The Aberforth Line In Fantastic Beasts 3 That Means More Than You Think
Contains spoilers for "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore"
"Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" takes audiences back to the Wizarding World again, as Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) tries to prevent Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) from plunging the world into a war with the muggles. A significant chunk of the narrative sees Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) wrestling with his complicated feelings for Grindelwald, as the pair were in love years before the events of "Fantastic Beasts." Unfortunately, their polarizing opinions on the divide between muggles and wizards forced them apart, and now Grindelwald is ready to tip the balance of power. Newt and his brother, Theseus Scamander (Callum Turner), band together with a small group of other witches and wizards to stop Grindelwald's plans by any means necessary. But they also learn more about Dumbledore's life along the way — and they even meet his brother, Aberforth (Richard Coyle).
"Harry Potter" fans will already know that Aberforth owns the Hog's Head Inn, which is located in the village of Hogsmeade, and that Ciaran Hinds plays an older version of the bartender in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." But "The Secrets of Dumbledore" fleshes his story out in an unexpected way, which leads to a line that means more than you think.
The Snape callback you may have missed
One of the intriguing sub-plots in "The Secrets of Dumbledore" sees Aberforth and Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) leaving messages for each other that show up in the mirror. For a while, it's not quite clear how, or why they've gotten in contact with one another — until Albus has a surprising conversation with Aberforth about the fact that Credence is really the bartender's son that he didn't know he had. Although "The Crimes of Grindelwald" had led Credence — and the audience — to believe that he's Corvus Lestrange, he's actually Aurelius Dumbledore.
Unfortunately, Credence's Obscurus gets the better of him, as he's slowly dying due to the unstable power within him. Thankfully, Aberforth arrives with Albus to help his son, and the misguided wizard asks his father if he ever thought about him, to which the bartender simply replies: "Always." Now, for anyone not instantly tearing up, this is clearly a reference to Severus Snape (Alan Rickman).
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" reveals that Snape has been in love with Lily Potter (Geraldine Somerville) since their days at Hogwarts, and that's why he's been trying to protect Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) the entire time. Snape says the line when Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) recognizes that the potions master has the same Doe patronus as Lily, which makes for an incredibly emotional moment. Aberforth using the similarly emotionally loaded line is a great callback to Snape, and it'll be interesting to see whether Credence/Aurelius shows up in any future movies.