Sexual orientation

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Torquil Travers: "You and Grindelwald were as close as brothers."

Albus Dumbledore: "We were closer than brothers."

— Albus Dumbledore on his relationship with a young Gellert Grindelwald

Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald, who were "closer than brothers"

Sexual orientation is a pattern of romantic and/or sexual attraction to other people. Some orientations are: heterosexuality (attraction to people of the opposite sex), homosexuality (attraction to people of the same sex), bisexuality (attraction to two sexes, male and female) and asexuality (lack of sexual attraction or desire).

History

While homosexuality often made people the target of discrimination, harassment, and violence in the Muggle world, witches and wizards tended to be tolerant of or indifferent toward gays and lesbians. Wizarding prejudices were instead concerned with a person's blood status and magical prowess. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was considered a "safe place" for LGBTQ+ individuals.

There were many known LGBTQ+ individuals in the wizarding world. The two witches Nora Treadwell and Priya Treadwell were married in the 19th century, showing that same-sex marriage was legal in the wizarding community of at least some countries at that time.

Known LGBTQ+ individuals

Wizards	Description
Simon Talmadge	Simon Talmadge, a Hogwarts student in the 1820s, was attracted to Gwydion Idris after he stood up for him against the bully Mabel.
Mirabel Garlick	Mirabel Garlick, a Herbology Professor at Hogwarts in the 1890s, was attracted to other witches.
Sirona Ryan	Sirona Ryan, the proprietary of the Three Broomsticks Inn in the 1890s, was transgender.
Nora and Priya Treadwell	Nora Treadwell, a witch who attended Hogwarts, met fellow female student Priya and married her by the 1890s.
Albus Dumbledore	Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald together in 1899 In his youth, Albus Dumbledore fell in love with his best friend, Gellert Grindelwald. His feelings initially blinded him to the harmfulness of Grindelwald's anti-Muggle views and caused him to "[lose] his moral compass completely". Due to the love he had for Grindelwald, Dumbledore agreed to make a blood pact with him, which would make them unable to fight one another, and would keep them working together on their For the Greater Good plans. Grindelwald eventually revealed himself to be a Dark wizard willing to use any means to achieve his ends, and Dumbledore's love for him only magnified his horror at this revelation. Dumbledore's sexual orientation was seemingly not a secret in the wizarding world decades later, since Department of Magical Law Enforcement Head Torquil Travers questioned whether or not it was Dumbledore's past love that was keeping him from facing Grindelwald directly, and Dumbledore openly described their relationship as one that was "closer than brothers". Afterward, Dumbledore mistrusted his own judgement in matters of the heart and "became quite asexual", leading a "celibate and bookish life", not being interested in anyone else romantically.
Gellert Grindelwald	Albus Dumbledore: "Well, I was young, I was..." Gellert Grindelwald: "Committed, to me. To us." Albus Dumbledore: "No. I went along because..." Gellert Grindelwald: "Because?" Albus Dumbledore: "Because I was in love with you." — Albus Dumbledore confessing his love for Gellert in a future meeting In his youth, Gellert Grindelwald fell in love with his best friend, Albus Dumbledore and entered a sexual and romantic relationship with him. Due to their bond, they both agreed in making a blood pact, which would make them unable to fight one another, and would keep them working together on their For the Greater Good plans. Grindelwald eventually revealed himself to be a Dark wizard and that he knew his plans could be considered evil, but believed them to be for the greater good and had no problem with using evil means to reach this goal, and he expected his lover to join him in evil; Dumbledore's love for him only magnified his horror at this revelation. Grindelwald's sexual orientation was seemingly not a secret in the wizarding world decades later, since Department of Magical Law Enforcement Head Torquil Travers questioned Dumbledore whether or not it was his past love for Grindelwald kept him from facing him directly. Dumbledore openly admitted to Travers that he and Grindelwald had been "closer than brothers".
Tulip Karasu	Tulip Karasu, a Hogwarts student in the 1980s, was attracted to Merula Snyde.
Ruby Honeysuckle and Eris Foxglove	Ruby Honeysuckle, an agent of the Rare, Obscure, and Confounding Case Division in the early 1990s, had a girlfriend, Eris Foxglove.
Mathilda Grimblehawk and Aisha	Mathilda Grimblehawk, a witch who worked as a Magizoologist for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, was in a romantic relationship with another witch called Aisha, in the early 2020s.

Behind the scenes

• The original books and films feature a couple of allusions to different sexual orientations.
  • In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, after the ending of the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, Ginny Weasley jokes that her brother, Ron, may have been romantically interested in Viktor Krum, though it can be assumed that she was lightly teasing him.
  • In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 1 (Dudley Demented), Dudley Dursley mocks Harry Potter's bereavement over Cedric Diggory, asking if Cedric was his "boyfriend", something which Harry furiously responds to, causing him to back down.
• In J. K. Rowling: A Year in the Life, J. K. Rowling was asked if Charlie Weasley was gay, to which she responded that he was not, but was instead "more interested in dragons than women". Although Rowling did not actually use the word "asexual" in reference to a sexual orientation, some fans have taken this as canon evidence that Charlie is asexual.
• David Thewlis has said that Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón told him to portray Remus Lupin as a "gay junkie".
• In Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, it is possible for the main character, Jacob's sibling, to date characters of the same gender as them, as part of a romance mechanic. Regardless of the chosen gender for the main character, the following may happen:
  • Jacob's sibling admitting to Jae Kim that they fancy Penny Haywood.
  • Barnaby Lee admitting to being attracted to Jacob's sibling over Ismelda Murk, and Jacob's sibling being able to admit it in return.
  • Jacob's sibling admitting to Talbott Winger that they fancy him.
  • Rowan Khanna (whose gender always matches that of Jacob's sibling), speaking of Bill Weasley in a way that heavily implies a crush on him.
  • Jacob's sibling can ask a variety of characters of either gender to the Celestial Ball, First Date, Valentine's Day and Festival Fun side quests, the latter of which ends with Jacob's sibling and their date sharing a broomstick and flying off into a rainbow, a well-known LGBT symbol in real life.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film) (Indirectly mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Indirectly mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (Indirectly mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (First appearance)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
• J. K. Rowling: A Year in the Life (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
• Hogwarts Legacy
• The Art and Making of Hogwarts Legacy