As Harry Potter fans continue to dig through the series lore and enjoy even more from The Fantastic Beasts series, more and more is being uncovered about one of the most notorious dark wizards to ever grace the wizarding world, Gellert Grindelwald. There were many dark wizards before him, and arguably an even worse one that followed after, but that doesn’t mean the name Grindelwald doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of those who speak it much in the same way the name Voldemort does.
While he lived for over a hundred years, there were really only ever two wizards in the Harry Potter universe that were considered to be more skilled than Grindelwald, making it clear why he was capable of such terrible things. Once shrouded in mystery, much of Grindelwald’s life is now common knowledge, all except for a few key moments that fans may get to see one day.
Young Grindelwald And Dumbledore
Gellert Grindelwald was born sometime between 1882 and 1883, though what his initial childhood years were like is mostly unknown. Eventually, Grindelwald would begin attending the Durmstrang Institute, one of the other famous wizarding schools in Europe that would see another notable wizard, Viktor Krum, attending years later. He was a natural with magic, and Durmstrang only served to foster his darker urges, but things would get even worse when Grindelwald would have a vision of himself becoming the one true leader of all wizards.
After that vision, Grindelwald became obsessed with every power-hungry wizard’s favorite items, the Deathly Hallows. His obsession with power would prove so great that he would eventually be expelled from Durmstrang altogether, though it is his expulsion that would lead him to his closest bond and greatest enemy, Albus Dumbledore.
Meeting for the first time in Goderic’s Hollow while on his quest for information on the Deathly Hallows, Grindelwald and Dumbledore became instant friends, and eventually, became romantic. Crucially, it was during this time that the two made a pact in which they vowed to never harm one another. Dumbledore would ultimately seek to join Grindelwald on his search for the Hallows, though that would change in a hurry one fateful day. After a three-way duel that started after Dumbeldore’s brother Aberforth tried to stop them from leaving Goderic’s Hollow, Dumbedlore’s sister Ariana ended up killed somehow, causing Grindelwald to go on the run by himself to fulfill his destiny of becoming the head of the wizarding world.
Grindelwald's War
Before Grindelwald could truly light the wizarding world on fire, he needed a much more powerful wand, and that’s where the Elder Wand comes into the equation. Late one night, he snuck into the shop of a famed wandmaker known as Gregorovitch and stole the wand, becoming the master of it in the process. Now in possession of one of the most powerful wands in existence, Grindelwald could begin his path of torment and his march toward war for real.
His campaign of terror would carry on from the 1920s all the way to 1945 when he would finally be defeated. Before he could be stopped, Grindelwald caused so much chaos and killed so many people that he wasn’t just a menace in the wizarding world, at some point, even muggles began to take note of the strange happenings. It was during this time that Grindelwald created his army, created the castle Nurmengard, and began his hunt for someone to kill the only person who could stop him, Dumbledore.
This period of Grindelwald’s life is heavily covered throughout the Fantastic Beasts films, including when he posed as Percival Graves to gain affluence in America. His goal was to find an Obscurial, a dangerous magic-repressed wizard, who he foresaw as capable of killing his former lover. Despite being captured thanks to the interference of Newt Scamander, Grindelwald would quickly escape in order to continue his search. He eventually turned the Obscurial Creedance to his side, took over the German Ministry Of Magic, and even successfully ran for magical office. It was during this period that Dumbledore was able to overcome the pact the two men had made, and a duel occurred, ending in a draw. The wizard wouldn’t face his greatest threat again until 1945.
The Fall Of Grindelwald
Dumbledore finally managed to find and confront Grindelwald in 1945, and it would be the last time that the pair would duel. While the details of the duel are currently shrouded in mystery, it is known that the duel was of epic proportions. Whatever occurred between the two men, the battle became viewed as one of the biggest and most historically significant wizard duels of the ages with Dumbledore somehow managing to defeat Grindelwald despite the dark wizard still wielding the Elder Wand.
With Grindelwald defeated, he was sent to the safest place possible, Nurmengard, a place of his own creation. He would remain there until the day he died, though it does seem that he did have a bit of a change of heart.
The Death Of Grindelwald
Serving his sentence from 1945 to 1998, Grindelwald would finally be granted some form of freedom when he was visited by the even more vile dark wizard, Voldemort. Grindelwald could have continued his evil ways and given Voldemort the location of the Elder Wand, but instead, he simply laughed at the dark wizard. Since Voldemort didn’t take too kindly to being disrespected, he would finally end Grindelwald’s life with the killing curse.
While Grindelwald would draw his final breath in Nurmengard, he did at least die knowing that he would never turn his back on the man he loved, even if it meant certain death. It’s this final act that shows that Grindelwald’s shown regret toward the actions of his youth was likely genuine instead of some clever ploy to lull someone into a false sense of security, only for Grindelwald to escape again. His sacrifice would ultimately be in vain, but there’s always a chance he was reunited with Dumbledore in whatever kind of wizard afterlife exists in the wizarding world.
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