Obscurial

An **Obscurial** was a young wizard or witch who had developed a dark parasitical magical force, known as an Obscurus, as a result of their magic being suppressed through psychological or physical abuse.

According to Albus Dumbledore, an Obscurial could possibly be healed by replacing their feelings of alienation, which ultimately created their Obscurus, with a sense of belonging.

## Description

> "*It's an unstable, uncontrollable dark force that busts out and attacks, and then vanishes.*"
> ― Tina Goldstein[source]
>
>

When a magical child was forced to repress their talent through physical or psychological abuse, they developed a parasitical magical force inside of them called Obscurus, resulting from their strong emotions of distress.

An Obscurial might lose control when they reached their emotional and mental breaking point, releasing their Obscurus as an invisible (or nearly invisible) destructive wind. In extreme cases, they might physically transform into an Obscurus.

When an Obscurial released the Obscurus within, their eyes became pure white and their physical form vibrated and became distorted. While the Obscurus was invisible, the Obscurial could physically interact with the world without making physical contact, though the ability was uncontrolled and triggered by the host's distress, anger, or other intense emotions. This notably damaged structures and objects near the host.

Children possessed by an Obscurus almost always died before their tenth birthdays, but as exemplified by Credence Barebone, a wizard or witch with tremendous latent powers could survive longer. When the child died, the Obscurus vanished along with them, though Newt Scamander successfully kept one alive when its host died by encasing it in a magical bubble. It seemed that Obscurials couldn't be killed in Obscurus form; the Obscurus might be shattered temporarily, but the Obscurial themselves would still be alive if Credence was anything to go by. However, he was only one example and was stated to be unusually powerful.

## History

In ancient times, when wizards were hunted by Muggles, Obscurials were more common. However, when the wizarding world and the Muggle world separated with the development of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, the trend dropped as children were no longer forced to hide their true nature among their own. They could be taught to accept and control their powers without suppressing them.

In 1926, approximately 3 months before his trip to New York, British Magizoologist Newt Scamander discovered an 8 year old Sudanese Obscurial during a study of African magical creatures. The girl had been trapped and severely abused by fearful muggles, causing the development of her powers. Newt attempted to help her and succeeded in separating the Obscurus from its young host, but the girl didn't survive. However, he did manage to magically preserve the Obscurus. She represented the first documented case of an Obscurial in centuries.

Obscurials were believed to have completely disappeared from the United States of America by 1926, according to Seraphina Picquery. To the knowledge of the International Confederation of Wizards, an Obscurus had not existed in the United States for over 200 years. However, that same year a young wizard named Credence Barebone was revealed to be an Obscurial, and went on a destructive rampage that caused significant damage to the city, also causing a major breach of the Statute of Secrecy.

Newt's experiences in Sudan allowed him to correctly identify Barebone as an Obscurial. He attempted to help the ailing young man but was thwarted by interference by MACUSA Aurors and Gellert Grindelwald, then disguised as MACUSA agent Percival Graves. They attacked Barebone, who was apparently destroyed. However, Newt's subsequent actions did reveal Grindlewald's identity and erased the memories of New York's muggle population, ending the Statute of Secrecy crisis.

## Known Obscurials

 Credence Barebone | Regularly beaten and psychologically abused by his adoptive mother Mary Lou Barebone, who hated magic. He was eventually consumed by his Obscurus and went on a rampage which destroyed large parts of New York. He miraclously survived the incident.