Favorite Characters: Newt Scamander (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)

As I said in my review, I’m officially sold on whatever the new Fantastic Beasts series has in store for us, and our new (unlikely) hero Newt is a huge part of that.  When it comes to Harry Potter, I’ve always been more about the supporting characters, but while I enjoy pretty much all the new characters we got here to varying degrees, Newt is definitely the biggest draw for me (a few background spoilers.)

Newt is the third in-universe character Rowling has given us who loves magical creatures, and where his beasts are concerned, Newt seems to hit a sweet spot right between Hagrid and Charlie Weasley.  Like Hagrid, this magizoologist adores his beasts to distraction, naming them and happily telling the story behind each one to anyone who will listen.  But at the same time, he doesn’t subscribe to Hagrid’s “precious little monsters” attitude – this is not a guy who’d try to raise a dragon or a giant spider as a pet.  As much as he loves his creatures, he does get that they’re ultimately still wild animals and have to be treated with the appropriate respect and caution.  In that way, he has more of Charlie’s practicality.  Newt is incredibly well-versed on all his beasts and approaches each one with the right level of discretion.  It’s true that a few of them escape his case, but it’s because of an inadequate lock rather than any active recklessness or complacency on his part.  In terms of responsibility, he’s a lot closer to Charlie than Hagrid.  (Speaking of Hagrid, Hogwarts apparently has a history of expelling wizards because of problems that arise out of their fondness for magical creatures – Charlie’s lucky he made it to graduation!)

Part of that responsibility and respect means that, while Newt collects and keeps beasts, he’s not forcing them to adapt to suit his whims.  On the contrary – he may keep them in his magical suitcase of TARDIS dimensions, but he’s turned its extremely-roomy confines into a wildlife sanctuary with multiple habitats and climate zones.  Because his main concerns are their safety and comfort rather than his wants.  Many of his creatures are hunted and attacked by wizards who fear and don’t understand them, while others are exploited by wizards for profit.  Newt doesn’t just collect and study them.  He rescues them, halts their premature extinction, and protects them from anyone who would do them harm.

I love that.  Newt is such a gentle, unimpressive-on-the-surface character, but I love that his strength comes out when he’s defending creatures who are more vulnerable than he is.  Even though many of them are more physically imposing, he knows the threats visited upon them by greed, fear, or ignorance, and he’ll fight tooth and nail to keep anyone from hurting them.  It’s a philosophy that doesn’t only apply to his beasts, mind you, though he does reserve his fiercest devotion to fighting on their behalf.  I like the respectful caution and soft reassurance with which he approaches the Obscurial, trying to talk down and soothe this volatile magical force.  When the gang is in trouble with MACUSA, I like that he reasons on his own behalf but pleads on Tina’s, never getting visibly upset until she’s the one at risk.  And while it’s partly informed by his British (rather than American) attitudes, I like the quiet stand he takes against the U.S. wizarding world’s stance on Muggles.  When someone like Tina calls Jacob a No-Maj, there’s at minimum a mild slur in her tone, but when Newt calls him a Muggle, he’s simply stating it as fact and doesn’t imply that Jacob is less-than because he can’t do magic.  I don’t think I ever really got Hufflepuff until seeing Newt, but now I’m totally pro-Hufflepuff.  Badgers forever!