Gellert Grindelwald: History and Biography, Relationship with Dumbledore

Gellert Grindelwald (first days of July of 1883 - 28 of March of 1998), is a personage of the saga of Harry Potter, written by J. K. Rowling. He was an English magician of Bulgarian descent known for being the most powerful and dangerous Dark Magician in the magical world, although he was surpassed by Lord Voldermort.

From an early age, Grindelwald demonstrated a particular talent about the Dark Arts. Years later, this was key to the search for immortality, with the intention of establishing its power in the magical world and in that of the Muggles.

In addition to these objectives, Grindelwald also sought to experiment and deepen their knowledge of the Dark Arts, so he concentrated on gathering the so-called Deathly Hallows: the elder wand, the invisible cloak (which would become Harry Potter) and the stone of the resurrection.

In the film adaptation, this character appeared for the first time in harry potter and the Philosopher's Stone and, later, in the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows .

History and biography

Little is known about the exact date and place of Grindelwald's birth; in fact, some claim that he was born in 1882 and others in 1883.

However, it is known that he was English with Bulgarian ancestry and that he was born in a family of pure blood. Although this seemed not to have had much relevance years later, Grindelwald did have favoritism for magicians with his same condition, instead of those born Muggles or as mestizos.

He began his studies at the Durmstrang Institute, a school of magic and sorcery located between Norway and Sweden, specializing in the teaching of the Dark Arts.

In 1894 Grindelwald was accepted into the institution although the exact reason is not known: it could have been due to his family ancestry or his already natural inclination towards the darkest of magic.

Shortly after his entry he became interested in finding the Deathly Hallows, in order to become Master of Death. However, during the six years he remained there he devoted himself to making particularly dangerous experiments against his teachers and other classmates.

This fact did not go unnoticed before the authorities of Durmstrang, reason why Grindelwald was expelled in 1898.

Adolescence

After the expulsion of Grindelwald, the following events can be highlighted:

- He moved to Godric's Valley to stay with his only living relative, his great aunt Bathilda Bagshot, who considered him a kind person, educated and little valued by his teachers.

- Through this, Grindelwald met the Dumbledore family. He immediately formed a friendship with Albus.

-After Ariana Dumbledore's accidental death, Gridenwald fled until his whereabouts were unknown.

-During the time he remained hidden, he undertook to study and investigate more about the Deathly Hallows, to the point that he found the location of the elderberry wand, which was guarded by Gregorovitch, a Bulgarian wand maker.

-In 1901 stole the wand to become the new owner, despite the attempts of Gregorovitch to recover it.

Chaos in New York and promotion

By 1926 Grindelwald leaked into the Department of Magical Safety, located in New York, with the appearance of Auror Percival Graves. Grindelwald stole this identity thanks to the Polyjuice potion.

With this he wanted to find the obscurial (a dangerous concentration of magical power), in order to take the power and control of the magical world.

However, Grindelwald realized that it was not an object, but a person. In this case it was the young Credence Barebone, a boy who thought he was a squib. By that point, the city was already in danger.

Before the plans of Grindelwald could finish materializing, he was stopped by the magician Newt Scamander and a group of Aurors. During the confrontation, he revealed his true identity.

War

Despite being captured by the authorities, Grindelwald used the elderberry wand to conquer the magical world.

Thanks to this he formed an army and built a prison called Nurmengad, a place where he would imprison those who opposed him. Eventually, Dumbledore knew the intentions of his old friend but he did not decide to act against him (as long as he did not reach Britain).

Important facts

-Grindelwald managed to build a large army, both wizards and Muggles, which seemed to gain more and more strength. Thanks to this the so-called Global War of Magicians was given.

- Nevertheless, in 1945 Dumbledore decided to take a position before the deaths and misfortunes happened by Grindelwald, reason why it faced with this in a duel of magicians. Finally, Dumbledore managed to disarm Grindelwald, which would be the end of this.

Prison and death

Grindelwald is transferred to Nurmengad (which would become the prison for dark wizards), and was located in the highest tower of the place.

According to the book, while there he began to reflect and to repent for the damage he had caused. It is even believed that this period served to obsess with death.

In the same way, he supposed that any dark magician would look for him to know about the Deathly Hallows. In fact, in 1998 Lord Voldemort looked for it in order to find the elderberry wand.

Grindelwald refused to tell him the location of this, so Voldermot murdered him with the murderous hex. At this point it should be noted that in the film version, Grindelwald hinted who is the true owner of the wand, so Voldemort understood that it was Dulmbledore.

Relationship with Dumbledore

Grindelwald met Albus Dumbledore through the friendship of his aunt Bathilda with Kendra Dumbledore.

At that time, the Dumbledore family faced the imprisonment of Percival due to the aggression suffered by the Muggles who hurt Albus' sister, Ariana, who caused mental problems.

When they were the same age, they managed to get along quickly and became friends, to the point that they called themselves"The invincible lords of death." The alliance arose in order to establish a new world order with the motto:"For the greater good".

On the other hand, when Abeforth saw his older brother's carelessness before Ariana, he decided to confront his friends during a duel.

During the duel they discussed the search for the Deathly Hallows and their plans for conquest. In the heat of the moment, Grindelwald cast a spell on Abeforth, inflaming the spirits.

The outcome was fatal: Ariana died without knowing with certainty who had been the cause. At this, Grindelwald fled.

General features

-Deecated in the performance of the Dark Arts.

He was known as a very skilled person during duels (although he was defeated by Albus Dumbledore in 1945).

-It is believed that he was very skilled in occlumency, since he was able to lie about the whereabouts of the wand before Voldemort.

-Before going to prison, physically he was a white man, blond, with blue eyes and of great attractiveness, with a charming and smiling personality.

-In Nurmengard lost the majesty of his youth, to become a thin man, careless and bald.

-In the book it is suggested that Grindelwald did have a kind of repentance about his actions, unlike in the film version.

References

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2. Gellert Grindelwald. (s.f.) In Harry Potter Wiki. Retrieved: April 11, 2018. In Harry Potter Wiki en.harrypotter.wikia.com.
3. Gellert Grindelwald. (s.f.) In Pottermore. Retrieved: April 11, 2018. In Pottermore from pottermore.com.
4. Grindelwald: the story so far. (s.f.) In Pottermore. Recovered. April 11, 2018. In Pottermore from pottermore.com.
5. Durmstrang Institute. (s.f.) In Harry Potter Wiki. Retrieved: April 11, 2018. In Harry Potter Wiki en.harrypotter.wikia.com.
6. Sgherza, Mariana. Fantastic animals: Who is Grindelwald and what did he do to Dumbledore? (2016). In Geek Culture. Retrieved: April 11, 2018. In Cultua Geek of culturageek.com.ar.