Albus Dumbledore has always been quite an enigma in the Harry Potter series. While the last installment of the movie franchise did delve a little deeper into his childhood, the story of him and his nemesis Gellert Grindelwald, one of the most powerful wizards of all time, was left largely unexplored. It was only until the Fantastic Beasts trilogy — and J. K. Rowling’s post-release revelations — that further details of their checkered history were disclosed.
With both wizards being considerably powerful, how far back does their relationship go, and how significant was it to the rest of the story? How did Grindelwald and Dumbledore come to be friends, and then more than that, only to turn to bitter enemies?
Who Is Gellert Grindelwald?
Grindelwald serves as an antithesis of Dumbledore’s character. Born around 1882 or 1883, he receives his magical education at Durmstrang Institute. As a natural-born Seer, he sees a vision of himself dominating the wizarding world, after which he becomes obsessed with learning about the Deathly Hallows to fulfill that prediction. It is when his twisted experiments and near-fatal attacks on other students come to light that he is expelled, despite the wizarding school’s high tolerance of the Dark Arts.
His active pursuit of the Hallows leads him to Godric’s Hollow, the home of the Peverell brothers, who are believed to be the original owners of the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility. It is there that he meets Albus Dumbledore for the first time.
Albus and Gellert: An Alliance for the "Greater Good"
The early life of Dumbledore is quite disturbing. His sister Ariana is assaulted by a group of Muggle boys at the age of six, after which she is never the same again. Her trauma causes her magic to implode inwards, making her unstable and prone to sudden outbursts. When their father Percival attacks those boys in response, he is sent to the wizard prison Azkaban, where he remains till his last days. The rest of the family, including Dumbledore’s brother Aberforth, move to Godric’s Hollow and try to keep Ariana hidden from society.
When Dumbledore completes his education at Hogwarts, he makes plans to travel the world with his friend Elphias Doge. However, on the eve of their trip, his mother Kendra is killed in an accident during one of Ariana’s fits. He then returns to Godric’s Hollow to assume his role as the head of the family. A twist of fate brings Grindelwald to stay with his great-aunt Bathilda Bagshot here during this time period.
As two brilliant wizards who consider themselves as "equals", Dumbledore and Grindelwald become inseparable for the next two months. They share extreme ideas and ambitions, including leading a revolution that would make the Muggles subservient to wizards, as the latter had the "right to rule" them for their "greater good".
The Death of Ariana Dumbledore
Dumbledore’s growing relationship with Grindelwald causes him to neglect his responsibilities as Ariana’s caretaker. Aberforth chastises them when he comes to know about their mission, especially since Ariana would have to be taken along as he is set to return to Hogwarts soon — which means that she would be unable to receive sufficient care and attention. The confrontation leads to an angry Grindelwald using the Cruciatus Curse on Aberforth. Albus moves to defend his brother, and the situation escalates to a three-way duel — with a stray curse killing Ariana. Though it is unknown who exactly cast that spell, Aberforth blames Dumbledore for her death. With his poor track record, Grindelwald flees the country, marking the end of his ties with Dumbledore.
The Blood Pact in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
The Fantastic Beasts series picks up their story decades after the summer at Godric’s Hollow. Grindelwald manages to steal the Elder Wand from the wand-maker Gregorovitch and is still determined to gain power. Dumbledore, on the other hand, now teaches at Hogwarts and has built a reputation as a powerful wizard. In fact, many believe that only he is capable of putting a stop to Grindelwald’s plans. However, his refusal to oppose him is revealed later on.
In the Mirror of Erised, Dumbledore sees a flashback of the two of them sealing a blood pact together as teenagers, vowing to never duel with the other. As they cut their palms and clasp their hands, their co-mingled blood is magically stored in a jeweled vial. As Dumbledore goes on to demonstrate in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, any attempt to go against the pact would cause the chain of the vial to constrict around his skin. This is why Grindelwald recruits Credence Barebone and Albus takes on Newt Scamander to thwart the other’s plan.
Why Did the Pact Between Dumbledore and Grindelwald Break?
In Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Credence (who turns out to be the son of Aberforth) eventually goes against Grindelwald and reunites with his father and uncle. Grindelwald then casts a killing curse at him, and both Albus and Aberforth move to protect him — recreating that fated duel from long ago. As the three spells collide, the blood pact is nullified, allowing the two to engage in a duel in an isolated dimension. However, it ends in a stalemate, and Grindelwald escapes to avoid capture.
While it is unclear why exactly the blood pact is broken, Dumbledore presents the following theory: "He sought to kill, I sought to protect. Our spells met. Let's call it fate." This suggests that, just like the love that formed the blood pact, fate is also a powerful brand of magic. Another theory is that attempting to save Credence from Grindelwald also redeems Dumbledore for the mistakes he had made regarding Ariana.
The Last Years
In the inevitable confrontation between Dumbledore and Grindelwald in 1954, the latter is finally defeated and Dumbledore gains possession of the Elder Wand. Grindelwald spends the rest of his life in Nurmengard, a wizarding prison in Austria.
His death is portrayed differently in the book and movie of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In the film, he seems to have told the truth about who owns the Elder Wand to the dark wizard Lord Voldemort. In contrast, he is killed in the book when he refuses to give any details and taunts him by telling him that he can never be the wand’s true owner. A popular theory suggests that Grindelwald’s last act is to protect his former friend.
Is Dumbledore Gay?
Given how close Dumbledore is to other male characters, along with the fact that his past is shrouded in mystery for the most part, many speculated that the character was gay. This was confirmed in 2007 by Rowling when she was asked if Dumbledore had ever been in love. She remarked how she always thought of him as gay, and confirmed his "incredibly intense" relationship with Grindelwald.
The closest the franchise has come to confirming the two’s relationship was in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. In the opening scene, Dumbledore tells Grindelwald that he went along with his plans only because he was in love with him. At one point during the film, he also mentions their time together during "the summer Gellert and I fell in love". After their duel at the end, Grindelwald even asks, "Who will love you now, Dumbledore?"