. Clearly, his willingness to manipulate and use others even extends to magical creatures.
10. COULD NOT STAND: ABERFORTH DUMBLEDORE
When Albus told his family his plan to join Gellert Grindelwald in searching for the Deathly Hallows and help lead a revolution that would make Muggles subservient to wizards, Aberforth Dumbledore did everything he could to make his brother see the flaws in that twisted plan. Aberforth’s attempts to change Albus’ mind infuriated Grindelwald, prompting the young Dark wizard to use the Criciatus Curse on him. A three-way duel between Albus, Aberforth, and Grindelwald then broke out, and a stray curse from one of them hit Ariana, the Dumbledore brothers’ younger sister, and ended her life.
This incident helped open Albus’ eyes to Gellert’s true self. If Aberforth never took a stand against Grindelwald, Albus likely would have continued down the dark path his crush was sending him on, and the two brilliant wizards would have been unstoppable together.
9. COULD NOT STAND: MYKEW GREGOROVITCH
When Mykew Gregorovitch came into possession of the Elder Wand, he tried to use it to improve his wand-making business. He spread a rumor about owning a powerful wand that he was trying to replicate in attempt to increase sales, failing to realize that such a rumor would prompt power-hungry young Gellert Grindelwald to break into his shop to steal it.
Late one evening, Grindelwald grabbed the Elder Wand and shot a Stunning Spell at Gregorovitch before leaping out the window. Simply stealing the wand wouldn’t have made Gellert the wand’s true owner, but by attacking the wandmaker, he was able to take full ownership of the powerful weapon. Gregorovitch lucked out coming face-to-face with Grindelwald before he started experimenting with Unforgivable Curses, but when Voldemort found him decades later to search for the Elder Wand, he wasn’t so fortunate.
8. CLOSE WITH: CREDENCE BAREBONE
While disguised as Percival Graves, Grindelwald pretended to show genuine affection for Credence Barebone. He promised Credence that he’d free him from his abusive mother and help teach him magic, but as soon as Credence pointed him in the direction of Modesty—whom Grindelwald believed to be the Obscurial—he cast Credence aside and told him he had no further use for him.
Credence then revealed the Obscurus inside of him and attacked Grindelwald, but in Crimes of Grindelwald, he seemingly forgave the Dark wizard. Grindelwald told Credence he knew the truth about his family, so Credence willingly joined his cause to get that information. Grindelwald later revealed Credence was actually Aurelius Dumbledore, and gave him his first wand to solidify their partnership.
COULD NOT STAND: TINA GOLDSTEIN
In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Tina Goldstein disarmed Grindelwald and helped secure his arrest. Grindelwald wasn’t particularly phased by his capture because he knew he could easily escape from whatever prison MACUSA threw him in, but he may have reason to hold a serious grudge against Tina.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, readers learned that the Elder Wand switches allegiances when its owner is defeated. All Draco had to do to Dumbledore was disarm him to become the Elder Wand’s new owner, and when Harry disarmed Draco, he became the Hallow’s master. Since Tina disarmed Grindelwald, she may very well be the master of the Elder Wand. Grindelwald was still able to do some seriously formidable magic in the latest film, but it’s possible that Tina is holding him back from being able to reach his full destructive potential.
6. COULD NOT STAND: RUDOLPH SPIELMAN
In Crimes of Grindelwald, viewers were introduced to Rudolph Spielman, the Head of Incarceration at the International Confederation of Wizards. Spielman was tasked with overseeing Grindelwald’s extradition from MACUSA to Europe, but since Grindelwald and one of his Acolytes had already switched places through the use of Polyjuice Potion, he wasn’t able to make the villain answer for his crimes.
Spielman was assaulted by Antonio the Chupacabra during Grindelwald’s escape and pushed out of the thestral carriage while it was hundreds of feet in the air. Luckily, he was a highly-skilled wizard capable of conjuring up a non-verbal Shield Charm the moment he grabbed his wand, saving himself from what would have been a fatal fall into the water below.
CLOSE WITH: GUNNAR GRIMMSON
When Newt Scamander refused to help the Ministry of Magic capture and eliminate the Obscurial Credence Barebone, the British wizarding government hired bounty hunter Gunnar Grimmson to complete the dangerous task for them. They didn’t realize that Grimmson was secretly working for Grindelwald, who needed Credence alive.
Grindelwald instructed Grimmson to eliminate Irma Dugard, the woman listed on Credence’s adoption papers, to deprive Credence of the answers he was seeking and force him to turn to Grindelwald for information about his family. Grimmson did exactly as he was ordered, and even though Credence’s immensely destructive Obscurus came out to seek revenge, Grimmson was powerful enough to maintain a protective spell long enough to Apparate away.
4. COULD NOT STAND: ARIANA DUMBLEDORE
Viewers got to see the destruction an Obscurus can bring about in the first Fantastic Beasts film, but Credence may not have been the first Obscurial introduced in Rowling’s wizarding world. Some fans believe that Albus Dumbledore’s sister Ariana was an Obscurial as well.
Ariana had difficulty controlling her magic, and she accidentally ended her mother’s life during one of her outbursts. Albus felt a need to put his plans to travel on hold so he could watch over her until Aberforth graduated from Hogwarts, and when she was eliminated during the three-way duel between the Dumbledore brothers and Grindelwald, Albus fell into a depression and cut ties with his former best friend Gellert. Grindelwald didn’t show any remorse for Ariana’s tragic passing, and was only upset that he lost Albus as an ally.
CLOSE WITH: ABERNATHY
In the first Fantastic Beasts film, Abernathy worked as Tina Goldstein’s supervisor in the wand permit office of MACUSA headquarters. He seemed to be overly pompous and easily agitated, so it wasn’t overly surprising to find out in the sequel that he had turned against his employers and joined the ranks of Gellert Grindelwald’s acolytes.
While Grindelwald was in MACUSA custody, he managed to use his legendary manipulation skills to convince Abernathy to join his cause. Abernathy switched places with Grindelwald and actually got his tongue cut out while imprisoned. Gellert later helped free his new ally and gave him a forked tongue as payment for his loyalty, and Abernathy became one of his most trusted henchmen.
2. COULD NOT STAND: TORQUIL TRAVERS
As the Ministry of Magic’s Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Torquil Travers was the man tasked with capturing Gellert Grindelwald by any means necessary. He seemed to enjoy abusing his power, and told Dumbledore that his position gave him the power to do as he pleased at Hogwarts. That included barging into the Defense Against the Dark Art professor’s classroom and trying to force him to give the Ministry information on Newt Scamander and risk his life to fight Grindelwald for him.
Travers’ desire to end Grindelwald’s reign was likely more about him wanting credit for taking down such a powerful Dark wizard than anything else, but since he helped motivate Dumbledore to finally take a stand against his former friend, he was at least moderately good at his job and proved to be a legitimate threat to Grindelwald.
COULD NOT STAND: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
Grindelwald had several followers whom he trusted and used to help him reach his goals, but Albus Dumbledore may have been the only wizard whom he truly respected. All Gellert really seemed to care about was power, and even he had to admit that Albus was every bit as powerful as he was.
Viewers have seen Grindelwald duel with dozens of Aurors at once and get taken into MACUSA custody, but none of that seemed to phase the Dark wizard. Dumbledore remains the only wizard Gellert actually fears or takes seriously, which is likely why he always kept the vial which contained the magic from his teenage blood pact with Albus so close to him at all times.
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Can you think of any other characters who Grindelwald gets along with or despises in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald? Let us know in the comments!
