Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.
One of the biggest revelations leading up to Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is that Credence Barebone is Aurelius Dumbledore. Credence was adopted as a child, and longed to discover his true identity. In The Crimes of Grindelwald, he thinks he’s discovered it, but as it turns out, Credence isn’t Corvus Lestrange as many people had thought. It’s left to Grindelwald to tell Credence his alleged birth name: Aurelius Dumbledore. In the Fantastic Beasts 3 trailer, it’s clear that Credence has chosen to side with Grindelwald against his own family. Considering the title of the movie itself, The Secrets of Dumbledore needs to reveal Credence’s family tree.
Unless Grindelwald is lying about Credence Barebone being Aurelius Dumbledore, it means that there is a long-lost Dumbledore sibling in the Harry Potter timeline that many knew nothing about. People know that Albus, Aberforth, and Ariana Dumbledore were raised together and that Ariana became an Obscurial after she was attacked, at age 6, by three Muggle boys. Percival Dumbledore retaliated and was sentenced to life in Azkaban as a result. Ariana was later killed by either Albus, Aberforth, or Grindelwald when they were fighting and a stray curse hit her. Here’s what this has to do with whether Credence is related to Voldemort.
With Credence being significantly younger than the other three Dumbledore siblings, it raises the question of who his parents really are and what other connections he has. The Fantastic Beasts franchise is now exploring who Credence is related to and who Credence’s real mother is. Here’s who Aurelius Dumbledore’s parentage is linked to, and whether or not he belongs to Voldemort’s family, as revealed by Fantastic Beasts 3.
Credence’s Father Is Not Percival Dumbledore
Fantastic Beasts 3 reveals that Credence is Aberforth Dumbledore’s illegitimate son. Assuming Grindelwald was telling Credence the truth about his name being Aurelius Dumbledore, it seemed logical that he’s one of Albus Dumbledore’s siblings. Not only does his birth name start with an “A”, like all Dumbledore siblings, but many haven’t heard of any extended family on Albus’ side. It was at first thought that the family connection comes from Percival Dumbledore. However, Fantastic Beasts 3 revealed that this was not the case. Not only that, but Percival was in Azkaban at the time of Credence’s birth, and Kendra was already dead.
Kendra Dumbledore, the mother of the other three Dumbledore siblings, was killed in 1899 by Ariana when she couldn’t control her Obscurus. Credence wasn’t born until 1901, thereby ruling out Kendra as his mother. Meanwhile, Percival Dumbledore was serving life in Azkaban for attacking the three Muggle boys. He refused to reveal his motives for the attack, because as an Obscurial, Ariana would have been locked away. If Credence were a Dumbledore sibling, Percival would’ve somehow conceived him while in Azkaban – but The Secrets Of Dumbledore revealed that something else was afoot. Fantastic Beasts 3 unveiled Aurelius Dumbledore’s parentage to be that of Aberforth Dumbledore. As it turned out, Aberforth had an illegitimate son when he was young – Credence Barebone/Aurelius Dumbledore.
Who Is Credence’s Real Mother?
Fantastic Beasts 3 doesn’t let on any more information about who Credence’s real mother is or his birth. In fact, uncovering the secrets of Credence’s true identity lies at the heart of the Fantastic Beasts series and finally draws to a close during Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. It’s stated that Credence was born in 1901. That would tie in with Leta Lestrange being around the age of 6 or 7 when she swapped the babies and made him about 26 years old during the events of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. The timeline confusion doesn’t Credence’s possible heritage any easier for people to understand. Nor do any of the secrets that Dumbledore holds close to the chest.
If Credence had been conceived in Azkaban (which itself is impossible), then that meant his mother was most likely sentenced there as well, making her a witch. Credence may well be related to Voldemort, but it would have to be through Voldemort’s grandmother. That also means the mystery woman must’ve had a second child: Merope Gaunt, born in 1907. It’s entirely possible that Aberforth could’ve sired a child with Voldemort’s grandmother. Her identity is never revealed in the Harry Potter series. Too, she was a pureblood witch who would’ve gone to Hogwarts around the same time as Aberforth, only strengthening the connection. Fantastic Beasts 3 finally reveals who his father is, but little is said about Credence’s mother.
How Credence Is Related To Voldemort
Given Fantastic Beasts 3‘s Credence reveal and the numerous connections that Fantastic Beasts has to Harry Potter, it’s not much of a reach to guess that Voldemort is connected to Fantastic Beasts in some way – that’s most likely to be via his parentage. The Harry Potter universe is full of dark magical families of note, such as the Malfoy and the Gaunt families, as well as the Lestrange family. The Lestrange’s were already a part of the Fantastic Beasts universe thanks to Leta, and the second installment revealed that Aurelius Dumbledore is not related to them. Lucius Malfoy’s ancestry is easily traceable in the Harry Potter universe, and he descends from an old, wealthy wizarding family who have not yet appeared in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. With his dark hair and features, Aurelius Dumbledore is extremely unlikely to be part of the pure-blood Malfoy line. Voldemort is also not the child of Grindelwald, since his father is famously known to be Tom Riddle.
Given his powerful magic, which has turned into an Obscurus thanks to its forced suppression Aurelius Dumbledore is very likely to have descended from the Gaunt line, which, in turn, descended from the great (and very powerful) Salazar Slytherin. Merope Gaunt’s father, Marvolo, was abusive, bigoted, and violent. Years of inbreeding had led to a whole host of mercurial personalities in the Gaunt family. Not much is known about Merope’s life, but it’s known she lived in a shack with her father and brother. There is not a single mention of her mother, but Voldemort’s grandfather liked to keep it in the family. Aberforth could have fathered a child with a member of the Gaunt family, and Credence’s mother could also be Merope’s mother. Merope was born in 1907, just six years after Aurelius Dumbledore. She died in childbirth at age 19. Tom Riddle, who went on to become Voldemort, was raised in an orphanage until Dumbledore took him to Hogwarts. This is the only way that Credence could be related to Voldemort.
What Fantastic Beasts 3 Tells Us About Credence’s Family
Voldemort’s family comes from a long, pureblooded line, as did Aurelius Dumbledore’s family. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore definitely subverted expectations when it was shown that Aberforth was actually Aurelius’ father and not Percival. Many assumed that Grindelwald was lying about who Credence is related to, which led to countless theories about his parentage after The Crimes of Grindelwald. Just because people know who Credence’s father is, it doesn’t shake the mysterious questions of who Credence’s mother is and whether Credence is related to Voldemort.
While it may not be wholly plausible, it’s certainly possible that Aberforth’s relationship was with Merope Gaunt’s mother. Considering they both could’ve been around the same age, and at Hogwarts around the same time, Credence’s mother’s identity is left entirely up to debate. The way that Fantastic Beasts 3 reveals Credence’s father is nicely done when it comes to connecting the mystery of Aurelius Dumbledore to his family. However, his mother’s identity isn’t really explored in The Secrets of Dumbledore, and neither is Lord Voldemort’s family.
How This Twist Makes Harry Potter Better
If Credence’s mother also gave birth to Merope Gaunt, it actually improves the Harry Potter canon. The twist would require some artistic license and a stretch of the imagination, but that can be said about most of J.K. Rowling’s twists in The Secrets of Dumbledore (Nagini’s origins, McGonagall being a professor in 1937, and Credence’s parentage come to mind). It would make Aurelius Dumbledore Albus’ nephew and Voldemort’s uncle. Dumbledore already knows how powerful Credence can be, and he’s had experience with Obscurials because of Ariana. One of the main reasons he wants Newt Scamander to catch Aurelius Dumbledore is for his own safety, and in Fantastic Beasts 3, Credence is fighting against his own uncle as the head of Grindelwald’s army. In later years, Dumbledore wants to bring Tom Riddle to Hogwarts to refine and nurture his powerful magic – he’s scared of what he’ll do otherwise. If it turns out he knows about Voldemort’s family, it makes even more sense that he would fear this eleven-year-old boy. He’s seen what he could become.
Not only does it explain more about why Dumbledore feared Tom Riddle so much, but it also gives some point and purpose to Credence. With such a big emphasis on him and the revelation about his Dumbledore heritage leading up to Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore‘s ending, it makes sense that Credence is actually the major player in the whole franchise. Fans know the duel is coming between Grindelwald and Dumbledore, now that the blood pact has been broken. There needs to be a purpose leading up to Credence Barebone’s death, other than just being a Dumbledore, and his connection to Voldemort is almost certainly it.
Next: Why Johnny Depp Was Recast As Grindelwald In Fantastic Beasts 3
Key Release Dates
- Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)Release date: Apr 15, 2022
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