10 Harry Potter Fan Theories Confirmed By JK Rowling

9. Dumbledore And Grindelwald

Fantastic Beasts The Crimes Of Grindelwald Dumbledore
Warner Bros.

Dumbledore with the good robes meets Grindelwald with the good hair, and the rest is pure romantic history. Ok there were a few laughs, a few bumps, and attempted genocide along the way, but how do we judge how people express their love, eh? The theory of course is that Dumbledore and Grindlewald were more than just close friends as teenagers.

When the Deathly Hallows was released, it was a little easy to see the subtext of their relationship, but it wasn't out and out stated in the book. The fact that Rowling confirmed that yes, they were lovers, delighted some readers while leaving others shocked.

Rowling joked that she'd always made it obvious that Dumbledore was gay in the novels, but this wasn't really the case. She had to give the scriptwriter for the Half-Blood Prince a note to remove a line of him fondly remembering a girl from his past.

Once this was chopped, the movies went a little further to explicitly showing us their attraction, particularly in The Crimes of Grindlewald. Still, this could have gone a little further. In the Deathly Hallows films, there is next to no discussion about the two men. There was a lot to get through in Harry's story, but Dumbledore's entire story was pushed into a couple of scenes of exposition from Auntie Muriel and Aberforth.

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"