Thoughts on the real Percival Graves
Who is the real Percival Graves? The enigmatic Director of Magical Security, played by the dashing Colin Farrell didn’t appear in every single scene of the Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them movie, but when he did, he stole the scene (and my heart).
Percival Graves’ wand was made of ebony (Case of Beasts, 2017), which according to Pottermore:
“This jet-black wand wood has an impressive appearance and reputation, being highly suited to all manner of combative magic, and to Transfiguration. Ebony is happiest in the hand of those with the courage to be themselves. Frequently non-conformist, highly individual or comfortable with the status of outsider, ebony wand owners have been found both among the ranks of the Order of the Phoenix and among the Death Eaters. In my experience the ebony wand’s perfect match is one who will hold fast to his or her beliefs, no matter what the external pressure, and will not be swayed lightly from their purpose.”
Graves was most definitely a skilled wizard in combat, which would be why he holds the extremely high position of Director of Magical Security in MACUSA. One reason we can be fairly sure of this is because ebony wood is “highly suited to all manner of combative magic”, and you don’t get to be the Director of Magical Security by being subpar or even average in combative magic, or magic in general. Another proof of Graves’ magical skill is that throughout the movie, we see Grindelwald, as Graves, performing wandless magic. According to Pottermore, “it (wandless magic) could be volatile and was often difficult to perform, and could thus only be reliably accomplished by witches and wizards of great skill.” Even something as simple as Summoning Newt’s suitcase would require skill & control over one’s magic, and we saw Grindelwald do so with ease and confidence. I am reasonably confident in saying Graves is also capable of wandless magic (though to which extent is unknown) because no one sees Grindelwald’s display of wandless magic as something out of the ordinary, which means that the real Graves may have shown the same ability as well. It would stand to reason that someone who knows Graves reasonably well would question his sudden ability to cast wandless magic, thus raising suspicion to Grindelwald’s impersonation of Graves.
Graves was most likely a stoic, stern man who may not have enjoyed being with large groups of people, even those he knows. Also, due to his high position of power, his subordinates or colleagues may have been wary of overstepping any professional borders with him. That being said, I believe that he may have been a fair man, one his subordinates and colleagues would have no problem going up to with a legitimate concern or to ask for help (nothing silly though, of course). In the film, after Tina is asked, very brusquely by Madame Picquery to leave the room where she was holding a meeting/briefing, we see Graves heading over to Tina’s office in Wand Permits and asking her what the matter was. Regardless of the fact that he was being impersonated by Grindelwald, Tina, without hesitation goes up to him and explains the situation without any fear or trepidation. This may mean that the real Graves is approachable by the people around him if they have any legitimate concerns without feeling like they will be judged or punished. Of course, this may be reaching, but it’s a nice thought.
Graves also most likely was a man who was steadfast, or even persistent in his beliefs. While we don’t know if the real Graves believed in Grindelwald’s beliefs that wizards were superior and they were being opressed in favour of No-Majs, I believe he would have firmly believed in MACUSA’s enforcement of the segregation between wizards & No-Majs. One possible reason for this was the fact that he is very likely the descendent of the Auror Gondolphus Graves (we’re talking about Queen Rowling here. Nothing is a coincidence. Nothing ). Gondolphus Graves was not mere Auror; he was one of the first 12 wizards/witches who volunteered to train as Aurors in the United States. This heritage is no doubt something the Graves family would be proud of, even generations after, due to the immense respect the wizarding community had for Gondolphus’ actions (as well as the other 11). I would assume that the pride and duty that comes from being an Auror to uphold the protection of the wizarding community is something Gondolphus’ descendents won’t take lightly. I wouldn’t even be surprised if many members before Percival Graves were Aurors themselves, as a sort of family legacy & tradition. Perhaps the real Graves may have shared some sentiments as Grindelwald, such as a discontentment as to why wizardkind had to hide themselves away for the sake of No-Majs, but ultimately, his goal would have been to protect wizardkind and avoid any catastrophes, which is different to Grindelwald’s cause of wizardkind being the master race, with No-Majs being under their control. Therefore, I believe Percival to actually be a good man, and not a villain as some people have speculated.
Graves comes from an affluent wizarding family, who since Gondolphus’ time, have remained influential in wizarding politics, according to Pottermore. Now, Fantastic Beasts takes place in 1926, or the roaring twenties as it was called, and it was when society was starting to open up more, with women gaining the right to vote and being viewed as able to contribute to society. BUT Graves was born decades (he might be 40-ish in the film?) before the 20s, most likely in the late 1800s, and families were more conservative then, I believe, with men and women gender roles strictly adhered to. Children were expected to be seen, not heard and because early upbringing influences one’s personality, I would say Graves grew up in a strict household, where everything abides by tradition and formality. While it’s true that Grindelwald would have played Graves’ surface mannerisms to a T, including his stern and no-nonsense demeanour, we would be amiss to say that Graves was a cold man who cared for nothing but his power and job.
This brings us to the next part: why did no one realise Graves was being impersonated? While this may be attributed to lack of time to tell a more complicated story within the movie, I’m going to (over)analyse some reasons why Grindelwald’s impersonation went undetected to the very end. Let’s start with WHY Grindelwald chose to impersonate Graves. There are two ways about this, so let me talk about the first one.
Grindelwald accidentally found out about Graves and his position within MACUSA, and exploited it to his favour. This is definitely possible, as we don’t know if the impersonation was planned or not. In the event it wasn’t, let’s assume Grindelwald was trying to find a way to get to the heart of wizarding America, and hadn’t found a way to do so yet. We know that Graves was in Europe at some point before the movie to track him down, and he wouldn’t be careless enough to not have backup with him. One day, he stumbles on a group of Aurors led by Graves, intending to apprehend him and of course fights so he won’t be captured. I’d say that Grindelwald would definitely be aiming to kill for self-preservation. I doubt Graves would waste time announcing his full title before attempting to apprehend Grindelwald, so how would Grindelwald know NOT to kill Graves? Of course, we could assume Grindelwald would identify Graves as the leader of the group and capture him for interrogation, whereby he would be delighted at just how much of a coincidence it was that Graves is such an important man. This whole plot definitely seems plausible, but relies on far too many coincidences.
Grindelwald planned the entire thing. Think about it: Grindelwald wanted to establish a rule that would allow wizards and witches to rule over Muggles. He was a brilliant man, he wouldn’t have left things to fate and hope everything would end up going well. He would have a plan for everything. I believe it would be more plausible that Grindelwald conducted thorough research and investigation into who the perfect candidate for impersonation would be, and who better to impersonate than someone within the all-mighty MACUSA? It’s very possible he had a spy (or spies) within the organisation, people who were growing more discontent about MACUSA’s policies and wanted to stop hiding. The spy would have supplied information on the higher-ups who would have their fingers in the right pies, who would be in the right positions to do the things Grindelwald needed to do. And who would be more perfect than Percival Graves, Director of Magical Security and formidable Auror, second only to the President of MACUSA? All Grindelwald had to do was lure Graves to Europe where he was, prior to Fantastic Beasts, capture and impersonate him. We know Graves was in Europe the time Grindelwald was spotted, both because we are told that Theseus Scamander and Graves corresponded whilst in Europe to track Grindelwald down (the Leaky Cauldron, 2017), and because Graves confirms his presence then to Madame Picquery in the movie. During their confrontation (which we don’t see happen, but know definitely did, even though we don’t know if it was during combat), Grindelwald overpowered Graves and held him captive, during which he would have learned everything he needed to know about the Auror, including his mannerisms, how people perceive him and his history. I don’t think it’s ever mentioned if Grindelwald is a Legilimens, but I believe he would have to have basic proficiency at it in order to delve into Graves’s memories in order to impersonate him because let’s face it, there is no way Graves would submit willingly to Grindelwald, whether or not under pain of death.
Regardless of how Grindelwald managed to get his hands on Graves, I think one thing we can be sure of is that Graves did not immediately die, if he did die at all. In order to study Graves to ensure his success at impersonating the man, Grindelwald would have to keep Graves alive for some time, at least until he had no further use for Graves.
There is one last question that has been bugging me. Why did Graves’ wand work for Grindelwald? If ebony works best for those who “had courage to be themselves”, why would it work well for a man impersonating its true owner, thereby in a sense, not being “true” to oneself? I’m not Queen Rowling, but this is what I’ve come up with, so it definitely won’t be as good as anything by Queen Rowling.
Even though Grindelwald was impersonating Graves, he was still being true to himself, to his beliefs that wizards shouldn’t have to hide in fear of No-Majs. We don’t see him submitting to ideals and beliefs forced onto him by anyone else, which is one similarity both Graves and Grindelwald share. This means that while the wand might not have been working to its maximum potential, it still worked well enough for Grindelwald to not only defend himself, but also allowed him to effectively attack others. In the scene towards the end where Graves is confronting Newt, Tina and later the Aurors, his wand work looks pretty slick and effective. We don’t see any malfunctions or spells going out of control, which would suggest that Graves’ wand still worked quite well in the hands of Grindelwald, because he fought with conviction in his beliefs that not only was he so right, MACUSA and its President were fools for believing otherwise.
Well, that’s the end of this spiel! If you actually finished reading this, you’re amazing and deserve a cookie! Please do note that this is purely for fun and if there are any errors, I truly am sorry. Percival Graves was such an understated character, portrayed brilliantly by the wonderful Colin Farrell and I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the real Percival Graves. Thanks for reading!
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