Credence Barebone

"You're a squib, Credence. I could smell it off you the minute I met you. You have magical ancestry but no power. You're not teachable. Your mother's dead - that's your reward. I'm done with you..."

- Grindelwald coldly dismissing Credence.

Credence Barebone  is the secondary antagonist of the 2016 adventure fantasy film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Credence was the adopted son of Mary Lou Barebone, leader of the anti-witch No-Maj group the New Salem Philanthropic Society. Shy and withdrawn, this caused Credence to be susceptible to her abuse.

He was portrayed by Ezra Miller, who also portrayed Kevin Khatchadourian in We Need to Talk about Kevin.

Early life
Sometime before the events of the film, Credence was born into the Lestrange family prior to being adopted by Mary Lou Barebone, the fanatical leader of the New Salem Philanthropic Society. Whilst under her care, Credence was physically abused by the deranged woman as to suppress his magical abilities. Her frequent abuse of her adopted son would cause him to become arguably the most powerful Obscurial in the Harry Potter universe.

Present day
By 1926, Credence had been losing control of his Obscurus, which was running amok in New York. During that time, Credence had gotten into contact with Gellert Grindelwald, who had been masquerading as Percival Graves, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (MACUSA). Gellert requests that Credence help him search for the obscured child in the Second Salem Church, stating that he'd help Credence realize his potential in return. After the Second Salmers fail to garner support from Henry Shaw Senior, as well as being insulted by Mary, Credence's Obscurial breaks lose, and wreaks havoc on the City Hall fund-raising dinner, killing the senator as a result. This act unwittingly exposes the wizarding world.

The next day, Mary discovers a wand, and immediately includes that it belonged to Credence. As she was preparing to beat him yet again, Modesty speaks up, insisting that it was hers. She pries the belt from her adopted mother's hand, which causes Credence's Obscurus to manifest. The Obscurus mauls the fanatical leader of the NSPS to death, but it also ends up killing Chastity, and heavily damaging the house. Grindelwald arrives, demanding that Credence lead him to Modesty, who had escaped the destruction of her home. Once there, Grindelwald betrays him, saying that he no longer needed him. Angered, Credence reveals his Obscurial form, much to the astonishment of the infamous wizard. Despite insisting that he'd train him, it was too late for Credence, and he goes on a mindless rampage.

Pursuing him to the subway station, Newt attempts to comfort Credence only to engage in a battle with the treacherous dark wizard. Seraphina Picquery and Aurors are reported by the attack, and they cast destructive spells at Credence leading to his presumed death, however a tiny piece of the Obscurial escapes into the open, which Newt notices and smiles.

It was later revealed that Credence survived and departed New York City on a rowboat (as shown in a deleted scene.) He later shows up in Paris having joined a magic circus and befriended a Maledictus woman named Nagini and that he wants to learn his true identity. It's unknown if Credence ever returned to New York or if he decided to spend the rest of his days alone in order to not kill any other person.

Powers and Abilities
"It's an unstable, uncontrollable dark force that busts out and attacks, and then vanishes."

- The powers of a Obscurus, that Credence possessed. As an Obscurial, Credence was prone to transforming due to being abused for years. Significantly, Credence was unique in comparison to other cases, as most Obscurials don't tend to last long without a host, never making it past 10 years of age. The fact that he survived for so long was indictive of his immense latent magial potential.

Trivia

 * Many believed that his name was Kredan due to initial reports pertaining to the film.