Dumbledores kärlek var oreagnad (och osynlig i böckerna).

Det finns inget i böcker som uttryckligen säger att Dumbledore hade någon form av romantiska känslor mot Grindelwald, hur andra relationer eller känslor bekräftas uttryckligen i texten själv.

Den första gången Dumbledore är homosexuell nämns uttryckligen i denna intervju med JKR.

JKR: My truthful answer to you… I always thought of Dumbledore as gay. Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was. To an extent, do we say it excused Dumbledore a little more because falling in love can blind us to an extent?

I ett annat senare intervju verkar JKR säga att Grindelwald inte kände samma sätt, men skulle sannolikt ha använt Dumbledores känslor att manipulera honom.

JKR: I think he was a user and a narcissist and I think someone like that would use it, would use the infatuation. I don't think that he would reciprocate in that way, although he would be as dazzled by Dumbledore as Dumbledore was by him, because he would see in Dumbledore, 'My God, I never knew there was someone as brilliant as me, as talented as me, as powerful as me. Together, we are unstoppable!' So I think he would take anything from Dumbledore to have him on his side.
- Harry, A History

Nej, det är aldrig sagt att de hade ett förhållande. Det är bara sagt att Dumbledore hade (förmodligen) obesvarade känslor för Grindelwald.

Det bästa vi får från böckerna är följande citat:

It can now be revealed that Grindelwald chose to visit his great aunt in Godric’s Hollow, and that there, intensely shocking though it will be for many to hear it, he struck up a close friendship with none other than Albus Dumbledore.
Deathly Hallows - Chapter 18: The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore

Första gången ett romantiskt förhållande nämndes mellan de två var när JKR läste Deathly Hallows på Carnegie Hall 2007. Speciellt under QnA efteråt.

The question was: Did Dumbledore, who believed in the prevailing power of love, ever fall in love himself?

JKR: My truthful answer to you… I always thought of Dumbledore as gay. [ovation.] … Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was. To an extent, do we say it excused Dumbledore a little more because falling in love can blind us to an extent? But, he met someone as brilliant as he was, and rather like Bellatrix he was very drawn to this brilliant person, and horribly, terribly let down by him. Yeah, that’s how i always saw Dumbledore. In fact, recently I was in a script read through for the sixth film, and they had Dumbledore saying a line to Harry early in the script saying I knew a girl once, whose hair… [laughter]. I had to write a little note in the margin and slide it along to the scriptwriter, “Dumbledore’s gay!” [laughter] “If I’d known it would make you so happy, I would have announced it years ago!”
the-leaky-cauldron.org

I en senare intervju 2010 sa JKR att Grindelwald förmodligen inte krävde Dumbledores känsla.

JKR: [re: Grindelwald] I think he was a user and a narcissist and I think someone like that would use it, would use the infatuation. I don't think that he would reciprocate in that way, although he would be as dazzled by Dumbledore as Dumbledore was by him, because he would see in Dumbledore, 'My God, I never knew there was someone as brilliant as me, as talented as me, as powerful as me. Together, we are unstoppable!' So I think he would take anything from Dumbledore to have him on his side.
Interview with Melissa Anelli