Was Newt Scamander in Harry Potter Marauder’s Map? Theory Explains

by Wizarding Worldz March 30, 2023, 5:12 am 10.3k Views 0 Comments

One theory explains that is consistent with Newt Scamander’s history and areas of expertise explains why Newt Scamander in Harry Potter Marauder’s Map.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban included a brief cameo from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’s Newt Scamander, albeit it was never mentioned.

The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them films serve as a prequel trilogy to the Harry Potter movies, taking place in the 1920s through the 1930s. As a result, the Fantastic Beasts films featured allusions to and crossover characters from the Harry Potter series.

Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall, for instance, were portrayed prominently in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Major places and ideas, like Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and the Deathly Hallows, were used in the Fantastic Beasts movies.

Given that the Harry Potter films were produced earlier, it makes natural that there were relatively few allusions to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the Harry Potter movies. The Marauder’s Map appearance of Newt Scamander in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was a remarkable Easter egg, though.

The Marauder’s Map, which was first mentioned in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, was a magical map that kept track of everyone’s whereabouts inside and outside of Hogwarts.

James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were the four Marauders who made the map; they maintained it until Argus Filch, the keeper of Hogwarts, took possession of it. The map was taken from Filch’s office by Fred and George Weasley during their first year at Hogwarts.

Later, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the twins presented it to Harry. Newt’s name flashed on the parchment for a split second while Fred and George demonstrated how to utilize the map to Harry.

This Easter egg was amusing, but it also makes one wonder why Newt Scamander was at Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

It seems improbable that Newt would have a cause to visit Hogwarts given the time gap between the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Harry Potter movies. Newt’s return is much less likely because he was expelled from Hogwarts while he was a student.

One idea, though, explains why Newt appears on the Marauder’s Map. It’s probable that Newt came to Hogwarts to try to stop the execution of the hippogriff Buckbeak. Given Newt’s past and the Harry Potter timeframe, this makes sense.

Newt was at Hogwarts to save Buckbeak, according to the Harry Potter Marauder’s Map theory.

Hagrid was hired as the Care of Magical Animals instructor in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and he brought Buckbeak the hippogriff in to demonstrate his first students.

However, Buckbeak attacked Draco Malfoy after being provoked by him, which led to Buckbeak being given a death sentence by his father. This information would have worried Newt, who loved animals dearly. This is especially true if Newt found out about the attack’s specifics.

According to Newt, if magical beings were treated with respect, they were not dangerous, and Buckbeak only attacked Malfoy when he mistreated him.

Because of this, Buckbeak was up on the Marauder’s Map, and Newt was happy to go to Hogwarts to defend him and try to stop his execution.

In addition, Buckbeak’s hippogriff status would have made him very significant to Newt. As a child, Newt’s mother raised hippogriffs, which is what first ignited his interest in magical beings.

This implies that Newt would have grown up spending a lot of time with and taking care of hippogriffs. These encounters may have made Newt extremely fond of hippogriffs, making protecting Buckbeak a top priority and making a trip to Hogwarts worthwhile.

How The Newt, Marauder’s Map Ties Into The Timeline of Harry Potter

Given how much earlier the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them films took place, at first glance it may appear that Newt would be too old to be a student at Hogwarts during Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

However, because of his 1987 birth, Newt was 96 when Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released in 1993. Although this may sound elderly, witches and wizards often live longer than muggles, with the average age of a wizard in Great Britain by the middle of the 1990s being 137 and 3/4 years old.

As a result, it would have been very feasible for Newt to visit Hogwarts when he was 96 years old.

More evidence that Newt was alive in 1993 came from the publication of a second version of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them textbook. An introduction written by Newt was added in the revised edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them which was released in 2017.

This demonstrated that Newt was still alive as late as 2017 and addressed the events of the first Fantastic Beasts film. This explains how Newt Scamander’s inclusion on the Marauder’s Map in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban corresponds to his fascination with magical creatures like Buckbeak and the Harry Potter timeframe.