Aurelius Dumbledore

Credence Barebone
Biographical information
Born	Pre 1905
Blood status	Half-blood or pure-blood
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Relationship information
Family members	Biological mother † Mary Lou Barebone (adoptive mother) † Chastity Barebone (adoptive sister) † Modesty Barebone (adoptive sister)
Affiliation
Loyalty	Barebone family Gellert Grindelwald (Unwittingly)

Credence Barebone was an American wizard who lived during the 20th century. He was the adopted son of Mary Lou Barebone, the leader of the New Salem Philanthropic Society, a No-Maj anti-witchcraft group.

Credence had two adoptive sisters, Chastity and Modesty, and lived with them and his adoptive mother in New York city in 1926. Credence was the eldest, followed by Chastity and then Modesty.

Credence was an Obscurial, a wizard who developed an Obscurus, a magic parasitical force created through the repression of magic. While most obscurials die before their tenth birthday, Credence lived into adulthood which was previously unheard in wizardkind and a possible testament to his power.

Biography

Early life

Credence was born to an unnamed witch, who died when he was a child. He was adopted by Mary Lou Barebone, a leader of the anti-witchcraft Second Salemers who considered his mother a "wicked, unnatural woman," and physically abused him, forcing him to suppress his magic and ultimately develop an obscurus.

Obscurus manifestation

Credence with Gellert Grindelwald

Sometime before 1926, Porpentina Goldstein, an American Auror for the Magical Congress of the United States of America took to observing the activities of the Second Salmers. During one meeting, Mary Lou used a belt to hit Credence when the witch Porpentina Goldstein rushed forward to his defense. Tina magically assaulted Mary Lou, saving Credence from that beating. The open use of magic in front of a group of muggles required extensive obliviation and was a major scandal resulting in Porpentina's demotion.

By 1926, Credence was losing control of his Obscurus, and it manifested in outbursts that were wreaking havoc in New York. During this time, he was contacted by Gellert Grindelwald, disguised as Percival Graves, who asked him to help find the Obscurial child in the Second Salem Church; in return Credence was promised to be made free and taught magic.

On 6 December, after a failed attempt by the Second Salemers to garnish the support of Henry Shaw Senior and being insulted by his son the senator, Credence's Obscurus manifested and attacked a fund-raising dinner at City Hall, killing the senator.

The next day, Credence found a toy wand in Modesty's bedroom, but, despite Modesty admitting it was hers, their foster mother assumed it was his. As Mary-Lou prepared to punish Credence, Modesty admitted it was hers, and the belt was torn from Mary Lou's hand. An Obscurus burst free at that moment and killed both Mary Lou and Chastity.

Still in the form of Graves, Grindelwald came for him and demanded Credence take him to Modesty, who had fled the destruction to her home before she was adopted. Once there, Grindelwald told Credence that he had no further use for him and called him a squib. This betrayal caused Credence to reveal his Obscurus, to the surprise of Grindelwald. Although Grindelwald attempted to apologise and offered to train him, Credence lost control and transformed completely into an Obscurus, going on a rampage. while Grindelwald pursued him. Newton Scamander, assisted by Tina Goldstien, her sister Queenie, and a No-Maj Jacob Kowalski, tracked Credence's trail of destruction to the New York City Subway near New York City Hall. Newt managed to calm Credence down in the subway, but Grindelwald's appearance caused Credence to resume his rampage. Although Tina managed to calm Credence once more, President Seraphina Picquery and Aurors from MACUSA arrived to contain the situation and proceeded to attack Credence, only stopping when they believed he is destroyed, though a single shred of his Obscurus form fled the scene, unseen to anyone but Newt.

Personality and Traits

He was both "troubled" and "mysterious." Shy and withdrawn, this made him far more vulnerable to the abuse that came in response to the slightest infraction of his adoptive mother's strict rules. His timid personality also made him susceptible to manipulation by Gellert Grindelwald, who took a personal interest in him.

After years of abuse at the hands of his adoptive mother, Credence Barebone became a very timid and socially awkward young man. Credence's life was also micromanaged by his repressive and abusive mother, so he didn't know how to handle situations outside of the norm. He was very withdrawn and easily intimidated by people in positions of authority. He was quiet and suffered from anxiety whenever he was forced into stressful situations.

Credence was scared, lonely, and down right terrified of making any mistakes that would displease his mother. He had no friends outside and had been publicly humiliated more than once by his mother's open abuse in front of the Second Salemers. Credence was compliant and passive in most situations as he already knew the punishment if he decided to step out of line or defend himself.

However, when Credence was insulted or threatened, his Obscurus form was unleashed, which was triggered by his negative emotions which he acted violently on, causing wide-spread destruction and death to those who provoked him. Namely, he attacked Mary Lou Barebone because of the abuse the latter inflicted on him for so long, and Henry Shaw Junior for the way he mocked him.

Credence was actually quite desperate for love, affection, and acceptance to the point that he was easy to manipulate and control, particularly by Grindelwald, to the point that he was willing to risk the wrath of his mother to help his manipulator or friend.

While Credence would keep his head down in most cases, name calling affected him far deeper than one might think reasonable and betrayal even more so. He was easily overwhelmed and has been known to have emotional breakdowns that were usually done in private where no one could see unless he was with someone that he truly trusted.

Despite the tragedy and negative influences in his life, Credence was quite curious regarding magic and the wizarding world. Called observant and intelligent by Grindelwald, he listened closely to Grindelwald's words and eagerly believed his promises to teach him magic and allow him to be part of the wizarding community. He was also exceptionally polite and well mannered (probably because of Mary Lou's strict up bringing) and followed the rules given to him unless they interfered with more important matters.

Magical abilities and skills

• Obscurus Transformation: Credence was an Obscurial, prone to unleashing or embodying an Obscurus due to years of being forced to suppress his magic. According to Newt Scamander, he was notably more powerful than other known Obscurials, living longer than any previously known.
• High Magic Capability: While Credence never developed his magical abilities, his ability to survive for so long despite being an Obscurial indicated he had an immense amount of latent magical talent.

Relationships

Credence Barebone's mother

Credence doesn't remember his biological mother, as she died when he was young. Credence was said to have been very loved during the time that he was with her. It is unclear whether he knew she was a witch.

Mary Lou Barebone

Credence feared his adoptive mother due to years of emotional and physical abuse. She beats him with the intent of teaching him to suppress and be ashamed of his magical traits. By suppressing his magic, he developed an Obscurus. It was noted by Tina Goldstein that out of all Mary Lou's adopted children, Credence was the most hated, most likely because of his magic. Credence learned over the years to willingly surrender his belt for a beating when he knew he did something wrong. He tended to be passive when it came to the beatings and he learned to take them without complaint. Despite living in an environment where magic was shunned, Credence tended to explore the ideas of wizardry and even entertained the thought of becoming part of the wizarding world. Mary Lou seemed to be aware of Credence's interest in magic and did not hesitate to beat him if he showed any type of interest in magic.

Modesty Barebone

Since Modesty was young and curious, she shared Credence's secret interest in magic, therefore they trusted each other very well. When Henry Shaw Junior insulted Credence, she took his hand to reassure him. Modesty often witnessed the beatings he got from their mother and attempted to comfort him. Modesty occasionally confided to Credence that she missed the brothers and sisters she had before she was adopted, showing that she trusted him. When Credence found the toy wand under Modesty's bed, Mary Lou believed it to be his and bet him, despite Modesty's attempt at convincing her it was hers. After the Obscurus took control of Credence and killed their adoptive family, she became fearful of him.

Chastity Barebone

The relationship between Chastity and Credence is unknown. They attended their mother's anti-magic rallies and meetings together and passed out leaflets, but not much interaction happened. Chastity witnesseed Credence's beatings but made no attempt at intervening or to defend him.

Gellert Grindelwald

Grindelwald disguised himself as Percival Graves and used Credence to try and locate the Obscurial, whom he believed was Modesty Barebone, promising him entrance into the wizarding world and training to perform magic. To Credence, Grindelwald was his only friend and the only person who truly understood and supported him. He healed his hands and comforted him when he confided in him about his mother's mistreatment. When the Obscurial attacked, Grindelwald told Credence he had no use for him, calling him a squib, and went after Modesty. Because of the emotional strain, Credence lost control over the Obscurus and Grindelwald realized it was him, offering his partnership and training in wizardry. Credence was deeply hurt by his manipulation and ran at the sight of him. MACUSA's Aurors chased and attacked him, and when Newt and Tina attempted to calm him and protect him, Grindelwald interrupted them to provoke Credence to cause more destruction; his goal was always to use the Obscurus to use in a war a war between magical and non-magical people.

Etymology

Credence is derived from the Latin credere meaning to trust and to believe, and from credentia, meaning belief. Barebone is an Anglo-Saxon surname, thought to be taken from the name of an English village, Barbon or Barbourne.

Behind the scenes

• Credence is portrayed by Ezra Miller in the film inspired by Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
• Initial reports said this character's name was "Kredan". When asked about it via Twitter, J. K. Rowling said, "Kredan is quite literally nobody. They got the name wrong!"
• Credence reportedly becomes a "notable" character within the Harry Potter universe.

Appearances

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) (First appearance)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• The Case of Beasts: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Inside the Magic: The Making of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• LEGO Dimensions