Contradictions Of Harry Potter Canon In Crimes of Grindelwald

Harry Potter fans take pride in their knowledge of the magical world created by J.K Rowling. That means whenever anything new information is introduced, it will be thoroughly analyzed. Everyone loved the idea of Crimes of Grindelwald, but some of the events are so contradictory that they mess up the narrative of Harry Potter. And these Crimes Of Grindelwald retcons are certainly problematic!

1. Nicolas Flamel Could Have Saved Harry Potter’s Parents!

Nicolas Flamel is probably one of the worst people. Okay, he never did anything bad, but he is completely useless and doesn’t do anything with his powers. In the movie, we see him in a possession of a crystal ball that allows him to see into the future.

It just takes one look for Flamel to see everyone he knows getting merked by Grindelwald. So that means he could see an accurate version of the future (with the help of the crystal), then why didn’t he use it to stop Voldemort or save Harry’s parents?

2. Obliviation Removes ALL Memories!

In the second installment of the Harry Potter franchise, Gilderoy Lockhart revealed that he obliviated witches and wizards after he stole their stories for his books. That means he removed ALL their memories leaving them with none. We also saw Hermione doing the same in the Deathly Hallows while removing herself from her parents’ memories.

But in Crimes of Grindelwald, it was revealed that Jacob Kowalski and the NYC were obligated; but only the bad memories. Jacob even remembered most of the first movie since he had a “good time” with Newt. It felt like a plot armor because J.K. Rowling wanted to keep the main cast together and so the spell only worked on the bad memories. This is a major contradiction.

3. How did Newt use “Accio” to retrieve his Niffler?

When the Fantastic Beasts film premiered, many fans asked as to why couldn’t Newt simply use “Accio” and round up the Nifflers. So Rowling gave an explanation saying the spell only works on inanimate objects.

Here’s what she wrote: “While people or creatures may be indirectly moved by ‘Accio-ing’ objects that they are wearing or holding, this carries all kinds of risks because of the likelihood of injury to the person or beast attached to an object traveling at close to the speed of light.”

Agreed, this makes perfect sense right? But looks like she forgot her explanation. In Crimes of Grindelwald,  we could hear Newt saying “Accio Niffler” to summon the creature.

4. McGonagall Made an Appearance Before She Was Even Born

Minerva McGonagall is hands down one of the most loved characters from Harry Potter. As much as we love her, her appearance in Crimes of Grindelwald made no sense.

We first saw her in Dumbledore’s classroom where he told his students to exit the room and follow Prof. McGonagall. She then appeared in a flashback when Newt and Leta Lestrange were students.

Now, Newt began his first year at Hogwarts in 1908 and the film is set in 1927. McGonagall was born in 1935.  According to what she told Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix (set in 1995), McGonagall had been teaching at Hogwarts for 39 years.

And she gets her surname from her Muggle father so it can’t be any of her family members.

5. Credence Couldn’t Possibly Be Dumbledore’s Brother

The shocking reveal in Crimes of Grindelwald was that Credence, a powerful Obscurial is a Dumbledore. Grindelwald tells him that he was adopted by a No-Maj as a baby and his real name is Aurelius Dumbledore and his brother is Albus Dumbledore.

But the timelines, just don’t match. Percival Dumbeldore (father of Albus) was sentenced to life in Azkaban when the three siblings were very young. He died in prison in 1890. Kendra (mother) died later in 1899.

Credence was 18 in the first film which makes his birth year around 1907 or 1908. So maybe, Grindelwald could be lying, but maybe he is not. We can’t wait to see what happens next!