Duel between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald (1945)

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Duel between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald

This finalduel betweenAlbus Dumbledore andGellert Grindelwald took place in1945, before Dumbledore's ascension to the position ofHeadmaster ofHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and ended theGlobal Wizarding War. According toElphias Doge, people still say that no duel ever matched it.^[1]

History[]

Background information[]

Decades before the legendary duel, Gellert Grindelwald had come toGodric's Hollow to stay with his great aunt,Bathilda Bagshot. He became friends with the seventeen year old Albus Dumbledore, and they both became obsessed with the powerful objects known as theDeathly Hallows. This trio comprised theElder Wand, theResurrection Stone, and theCloak of Invisibility.^[2]

The plans became more and more far-fetched. Albus's younger brother,Aberforth, intervened and pointed out the impossibilities of the scheme. Gellert quickly became enraged and the three began toduel.Ariana Dumbledore was killed in the process.^[3] This caused the end of Dumbledore and Grindelwald's friendship, and forced Grindelwald to flee, going on later to raise anArmy in an attempt to continue his plan of wizarding domination.^[2]

Grindelwald soon tracked down the Elder Wand,stole it fromGregorovitch, and began to amass power.^[4] As his machinations played out over the next 45 years, he became one of the most powerfulDark wizards in history, and a serious threat to the Wizarding World. Meanwhile, Dumbledore had become theTransfigurationProfessor andDeputy Headmaster of Hogwarts, and gained a considerable reputation for his wisdom and achievements along the way.^[2]

As Grindelwald gained power, public opinion grew that Albus Dumbledore would be the only one able to stop him. Dumbledore, still haunted by his history with the dark wizard, procrastinated. Unbeknownst to most, Dumbledore was actually unable to confront Grindelwald directly: in their youth, the two wizards had sworn ablood pact, sealed in magic, not to fight each other. Thevial that hadsealed the pact was kept by Grindelwald for years until it was stolen in1927 byNewton Scamander. Dumbledore believed that it might be possible for him to destroy the blood pact when it was given to him by Newt, but seemed unsure on whether he would succeed.^[5]

In1932, Grindelwald tried to killAurelius Dumbledore atthe walk of the Qilin for failing him. Albus andAberforth Dumbledore intervened, and the blood pact between Grindelwald and Dumbledore was broken. He and Grindelwald immediatelystarted duelling for the second time in another dimension until they reached a stalemate and separated.^[6]

The duel[]

By 1945, the outcry against Grindelwald had become too vocal. Grindelwald's actions were far too horrible for Dumbledore to ignore and he finally confronted his old friend. The duel was one of the most well-known duels in the world and one of Dumbledores' most famous moments was Dumbledore winning the duel and the Elder Wands' allegiance. According to Elphias Doge, "those who witnessed it have written of the terror and the awe they felt as they watched these two extraordinary wizards do battle", and proclaimed that no duel ever matched theirs.^[1]

Aftermath[]

Gellert Grindelwald was captured and detained in the top-most cell of Nurmengard, a prison that he himself had constructed to hold his enemies. According to Elphias Doge, "Dumbledore's triumph, and its consequences for the wizarding world, were considered a turning point in magical history to match the introduction of theInternational Statute of Secrecy, and thedownfall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named".^[1] Grindelwald remained there for the rest of his life until his death at the hands of the only Dark wizard more powerful and dangerous than himself,Lord Voldemort, after refusing to give him information about the Elder Wand.^[7]

Albus Dumbledore returned to his place in Hogwarts, and eventually becameHeadmaster until hisdeath in1997. His victory in this battle would be published on hisChocolate Frog Card and award him anOrder of Merlin first class.^[8]

Behind the scenes[]

• Rita Skeeter claims that once people have read her bookThe Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, they may be forced to conclude that there was no spectacular duel of legend, but that Grindelwald simply conjured a white handkerchief from the end of his wand and came quietly. Though given Skeeter's tendency to lie and exaggerate, this is most likely untrue. ThePottermore illustration depicting the showdown supports the latter claim. Along with that, Dumbledore himself admits he had duelled and won over Grindelwald, along with winning the Elder Wand.

Appearances[]

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone(First mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows(Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)(Mentioned only)
• Pottermore(First appearance)

Notes and references[]