With wings from the water.'
Tycho Dodonus, Prophecy 20.
I’ve just been re-reading the Crimes of Grindelwald screenplay, and suddenly wondered: We know the prophecy was proven not to be about the Lestrange family, but could it still be related to the Dumbledore family somehow?
It’s very raw thinking, but hear me out:
A son cruelly banished - could still refer to Credence/Aurelius Dumbledore. As Aberforth’s lover was discovered to be pregnant, she was sent away, forcibly separated from Abe, and their newborn son boarded with (probably) family members on a ship for America. Moreover, in Secrets of Dumbledore, Gellert also convinced Aurelius that he had been banished by his family, that his brothers rejected him, and that his parents Kendra & Percival didn’t want him.
Despair of the daughter - This one is tricky, but as with any prophecies it needs to be interpreted. I believe the daughter here refers to Ariana and her despair to the Obscurus. Something that both Ariana and Credence/Aurelius share. Despair also in the sense of the Dumbledores already suffered such tragedy before through Ariana (whose Aberforth was very close), and must suffer it again through Aurelius, Abe’s own son. It’s a double pain, a punishment. As if the family was cursed by fate itself.
Return, great avenger - During Secrets of Dumbledore, Credence/Aurelius believed to be the forgotten son, the banished "brother". He left Nurmengard when learning that Albus was in Berlin. He followed him in the streets and waited for him to be alone before attacking. He sought revenge, he sought answers. He returns to his "brother" to avenge his abandonment.
With wings from the water - Let’s start with the last part which is the easiest to link. The ship sunk, filled with water, and Credence (then thought to be Corvus) is miraculously saved. He has risen from the water, reborn like a phoenix from its ashes. And then come the first part: The wings of a Phoenix. The Dumbledores' emblem. The family pet. Fawkes who has followed Aurelius since Crimes of Grindelwald. Who was there to watch over him in his agony in Secrets of Dumbledore, protecting him at the end of his duel with Albus, comforting him in Nurmengard when he was receiving the messages of his father (who he didn't know was his father at this time) on the mirror.
Well, that’s simply theories on my part and it might just completely be rubbish. But at the same time, prophecies have such important meaning in HP, and always have proven to be true (thinking especially about Trelawney here). So I don’t think this one would have been thrown into the narrative only to be denied later once Leta’s whole plot was uncovered. Then again, this could still refer to the Dumbledores, but can be interpreted differently from what I did. If you want to take a guess, please be my guest.