Who Credence is, was and could be (theory - updated)
Hi there :)
Made this because I noticed that people still like and share this post ... and I didn’t really check if the content was still fully valid information.
Some of it is a little outdated already, but much isn’t ... I’m going to try and structure it right :)
(spoilers)
Firstly : I stand by that I think he’s a Goldstein (things have exploded surrounding his extended family heritage, I’ll put a link to what I’ve discovered following a hint to it ...) and that “golden, gilded”, the meaning of Aurelius.
JK Rowling has even posted a hint on Twitter, about “Marcus Aurelius Antoninus” - aka pretty close to Anthony Goldstein, Harry’s schoolmate, whom we know is canonically related distantly to Tina and Queenie.
But let’s get to it!
The prophecy
Firstly, this is important:
what we have can’t be the word-for-word prophecy, but a poetry version of it . The real one’s wording may have had different implications still.
A Son Cruelly Banished
Despair of the Daughter
Return, Great Avenger
With Wings from the Water
“A son cruelly banished”
A lot of things have changed here :
Since the Goldstein spouses, canonically, died of dragon pox (as far as we know, assassination via them is still possible and has happened across Potter canon), they must have both been half-blood, which means they wouldn’t have faced any persecution for having a third child in America. There’s also the mention of an owl-breeding grandfather, but nothing more.
Yet, as they are related to the Goldsteins in Britain, that does beg the question why they would move to America of all places ... and it’s still possible that they originally attempted to send their son to safety, intending to sonly follow and avoid the prophecy, which yet ended in what seemed to be him dying at sea.
More on the why you can find in my Illvermorny theory :) (link far below)
Plus, of course, the ship he was on was not the Titantic - it was, in fact, a random ship in 1901 - Tina’s birth year.
Also, if there ever was an Aurelius and he was in that orphanage, dying of malnutrition, it’s still possible, also saying that Mary Lou just gave him the same name, much like the Lestranges did - but I can’t imagine a way in which he could have ended up there yet.
I think it’s significant that she was offering adoptions, but only three children live with her by 1926. I think many of them died in the years leading up to the incidents of New York, or ran away … Credence stayed with his sisters to protect them.
“Despair of the daughter”
This is the greatest hint so far – Tina’s despair is constantly inferring with his story. She attacks Mary Lou, she keeps an eye on him, she follows him to Paris – that’s not entirely her humanity, I think … something deep inside her knows he is her family. Also, Queenie has been shown to be very desperate in different ways as well during the sequel – so much so that she joins Grindelwald, and enters Credence’ near. Coincidence? No. She might sonly feel a connection as well.
But that’s not a necessity - I’d actually love it if they felt nothing more for him than for anyone else they’d really want to help out of their heart.
Even visually, you can make some connections … Credence kind of looks like a mix between Tina and Queenie, if he stood between them ...
And isn’t it odd that none of the Dumbledore children looks like him? Kendra does, I know, but … it’s 3/4 visually. But interesting that the sister’s facial remarks can be found in his face combined.
Plus, remember how Grindelwald said, very insistently to Credence, that his mother is dead? Interesting 50/50 for the families in question.
Only it isn’t. I have to make this clear:
I’ve researched far and wide whether he could be a Dumbledore - and biologically, there is no way. Magicwise maybe, but even that explanation stuggles when it comes to context, and still begs the question still how he ended up on a ship to America, with a muggle relative.
“Return, Great Avenger”
Credence did return once already … the question is if he is an avenger yet. I think he doesn’t really trust Grindelwald – he wants to know his identity, and never claimed he was devoted to the actual course … we should keep that in mind. He isn’t stupid, and has been betrayed too many times … we’ll see about that. I think he will return to the good side.
Plus, I do wonder if he believes Grindelwald at all - it would be an interesting plot twist if we found that he didn’t miss the strange coincedence of him being rejected as an ally, but then immediatly accepted when showing his powers, and suddenly being the brother of the man Grindelwald’s rise to power is most threatened by - but just went with the lies because he had nowhere else to go and this was the safest option, at least for now.
“With wings from the water”
“With wings from the water”How does the water fit in here? I believe this is one of the points still to happen … and this is where Newt and maybe even Theseus come in. The name “Scamander” means “God of the River” – water. I think if Newt managed to gain his trust again, he would have a chance to return to the good side – with water wings.
Plus, at this point, we must also consider
Grindelwald could claim that he is the wings, as Dumbledore/him are allegedly connected to the phoenix, aka wings of fire
Tina, as the poem, after all, doesn’t state clearly if the son is the Great Avenger, could be a candidate ... plus, again, the real prophecy may even be more specific :) And in this case, it would make sense that Newt is, in a way, also vaguely what’s going to lead to her “return” (finding her true heritage - again, Illvermorny theory)
Also, I wouldn’t put past that someone embracing him (Theseus, Tina, Newt, or actually, anyone from the group), but honestly, or just being there for him in a similar way, is going to play a part.
In fact, I think everyone showing him true affection, true care for his survival and not wanting to use his powers, is going to be a turning point in his story. Maybe even by tears - all heroes we’ve seen have cried to some degree in this series, it may be important later.
Anyway, that’s the updated version :)
Here’s the link to the full theory that’s also on tumblr:
https://www.reddit.com/r/FantasticBeasts/comments/kqaxxa/the_history_of_illvermorny_is_the_key_theory/
