Was Grindelwald More Powerful Than Dumbledore?

Besides the Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling has also created a franchise of books and movies which precede the time of Harry Potter and revealed various magical secrets from the past. Along with Albus Dumbledore, that’s when we first learn about the evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald.

Regardless of Grindelwald’s powers, we can tell that he was not a more powerful wizard than the great Albus Dumbledore.

Keep reading to find out more about their powers, as well as their relationship from their youth. 

Who was the famous villain Gellert Grindelwald?

If you have read or watched Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them, as well as the sequel to Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, then you have certainly heard about this wizard who has decided to stay on the side of evil. The role of Gellert Grindelwald was perfectly embodied by Johnny Depp.

Grindelwald was one of the most powerful and dangerous Dark Wizards of all time. This evil wizard was first mentioned in the first book of the Harry Potter series – “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”. On his first trip to Hogwarts, Harry got a chocolate frog card with the image of Albus Dumbledore – on it’s back was mentioned the legendary duel with Gellert Grindelwald.

Gellert Grindelwald was a student at Durmstrang Institute from where he was expelled for using dark experiments on his colleagues.

After leaving Durmstrang, he went to Godric’s Hollow, to spend the summer with his great-aunt, Bathilda Bagshot. There he met Albus Dumbledore and they became very close friends (according to J. K. Rowling even lovers).

From friendship to duel

As Dumbledore and Grindelwald prepared to leave Godric’s Hollow to carry out their plans, Albus’ younger brother Aberforth opposed him because he felt Albus should stay with his sick sister Ariana. Aberforth was Ariana’s guardian after the death of their parents. 

During the fight, Grindelwald cast the Cruciatus curse on Aberforth. Albus, however, could not bear to throw unforgivable curses, especially at members of his family, so he got involved in to defend his brother. Ariana, who entered the room out of curiosity, was struck by one of the curses. 

Aberforth blamed Albus for her death, but Albus admits he doesn’t know which of the three cast the spell that killed Ariana.

Becoming an owner of the Elder Wand, Grindelwald began to spread terror throughout Europe and killing everyone who stood in his way.

Blinded by his love, Dumbledore at first refused to oppose Grindelwald. He was a Head of Transfiguration at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, at the time. While he was training young wizards, Grindelwald assembled an army intending to take over Ministries of Magic across Europe with only one goal – to establish a new wizarding world based on the enslavement of the Muggles around the world.

Dumbledore had no choice but to face Grindelwald in the greatest duel of all time, which lasted as long as three hours, after which the dark wizard was defeated and arrested.

After his defeat, Grindelwald was imprisoned in his own fortress, which he built for his enemies. The saddest thing is that he was the only prisoner there because all previous prisoners were released after his defeat. 

He spent a full 53 years there when another dark wizard killed him in his search for the Elder Wand. But, that’s another story.

Grindelwald’s powers vs. Dumbledore’s – Who Was More Powerful Wizard

Albus Dumbledore once said that Grindelwald could make himself invisible without the use of the Cloak of Invisibility. To achieve this state, Grindelwald used an extremely powerful Disillusionment Charm. 

This is a charm that disguises a target as its surroundings, not by making it invisible, but by making it take on the exact color and texture of its environment.

His first and only mission was dominance over all the Muggles. He even set up his base at Nurmengard (to have all his enemies close) and with his followers committed numerous murders and other crimes. In favor of his dueling abilities, he defeated many great wizards of the time.

Grindelwald was also an extremely accomplished Occlumens, as even Voldemort was unable to penetrate his mind to gain information for the search of the Elder Wand. 

He had an immense understanding of healing charms, as well as handling magical creatures, particularly dark ones. Transfiguration, Apparition, Divination, wandless and nonverbal magic were also the enviable skills of this dark wizard.

Grindelwald was the one who stole the Elder Wand because according to legend, whoever united the wand with the other two Deathly Hallows (the Philosopher’s Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility) would become the Master of Death.

On the other hand, Dumbledore had always shown great magical abilities. We can tell he was an expert at nonverbal and wandless spells and also famous as an alchemist, working with Nicolas Flamel (the maker of the Philosopher’s Stone). E.G. Dumbledore was capable of extraordinary feats such as conjuring hundreds of squishy purple sleeping bags to accommodate the students of Hogwarts without saying a word.

We certainly must not forget his skills as the Occlumency and Legilimency. He was able to peer deep inside peoples’ minds and exactly know what they were thinking at the moment, and vice versa – keeping anyone from accessing his own mind.

We are also familiar with his performance of the Arresto Momentum spell, without a wand, to save Harry Potter from falling to his death at the hands of the Dementors. 

Dumbledore was also good at predicting the future, almost like Sybill Trelawney – the professor of Divination at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 

Using fire, water spells, creating bright light at the tip of his wand, the ability to transfigure and alter animals, people, and objects, the ability to understand multiple languages of the wizarding world, including the mysterious Parseltongue and many others, make him unrivaled the best wizard of all the time.

You have noticed that both of them, Dumbledore and Grindelwald have similar skills and powers, but we believe that when they are used for the good cause, they are the most powerful in the world.

So, there is no doubt, Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard of all time.