Modesty Barebone

Modesty Barebone
Biographical information
Born	betwen December 1917 and December 1918
Blood status	No-Maj (Possibly)
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Hair colour	Blonde
Eye colour	Blue
Skin colour	Light
Relationship information
Family members	Biological father Biological mother Nine biological siblings Mary Lou Barebone (adoptive mother) † Chastity Barebone (adoptive sister) † Credence Barebone (adoptive brother)
Affiliation
Loyalty	Barebone family

"My momma, your momma, gonna catch a witch,
My momma, your momma, flying on a switch,
My momma, your momma, witches never cry,
My momma, your momma, witches gonna die!

Witch number one, drown in a river!
Witch number two, gotta noose to give her!
Witch number three, gonna watch her burn,
Witch number four, flogging take a turn."

— Modesty singing anti-witchcraft rhymes

Modesty Barebone (b. 1918) was an American girl who lived during the 20th century. She was the adopted daughter of Mary Lou Barebone. Mary Lou was the leader of the New Salem Philanthropic Society, a No-Maj anti-witchcraft group. Modesty was the youngest of three adopted siblings. Her older siblings were Credence and Chastity Barebone.

Biography

Early life

"Ma adopted Modesty out of here. From a family of twelve. She still misses her brothers and sisters. She still talks about them."

— Credence regarding Modesty's early life

Modesty was born around 1918 in the United States. She lived in a tenement in the Bronx with her mother, father, and nine siblings. However, she was adopted by No-Maj, anti-witchcraft activist Mary Lou Barebone. It is possible that her parents put her up for adoption because they had more children than they could care for. She deeply missed her brothers and sisters and would often talk about them to her older adoptive brother Credence.

Life

"Modesty stands in the middle of the busy street.She throws her leaflets high into the air, watching with glee as they fall around her."

— Modesty throws her leaflets into the air as revange for her mother

Modesty throws away the New Salem Philanthropic Society leaflets

Under Mary Lou's rules, Modesty spent much of her time singing anti-witchcraft rhymes while playing hopscotch. A precocious child, Modesty learned to hide disobedient behaviour from her strict mother, as she was aware of the abusive treatment that her older brother, Credence, received. Out of sight of her mother (and her similarly zealous older adoptive sister) Chastity, she rebelliously threw away New Salem Philanthropic Society leaflets.

Langdon Shaw, a believer in magic, brought Modesty and her family to his father Henry Shaw Senior's office. Mary Lou was interested in garnishing the support and influence of his newspaper company and his elder son's re-election platform. But Henry Shaw refused and asked them to leave. While departing, Credence dropped a leaflet which Henry Shaw Junior, the senator, handed the leaflet back to Credence, also unashamedly calling him a freak. Modesty protectively took her brother's hand and left the office with her family.

Mysterious toy wand

Credence: "Where’d you get this?"

Modesty: "Give it back, Credence. It’s just a toy!"

— Credence asking Modesty about her toy wand

Modesty preparing to tell Mary Lou that the toy wand belongs to her

On 7 December 1926, Credence went into Modesty's room and found a toy wand under her bed. Modesty arrived and protested the it was just a toy, but as they argued Mary Lou entered and was appalled to see what Credence was holding. As Credence removed his belt so his adoptive mother could punish him again, Modesty confessed saying the wand was hers. Suddenly, the belt whipped out of Mary Lou's grasp, injuring her hand. As she went to pick it up, it was magically flung away.

Turning to confront the children, Mary Lou was attacked by Credence's Obscurus, flung against the rafters of the chapel and fell dead with tell-tale scratches covering her face. The obscurus largely destroyed the church, also killing Chastity in the process.

File:18278613 1285982998183062 5075589864479039558 o.jpg

Modesty her toy wand.

Hiding in old childhood home

"Modesty...There’s no need to be afraid. I’m here with your brother, Credence...Out you come, now."

— Gellert Grindelwald assumes that Modesty is the Obscurial

Modesty hiding in a corner in her old childhood home

Terrified of the incident, Modesty ran away to her old childhood home to hide. With the help of Credence, Gellert Grindelwald in disguise as Percival Graves found her, believing her to be the Obscurial he was after. Graves found Modesty hiding in a corner, shaking, terrified, and confused, whimpering at the sound of Credence's name. When Graves said to Modesty that she must come out, an opening in the walls broke open revealing Credence to be the true Obscurial. Confronting Graves for his betrayal, Credence quickly lost control of his power and became a fully corporeal Obscurus flying away with Graves following, leaving the frightened Modesty all alone once more.

Personality and traits

"A bleak room. A single bed, an oil lamp, a sampler on the wall: AN ALPHABET OF SIN. Modesty’s dolls lined up on a shelf. One with a little noose around its neck, another tied to a stake."

— Modesty in her room

File:18268095 1285973944850634 7701909884202307637 n.jpg

Modesty her witch dolls on a shelf in her bedroom.

Modesty was described as a "haunted" girl with "inner strength and stillness." She also possessed an ability to see into people's psyches and understand them.

A bit precocious, Modesty knew what she should and should no to do according to her strict mother, Mary Lou. However, Modesty sometimes felt compelled to go against her mother's wishes. Modesty successfully managed to hide her disobedience from her strict mother, aware what happened to her brother Credence.

Modesty was extremly rebellious, sometimes breaking the rules behind her mother's back as revenge for her mother's evil wrath and unloving behaviour. Such rule-breaking entailed acts such as leaving the church to throw the Second Salemers leaflets into the winds when her older sister Chastity said to not dump the leaflets before she left the church.

Modesty liked to play her favourite game of hopscotch while singing anti-witchcraft rhymes. She also had to memorise several religious verses, poems, and other forms of anti-magical media at her mother's request as nothing else would have made her mother happier than to "save" the souls of children with magical ancestry.

In public, Modesty's eyes were twinkling and bright. She became easily curious in crowds about things and people around her, and looked curiously at them in silence. Modesty was well-mannered (probably by Mary Lou's strict upbringing). But given the occasion in which someone publicly snubbed her or a member of her family, she merely glared silently, but not prove herself threatening to them.

Modesty did not show that she was hurt or sad to anyone other than people whom she trusted. Emotionally, she was much closer to her brother Credence, who listened to her and talked with her about subjects such as her siblings, whom she sorely missed.

While Modesty did not say very much, she was the bravest of the household. She was determined and had a strong sense of perseverance. Modesty also had the courage to fight and to defend herself or others and say what she thought. She did not give up, no matter how hard it was, and always tried to see the positive in things.

Modesty leaning against a pillar in the Second Salemers church

Modesty possessed an ability to see into people's psyches and understand them, protective of those who also received unloving treatment from others and knew how they were feeling, especially her brother Credence, with whom she remained close to during their time together.

Behind the scenes

• Modesty Barebone is portrayed by Faith Wood-Blagrove in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
• It is very likely that Modesty is a No-Maj.
• It's confirmed by the directors that Modesty wouldn't appear in Fantastic Beasts 2 http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2016/11/08/davids-yates-heyman-spill-fantastic-beasts-secrets-paris-dumbledore-credence/
• The anti-witchcraft rhyme Modesty repeatedly sings were all references of non-magical people's stereotypes of and against witches, as well as the Salem witch-trials that were designed to "persecute" them with.
  • "Flying on a switch" is a reference to broomstick flying ("switch" was a type of thin stick of wood), a stereotype from the Middle Ages.
  • "Witches never cry" is a reference to the stereotype of witches almost always cackling.
  • "Drown in a river" is a reference to the myth that witches never cross bodies of water.
  • "Gotta noose to give her", "Gonna watch her burn", & "Flogging take a turn" were all references to punishments meted out against suspected witches (i.e. the Medieval Inquisition and their respective autos-da-fé, and the Salem Witch Trials).

Appearances

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