Film Theory: Dumbledore Was Secretly Weaponising Harry Potter

3. Credence Barebone And Dumbledore’s Plan

Despite not encountering Credence during the period in which Newt Scamander unwittingly discovered his secret Obscurus, Dumbledore did subsequently go on to encounter Credence (as the Crimes Of Grindelwald will establish). And he worked closely with Newt Scamander, who would surely have told him of the boy.

There is no way that the case of such a wretched creature - borne out of abusive punishment and his own sense of shame wouldn’t have left a lasting impact on Dumbledore, so he hatched a plan to emulate the conditions and turn Harry into an Obscurial to use against Voldemort when the time came.

He set out to disappoint and emotionally malnourish Harry at every turn. He placed him with the Dursleys, whom he knew to be vile creatures (and who he probably suspected would be made more heinous by their proximity to a Horcrux). He established a paternal relationship with the boy and then systematically dismantled it by withholding affection.

He placed him in danger as a means to supposedly develop his strength and convictions: he sent him into the Forbidden Forest despite knowing of the threats in there; he allowed him to flirt dangerously with mortal danger at the age of just 11 having proved he was watching Harry close enough to witness him seeing the Mirror Of Erised; he allowed him to enter the TriWizard Tournament...

Dumbledore proved later that he was growing Harry for a particular purpose and there is no way he took his eyes off the boy in the entire time he was at Hogwarts, one way or another. In other words, he allowed every moment of danger to happen to him willingly without stepping in. And more importantly, he also allowed every other emotional trauma too.

He saw the longing in him inspired by the Mirror Of Erised, how alienated he was by the Weasleys' close family bond (even as he was invited into it), the impact of Cedric's death, Malfoy's bullying of him, Snape's mistreatment, Rita Skeeter's sensationalist tabloid smear campaign... And he even participated by withholding information and closeness from Harry at times.

You could say that he wanted Harry to grow to resent his exalted position as the supposed Chosen One through alienation, the pressures of expectations and the repeated trauma of having to survive major threats on his own. The more he saw bad things happening to his loved ones - Ginny being possessed, Ron cursed, Hermione petrified and Sirius killed to say the least - the more he'd be driven to hate what he was. And that was how Dumbledore saw Harry becoming an Obscurial and eventually destroying Voldemort.

But there's something else to consider at this stage too - the problem of the protective charm that was placed on Harry and how that too played a part in Dumbledore's plan for him.