Gellert Grindelwald -- Warning: Some Slash Discussion

[AidaLuthien]

In the books, J.K. tends to write almost all foreign characters with their dialogue including the pheonetics of their accent, yet we hear Grindelwald speak to Voldemort, he speaks no differently than any other British characters.

Do you think this is because they were 'speaking' German, or does Grindelwald just not have a very heavy German accent? Why do you think this is?

I haven't read DH recently enough to comment on whether Voldemort speaks German, though given what Tim has written, I would doubt that Voldemort does. Though he is enough of a git to kill someone for talking to him and being a Muggle, especially foreign.

Grindelwald could just speak very good English. He was related to Bathilda Bagshot, it's entirely possible that he spent other holidays in Britain, or that one of his parents spoke English and taught it to him as a younger child.

Being casually cosmopolitan and speaking several languages and dialects fits how I imagine Grindelwald anyway. It fits how I imagine his rise to power as a charismatic, charming, seemingly reformer type. I see him being the type of person who would work a diplomatic gathering by speaking to everyone in their preferred language and switching flawlessly between them.

[AidaLuthien]

Oops, I happened to be the last person to comment on Gellert Grindelwald's thread, but I swear I have a new question.

Grindelwald was almost certainly expelled from Durmstrang (unless he quit and the school just claimed he was expelled later). Was his wand broken? I don't see him allowing that to happen. I think he would have run away first. So did Durmstrang not break expelled students' wands like Hogwarts did to Hagrid?

[Sapphire at Dawn]

Hmm. That's a good question. Perhaps Hagrid's crime was far more serious than Grindlewald's was and so his wand was broken where Gellert's wasn't. Though the way the snapping of Hagrid's wand is talked about in the series, it does seem like the common punishment for expulsion. Perhaps they did break Gellert's wand and he was using another. Maybe the loss of his wand drove him to try and find the Elder Wand. He obviously used magic when he was in England, but maybe they weren't able to police his use of magic. Maybe they didn't snap wands at Durmstrang.

I think whatever you decide would be plausible.

Sarah x

[Equinox Chick]

Hagrid's wand wasn't completely broken, mind you. He kept the bits in his umbrella and still used it. I think, though, that Hagrid's wand wasn't just snapped but he was expressly forbidden from performing magic - or else he'd have bought himself a new wand. Perhaps this was because he was 13 when he was expelled, whereas Gellert was of age.

~Carole~

[Peppermint Toads]

Durmstrang had a very different way of running things than Hogwarts. It is definitely possible that they tried to snap Grindelwald's wand and he ran away, but somehow I think that they wouldn't have given up so easily. They probably sent people after him if he did flee, which may be why he had to go and spend the summer with Bathilda.

[AidaLuthien]

Hmm... I guess Hagrid's crime was Dark Arts and murder while Grindelwald's was... Dark Arts ... and no murder?? So that makes Grindelwald's crime 'less' bad in a way, particularly at a school that was notorious for tolerating Dark Arts.

Argh, too many possibilities.

Thanks, Sarah and Carole. I'll have to think of what fits the story best.

[Ascendio]

Don't forget they were going to destroy Harry's wand in OOTP, just for magic in front of a Muggle, so I would imagine for Dark Arts he would be told he would have his wand snapped. However, with him going to Durmstrang, the rules could differ with different countries which is why he could've possibly kept it.

-Annie