By now you've hopefully seen hero of my Hufflepuff heart Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , the latest installment of the Harry Potter franchise that follows magizoologist Newt on his journey through the course of five films. (Uh, yeah, you read that right — five.) But what you might not have realized is that Newt Scamander was on the Marauder's Map in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, proving that this is actually not the first time we've seen Newt in a film. LE GASP.
It happens in the film when Fred and George Weasley originally take pity on Harry and give him the Marauder's Map as a consolation prize for not being able to go into Hogsmeade with the rest of his squad. They open up the map and we see figures in Hogwarts walking around, including Newt Scamander wandering the halls. If it seems improbable, it's not quite — in fact, if we are adhering to the timeline, Newt would be 96 years old. Given that he was once a student of Dumbledore and that Dumbledore is alive and kicking, it's not that much of a stretch to think that he might still be alive and visiting Hogwarts in the timeline (in fact, it's worth noting that there is no death date available for him, so maybe he's still hanging around in 2016?). So the question isn't really how he got there, but what on earth he was doing there in the first place.
This was obviously a deliberate move, and is also just a testament to how scarily far back things are planned in this fandom. I'm afraid if any of us ever tried to travel into J.K. Rowling's brain we'd just get lost in the infinity forever. But what kind of business would 96-year-old Newt have at Hogwarts? Some thoughts below ...
It Had Something To Do With Buckbeak's Trial
After Draco Malfoy whined like the little whiner face he was, Buckbeak's trial became a pivotal event in the series, particularly as it pertained to Hermione's use of the Time Turner and the escape of Sirius Black. Maybe Newt was either there to serve as an expert on the trial, or just came unannounced to see if he could do anything to resolve the matter?
He Came To Visit Dumbledore After Hearing About The Giant Basilisk That Was Chilling In The School
Or maybe he just visited to say hello! While we don't know why Newt got yanked out of Hogwarts, we do know that Dumbledore favored him. Maybe the two of them were bros in their old age. Or maybe Newt wanted to study Fawkes, the only (and presumably rare) phoenix we meet in the series. There are plenty of totally normal reasons why Newt might have dropped by, even if it is a bit of a shock to the rest of the fandom.
He Was Secretly 'Shipping His Grandson With Luna Lovegood From The Beginning
I mean, we have no idea what was going on in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Land, no thanks to Harry, the least observant Gryffindor ever. Maybe Newt just 'shipped it early on and was like, "Yo, Rolf, go talk to that weird chick in the pink glasses," and Rolf was like, "GRANDAD, YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME, GO AWAY," so Newt did, and then Rolf was too scared to talk to Luna until way after graduation, lest Newt pop out from a corner and start serenading them like the 96-year-old version of Sebastian from The Little Mermaid.
I digress.
There are a number of reasons why Newt might have been in Hogwarts today, but in the words of J.K. Rowling's recent tweet, "All will be revealed." Only four more movies to go, y'all! Let's hope we get some answers to these pressing questions soon.
Images: Warner Bros; Giphy
