Skip to content

MuggleNet

  • Site
    • Contact Us & FAQ
    • History
    • Meet the Team
    • MuggleNet Live!
    • Press
    • Publications
    • Special Projects
    • Volunteer with Us!
    • Year in Review
  • Podcasts
    • Alohomora!
    • Full Circle
    • LITHAPPENS
    • Potterversity
    • Promptly Potter
    • SpeakBeasty
  • Harry Potter
    • Book Quotes
    • Book Series
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Film Series
    • Hogwarts Library
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • Fantastic Beasts
    • Book
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Fantastic Beasts Film Quotes
    • Film Series
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • The Quibbler
    • Owl Post
    • Bathilda’s Notebook
    • The Department of MYTHteries
    • The Dirigible Plum
    • Into the Floo
    • Muggle Studies
    • The Pensieve Papers
    • The Three Broomsticks
    • April Fools’
    • The Quibbler Vault
  • The Daily Prophet
    • Book Trolley
    • Editorials
    • Event Reports
    • Exclusive Interviews
    • Features
    • Giveaways
    • Listicles
    • Merchandise Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • Television Reviews
    • Theater Reviews
    • Wizolympics
  • Muggle World
    • Charity
    • Exhibitions
    • J.K. Rowling
    • MinaLima
    • Quadball
    • Studio Tours
    • Theatrical Play
    • Theme Parks
    • Wizarding World Digital
  • Fans & Fun
    • Crazy Caption Contest
    • Fan Focus
    • Fandom
    • Fandom Sortings
    • Fandom Timeline
    • Fun Lists
    • Games and Trivia
    • GNOMEs
    • Potter DIY
    • Potter Weddings
    • #PotterItForward
    • Rosmerta’s Recipes
    • Song Parodies
    • Wizard Rock
    • Wizarding Wordle
  • Site
    • Contact Us & FAQ
    • History
    • Meet the Team
    • MuggleNet Live!
    • Press
    • Publications
    • Special Projects
    • Volunteer with Us!
    • Year in Review
  • Podcasts
    • Alohomora!
    • Full Circle
    • LITHAPPENS
    • Potterversity
    • Promptly Potter
    • SpeakBeasty
  • Harry Potter
    • Book Quotes
    • Book Series
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Film Series
    • Hogwarts Library
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • Fantastic Beasts
    • Book
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Fantastic Beasts Film Quotes
    • Film Series
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • The Quibbler
    • Owl Post
    • Bathilda’s Notebook
    • The Department of MYTHteries
    • The Dirigible Plum
    • Into the Floo
    • Muggle Studies
    • The Pensieve Papers
    • The Three Broomsticks
    • April Fools’
    • The Quibbler Vault
  • The Daily Prophet
    • Book Trolley
    • Editorials
    • Event Reports
    • Exclusive Interviews
    • Features
    • Giveaways
    • Listicles
    • Merchandise Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • Television Reviews
    • Theater Reviews
    • Wizolympics
  • Muggle World
    • Charity
    • Exhibitions
    • J.K. Rowling
    • MinaLima
    • Quadball
    • Studio Tours
    • Theatrical Play
    • Theme Parks
    • Wizarding World Digital
  • Fans & Fun
    • Crazy Caption Contest
    • Fan Focus
    • Fandom
    • Fandom Sortings
    • Fandom Timeline
    • Fun Lists
    • Games and Trivia
    • GNOMEs
    • Potter DIY
    • Potter Weddings
    • #PotterItForward
    • Rosmerta’s Recipes
    • Song Parodies
    • Wizard Rock
    • Wizarding Wordle
  • Features / The Daily Prophet

The Lost Love of Dumbledore and Grindelwald

by Madison Ford · June 13, 2016

The most powerful form of magic in the Harry Potter universe is love. Love was the power that let baby Harry survive Voldemort’s curse against all odds. Love was the fire that burned Quirrell’s hands when he tried to lay them on Harry’s skin. Love was the shield engulfing all of Harry’s friends and allies when he sacrificed himself to protect them at the end of Deathly Hallows.

 

Source

 

For reasons even Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries can’t comprehend, love has a profound effect on magic, and Rowling demonstrated its power through the variety of loving relationships portrayed throughout the series. Mothers with their hearts full of love sacrificed themselves for their children time and time again, love between friends gave Harry the happy memories he needed to conjure his Patronus, and the role of romantic love grew in importance as Harry and his friends matured.

We saw a multitude of romantic relationships rise and fall throughout the Potter series, but not a single one of them represented the love shared in a non-heterosexual relationship. Rowling told fans she had always considered Dumbledore gay after Deathly Hallows was released, but depending on which side of the canon fence you sit on, the inclusion of LGBT characters in the Potter saga may not even be canonical. Within the text, the only known LGBT relationship is never explicitly identified as being romantic.

Some people argue that you could have guessed Dumbledore’s sexual orientation because there were little hints of it throughout the books; Dumbledore’s colorful wardrobe and Rita Skeeter’s scathing commentary on his relationship with Harry in Deathly Hallows are often cited as pieces of such evidence. These are flimsy claims at best and based on stereotypes of gay men as flamboyant and predatory. Dumbledore’s vague descriptions of his relationship with Grindelwald might be more of a clue, but nothing he says is enough to guarantee their relationship was anything but platonic.

 

Source

 

Others claim that the book was so long, there was no room to include Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s romance. After all, their relationship took place decades before Harry’s story began. Understanding Dumbledore’s character as a whole requires a lot of reading between the lines, and his relationship with Grindelwald was just another place where the audience needed to read a little more carefully to get the full story.

The thing is, it wouldn’t have taken much more text to include Dumbledore’s relationship with Grindelwald in the story. I’m not asking for “The Prince’s Tale” level of detail, just a sentence or a few words. There were plenty of opportunities. Aberforth, Auntie Muriel, Elphias Doge, and Rita Skeeter all could have said something. Dumbledore himself could have mentioned it while he was talking about Grindelwald at King’s Cross. Dumbledore was the champion of love throughout the novels; is it not important that his defeat of one of the Darkest wizards of all time was also the defeat of his former lover? The book may be long, but is it too long for just a few more words?

No matter why it was never mentioned, the exclusion of Dumbledore’s relationship with Grindelwald puts the Potter series on a long list of stories that fail to include the experiences of LGBT characters within their text. There was never an appropriate time to mention their romantic story, and many LGBT individuals in the Muggle world never find an appropriate time to share theirs.

There will never be an appropriate time for the inclusion of LGBT experiences if we continue to put alternative sexualities out of sight. If we want to keep making the world a safer place for LGBT individuals, storytellers of all kinds need to give their LGBT characters an opportunity to share themselves. If storytellers share the love stories of their LGBT characters, maybe one day the real world will be a safe place for LGBT individuals to share their love as well.

 

Source

Social:

  • Next story Conventions and Events List 2016–2017: No Muggles Allowed!
  • Previous story Behind the Name: Space Part 1

MuggleNet Archive

Important Dates

September 2025

Sat, Sep 6

Harry's first potions class, where he loses 5 points for Gryffindor
Recurs yearly

1991

Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide, Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies, & Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists (short stories; e-book) released - 2016
Recurs yearly

2016

MuggleNet receives JKR Fansite Award
Recurs yearly

2004

It’s high time I paid homage to the mighty MuggleNet. Where to start? I love the design, (I currently favour the ‘Dementor’ layout), the polls (I actually voted in the ‘Who’s the Half-Blood Prince?’ one), the pretty-much-exhaustive information on all books and films, the wonderful editorials (more insight there than in several companion volumes I shall not name), 101 Ways to Annoy Lord Voldemort (made me laugh aloud), the Wall of Shame (nearly as funny as some of the stuff I get)… pretty much everything. Webmaster Emerson, Eric, Jamie, Damon, Ben, Matthew, Rachel, Jaymz and Sharon, I salute you.

http://web.archive.org/web/20040907101729/http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/fansite_view.cfm?id=15

Sun, Sep 7

Dumbledore shows Harry his first Tom Riddle-related memory: Bob Ogden's visit to the Gaunts
Recurs yearly

1996

Hugh Mitchell's birthday
Recurs yearly

Colin Creevey

Toby Jones's birthday
Recurs yearly

Voice of Dobby

Mon, Sep 8

Educational Decree No. 23 is passed
Recurs yearly

1995

Ginny Weasley opens the Chamber of Secrets under the influence of Tom Riddle's diary
Recurs yearly

1992

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban book (US)
Recurs yearly

1999

Tue, Sep 9

Lupin teaches boggarts in DADA
Recurs yearly

1993

Wed, Sep 10

Christopher Columbus's birthday
Recurs yearly

Director (PS/SS, CoS)

Hermione first suggests Harry teach DADA
Recurs yearly

1995

Fri, Sep 12

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film series is announced
Recurs yearly

2013

Harry has his first flying lesson and becomes the youngest Gryffindor Seeker in a century
Recurs yearly

1991

MuggleNet podcasts are sponsored in part by Secretlab.

Thanks to its research-backed ergonomic design, including a proprietary 4-way adaptive lumbar support system, the Secretlab TITAN Evo Harry Potter Edition will comfortably support you even when you’re up to no good.

Did You Know

The Forbidden Forest set in the Warner Bros. studio has 19 trees, each with a diameter of around 12 feet.

Potter History

December 20, 2004 – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is complete, with a release date being announced within 24 hours.

Potter Quote

“Queen, honey. Well, I’m just curious, when were you going to wake me up? After we’d had five kids?”

MuggleNet is an unofficial Harry Potter fansite.
Please email us if you have any questions or concerns.
© 1999–2025 MuggleNet.com. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy | COPPA Policy | Terms of Use | Feedback


MuggleNet is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and Bookshop.org's affiliate program, affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and bookshop.org.