Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today, we’re going to be discussing a few more thoughts I’ve had on the latest Fantastic
Beasts film.
If you’ve seen it, you know much was uncovered in the way of Credence’s Barebone’s true
identity – and if you haven’t seen it, BE WARNED, there are spoilers ahead!
While it’s true, we learn much of who Credence really is in The Secrets of Dumbledore, some
of these answers have led to, well, more questions.
After seeing the film at the first midnight showing on the day it was released – no
surprise to you all, I’m sure!
– I left the theatre with a mixed sense of satisfaction and frustration…
Yes!
We finally learned that Credence is, in fact, a Dumbledore.
But, no!
He is not Albus’ brother, as Grindelwald led us to believe in Fantastic Beasts 2.
And thank goodness for that- because, quite frankly, that timeline just did not add up.
For one thing, Percival Dumbledore had been imprisoned in Azkaban well before 1901, when
Credence was born.
And for another, Kendra Dumbledore was dead, which would’ve made it pretty tricky for
them to have conceived and hidden away a fourth child…
So, I must admit, I let out a big sigh of relief when The Secrets of Dumbledore revealed
that Credence’s biological father was not Percival Dumbledore but another Dumbledore
entirely: Aberforth, Albus’ rather uncharming younger brother.
While I didn’t quite see that coming, after it was revealed, it did seem incredibly obvious.
That is, if you’ve spent the last four years believing that Credence was a Dumbledore at
all.
I mean, since it was Gellert Grindelwald who first suggested this was the case in the second
Fantastic Beasts, I had definitely had my doubts.
You know, I’m not sure WHO I thought Credence was, but I must say, I really wasn’t convinced
that he was a Dumbledore, not truly.
But, with the Aberforth explanation, I must say, I’m happy with it.
Now, while I may be happy with the explanation of HOW Credence is related to the Dumbledore
family, I do take a bit of issue with the “Aberforth” of it all.
This is because everything that we know about Aberforth Dumbledore prior to this film has
suggested that he didn’t really … how should I put this … like people.
Like, at all.
In fact, it’s made quite clear that he much rather preferred the company of goats.
(Don’t tell me you didn’t notice how he was looking at that qilin!)
Anyway, the only PERSON he seemed to ever really care for was his little sister, Ariana.
As an adult, after she had died, he was considerably gruff to all who encountered him.
And yet, we are meant to believe that he fell in love the same summer Albus fell in love
with Grindelwald.
What I find hard to believe here is that Aberforth had the capacity for romance while caring
for his ailing sister, as she still would’ve been alive, at least at the beginning of the
relationship.
The only way I see this working is: he fell in love and then, after Ariana died, he looked
for comfort from this woman, the only other person he cared for.
Which brings us to the question of WHO was this woman, beloved by one of the Wizarding
World’s most curmudgeon-y of wizards?
Here are a few ideas I’ve come up with…
My most boring theory for who Aberforth’s lover was?
Well, hold on to your pointy hats…perhaps she was an ordinary Muggle who just happened
to live in Godric’s Hollow at the same time as the Dumbledore family.
See, I warned you – quite boring – but entirely possible!
She could’ve met Aberforth by chance one day in the streets of the neighbourhood, or
possibly at a shop.
This theory would line up with why Credence was sent away to America, as the young lady
may have been afraid that her baby would be magical and, therefore, a danger to her if
it remained in her care.
Or perhaps, her family discovered that the child’s father, Aberforth, was a wizard
and feared the baby, so they sent it away – possibly against the mother’s wishes.
And let’s not forget, even though Credence’s adoptive mother, Mary Lou Barebone referred
to his biological mother as a wicked, unnatural woman – which obviously suggested that she
was a witch – Mary Lou would’ve been referring to Corvus Lestrange’s mother, Clarisse Tremblay,
as that was the woman who she thought she had adopted from.
But, as we know from Leta Lestrange’s confession in Fantastic Beasts 2, Leta swapped Corvus
with Credence on the ship before it sank.
This, of course, means that Mary Lou had absolutely no clue who Credence’s real mother was…
Now for the sake of the Fantastic Beasts’ storyline, that last theory – although quite
plausible – seems rather unlikely because it’s not, well, SHOCKING enough.
From everything we’ve seen so far in the Fantastic Beasts series, I think it’s a
lot more likely that we’ll eventually see some sort of plot twist come from this mystery.
Which, in my opinion, means that it’s a heck of a lot more likely that Aberforth’s
lover was from some scandalous wizarding family, not an ordinary Muggle one.
One theory that I’ve heard is that Credence may be related to Voldemort by way of Merope
Gaunt, mother of Voldemort – or Tom Riddle, if you prefer.
While I admit this would make a great twist, I’m pretty quick to discredit this theory,
mainly due to the fact that Merope was born six years AFTER Credence, making it pretty
difficult to be his mother.
The Gaunt family also resided in Little Hangleton, not Godric’s Hollow, where Aberforth and
the mystery woman were both living at the time of the romance.
So, if not the Gaunt dynasty, which wizarding family could this mystery witch be from?
After The Crimes of Grindelwald, many fans were convinced that Credence was a Prince,
rather than a Dumbledore, the Prince family being the ancestors of Severus Snape, on his
mother, Eileen’s side.
And while we obviously now know that Credence is indeed a Dumbledore, it doesn’t necessarily
mean that he is NOT a Prince.
There is basically no known information regarding the Prince family, with the exception of Eileen,
Snape’s mother.
What we do know is that Eileen was born around 1930, meaning that she is obviously not Credence’s
mother and Severus’ long-lost brother – since, as I’ve mentioned, Credence was born in
1901.
But this doesn’t rule out that Credence was a Prince on his mother’s side.
For example, Credence could have been her father’s cousin, a secret son of one of
Eileen’s grandfather’s sisters – that is, if he had any.
Obviously, this is all rather speculative, as no one even knows where the Prince family
resided – simply that they were British.
Which, of course, makes it possible that they lived in Godric’s Hollow alongside the Dumbledores.
So, I guess, this would actually make “Miss Prince” – if you will – the perfect
candidate for Credence’s mystery mother.
Since pretty much nothing is known about the Prince family, in terms of canon, it provides
plenty of room for a new story to be written, involving the new characters from the Fantastic
Beasts franchise.
And let’s face it, who wouldn’t be super excited to learn that Credence was related
to Snape?!
The parallels between the two in terms of character development are just too good, should
they end up being ACTUALLY related to each other.
And let’s not forget how similar they look been in appearance since Credence grew out
his hair.
For more on my theories on why these two wizards look so much alike, I recommend you check
out my previous video: The Next ANTIHERO (Why Credence Looks Like SNAPE)!
So, if Credence’s mother turns out to be from the Prince family, we’ll be left with
one final question: why was Credence sent away to America as an infant?
Perhaps the Dumbledore family, with their father in Azkaban and their sister’s ailing
health and subsequent mysterious death, did not have the best reputation, and the Prince
girl was forced to give up her baby by her family.
Maybe because Aberforth and Miss Prince were so young, they thought it best to give their
child a better life with parents who were ready.
OR maybe Miss Prince and Aberforth were planning to run away to America to raise their child
on their own.
After all, we don’t know who was travelling with Credence on the boat to America, and
it was Corvus who was destined for an adoptive family, not Credence.
Credence may have been travelling with his mother, who died in the boat which capsized
with Corvus.
Perhaps Aberforth was meant to take a later boat and join them, only to learn that they
had died in the crossing – or at least, Miss Prince and Corvus had died – meaning
that Aberforth wouldn’t have known that his son was still alive…
With that, we have come to the end of another video!
Who do you think Credence’s real mother is?
Why do you think he was sent to America?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
And, as always, if you enjoyed this video, don’t forget to like it and subscribe to
the channel!
Until next time…
“If you listen carefully enough, the past whispers to you.”
– Dumbledore