Newton Scamander



"I have visited lairs, burrows and nests across five continents, observed the curious habits of magical beasts in a hundred countries, witnessed their powers, gained their trust and, on occasion, beaten them off with my travelling kettle."

- Newton Scamander

Newton Artemis Fido "Newt" Scamander,, (b. 1897) was a famed Magizoologist and author of. Early in life, Scamander developed an interest in magical Creatures, influenced by his mother's breeding of hippogriffs. He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he was Sorted into Hufflepuff House, and was later expelled (although it is known that Newt did graduate in some way).

Scamander joined the Ministry of Magic, spending two years in the Office for House-Elf Relocation before joining the Beast Division. In 1918, he was commissioned by Augustus Worme of Obscurus Books to write Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The book became a best seller, making Scamander a respected expert in the field of Magizoology. He married Porpentina Goldstein, and fathered at least one male child. By the beginning of the 1990s, he was retired and living in Dorset.

Early life and schooling


Newton Scamander was born in 1897 somewhere in England in Great Britain, developing an interest in magical creatures at an early age, as his mother was a breeder of hippogriffs. As a seven year old, Scamander would regularly dismember Horklumps in his bedroom.

Beginning around 1908, he attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he was sorted into Hufflepuff. During his time, he enjoyed studying magical creatures. He developed a friendship with Leta Lestrange, a fellow student who both shared his interest in magical beasts as well as a feeling of being an outsider. In 1913, one of Leta's experiments involving a Jarvey went too far and endangered the life of a student. Rather than see his good friend expelled, Newt took the blame and was sentenced to be expelled from Hogwarts in her place. However, Albus Dumbledore, Newt's Transfiguration teacher at the time, argued strongly on his behalf and cleared his name. The expulsion was never enforced.

Joining the Ministry of Magic
"...tedious to the extreme..."

- Newt Scamander on his years at the Office for House-Elf Relocation

After leaving Hogwarts, Scamander joined the Ministry of Magic and worked for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He spent two years in the Office for House-Elf Relocation before transferring to the Beast Division, where his extensive knowledge of magical creatures led to a rapid series of promotions.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
"I was then but a lowly Ministry of Magic employee and leapt at the chance both to augment my pitiful salary of two Sickles a week and to spend my holidays travelling the globe in search of new magical species."

- Newt Scamander on Augustus Worme's offer for him to write Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

In 1918, Augustus Worme of Obscurus Books commissioned Scamander to write the first edition of. Scamander, earning only two Sickles a week working at the Ministry, jumped at the chance for extra money and the opportunity to spend his summers travelling the world.

Scamander travelled to a hundred countries across five continents researching his book, observing many magical creatures. He learned about their abilities, gained their trust, and occasionally beat them with his travelling kettle if they got too dangerous. At one point, he met an Obscurus, and although the host died, he managed to contain the dark force within his magically-expanded suitcase.



Newt began a year long trip to document magical creatures and their natural habitats in 1925 After leaving Equatorial Guinea, Scamander arrived in New York in December 1926 for what was supposed to be a brief stopover. However, when a Muggle by the name of Jacob Kowalski accidentally opened his suitcase, containing several creatures inside, the episode turned into an incident of major proportions (since magical and non-magical relations in the United States were already frail due to the presence of a Muggle fanatical extremist group, the New Salem Philanthropic Society), requiring the intervention of the Magical Congress of the United States of America.



While in New York, Scamander also met his future wife, Tina Goldstein, as well as her sister, Queenie. During the quest to recover his escaped creatures, Newt had to confront another Obscurus, but it was vanquished by MACUSA. He helped to defeat Percival Graves and revealed that he was none other than Dark Wizard and international criminal Gellert Grindelwald. Shortly after, Scamander said goodbye to Tina, but promised to deliver a copy of his book to her in person.

First published in 1927, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was a bestseller. It became an approved textbook at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and, by the mid-1990s, was in its fifty-second edition.

At some point, Scamander authored A Children's Anthology of Monsters, for younger readers.

More work at the Ministry
In 1947, Scamander was responsible for the inception of the Werewolf Register, and, in 1965, created the Ban on Experimental Breeding, which he considered his proudest moment. Scamander also worked extensively with the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau, which led him on expeditions all over the world, allowing him to collect information for new editions of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Awards and honours
"Regarded as the world authority on magical creatures, Newt Scamander is the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which has been an approved textbook at Hogwarts since its publication in 1927 and can be found in most wizarding households."

- Scamander's Chocolate Frog Card

In 1979, he was awarded the Order of Merlin, Second Class, for services to Magizoology. He was also honoured with a Chocolate Frog Card named after him.

Private life
Scamander married Tina Goldstein, and together they had at least one child who produced at least one grandson named Rolf.

By the beginning of the 1990s, he was retired and living in Dorset with his wife and their three pet Kneazles, Hoppy, Milly, and Mauler, but was known to study Fire Slugs in the Brazilian rainforest. At some point during the 1993-1994 school year, he visited Hogwarts, possibly to discuss the printing of a version of Fantastic Beasts for Muggle audiences. Following his grandson's marriage to Luna Lovegood, Scamander became the great-grandfather of twin boys, Lorcan and Lysander Scamander.

Personality and traits
Scamander was a dedicated individual who tirelessly researched new information for his book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, even when he was supposedly retired. Considered an authority in the field of Magizoology, his works were respected throughout the wizarding community. Newton was described as eccentric and felt more comfortable around creatures than he did around humans.

A man of principle, he was not the sort of man to discriminate against people based on their heritage or beliefs, and seen to be courteous with non-magical individuals like Mary Lou Barebone and Jacob Kowalski, the latter of which with whom he formed a close friendship. He was also morally astute, expressing shock and discontent at morbidness and cruelty, such as the idea of using the Obscurus that killed a child for personal gain.

Magical abilities and skills
Newt's primary skill is his unrivalled connection to multiple magical creatures and ability to track them down and tame them effectively, he also well versed writer and as a Hufflepuff a tireless worker, making dozens of notes on every creature he finds. Newt also deals with hazardous situations well, having faced some of the most dangerous beasts in the world and also Dark Wizards.
 * Care of Magical Creatures: Newt was interested in Magizoology from a young age and throughout the years, he gained knowledge of a wide variety of creatures from all over the world. He was awarded a famous Wizard Card and an Order of Merlin for services to Magizoology.
 * Communicating with animals: Newt was shown to have a particular way with animals in a manner in which most Wizards don't. He possesses an innate ability to communicate and bond with beasts of all shapes, such as Thunderbirds and Bowtruckles — treating the latter much like a parent would a child. He is also capable of using beasts such as the Swooping Evil to aid him in combat, and can control it to a degree, despite it being a relatively dangerous beast.
 * Charms: Newt displays potent skill in Charms, able to Summon an egg from across a room with a man still holding onto it, and repair the entire upper half of Jacob Kowalski's apartment in mere seconds. Newt also used the Revelio Charm to bypass Grindelwald's Human Transfiguration and unmask him to MACUSA. Perhaps his greatest Charm to date, however, is the Undetectable Extension Charm that the magizoologist used to enchant his suitcase and create a ridiculously large space inside, enough to hold what amounted to a zoo for his collection of creatures.
 * Apparition: Newt was able to successfully Apparate in many different situations, allowing him to avoid attacks from an Obscurus along with Gellert Grindelwald.
 * Duelling: Beguiling his peaceful disposition, Newt is a very capable duelist, adept at hexes, using the Full Body-Bind Curse on No-Maj Gilbert Bingley upon nearly being arrested. Later he was, with some good help from his Swooping Evil, able to evade capture by multiple trained MACUSA Aurors. Newt was even able to briefly hold his own against and survive a confrontation with Gellert Grindelwald, arguably the most powerful dark wizard of all time, proving his skills as in martial magic.
 * Potions: In his books, he wrote down hints how parts of magical creatures could be used in potions. It's unknown if this knowledge was theoretical or if he could brew some of the potions himself.
 * History of Magic: Newt also had knowledge of magical history, especially Magizoology. A whole chapter of was devoted to the definitions of beasts, beings, and spirits and how the definitions have evolved in past centuries.
 * Muggle Studies: Newt had studied how Muggles reacted to magical creatures and how beasts included in muggle fairy tales, like fairies, differed from real ones. He also knew about Muggles' awareness of Diricawl and that they believed that they hunted it to extinction. A whole chapter in his book was about Muggle awareness of beasts.He also claims to Jacob that the bodies of Muggles react differently to magic and gives him some armour when dealing with a Erumpent for protection.
 * Nonverbal magic: Newt was able to summon an Occamy egg held in Jacob Kowalski's hand without saying the incantation, ending up sending Jacob flying towards him at great speed. He also did not speak an incantation when turning a  window opening into a jelly-like substance to trap his Niffler.

Possessions

 * Wand: His wand is made of Lime with elements of Shell and Bone core. It also has a piece of Mother of Pearl in the base.
 * Suitcase: A magical suitcase enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm in which he held a number of beasts while he travelled. He could hide the contents from Muggles by flipping a switch on the case. In 1926, whilst visiting the United States of America, the beasts in Newt's suitcase escaped, whereupon he was accosted by Percival Graves, a powerful MACUSA Auror and right-hand man of the American wizarding community's leader, Seraphina Picquery.  The suitcase contains its own world with many different habitats for each creature. It also contains a place for Newt. Tina takes the suitcase with Newt inside it to MACUSA headquarters where she tells them about the creatures that have escaped.
 * Passport: Newt possessed a muggle passport used during his worldwide travels.

Etymology
Newton is derived from the Old English place name meaning "new town" and was originally a surname. Artemis is of Greek origin, from the goddess of the moon, hunting and chastity. Fido originated from the Latin for "I trust" or "faithful". Scamander is also of Greek origin as the name of a river. It is also noted for being very similar to the word salamander along with Newt, which is a small lizard that in the wizarding world feeds on flames.

Behind the scenes

 * Newt is portrayed by Eddie Redmayne in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film series.Newton Scamander.jpg
 * Newt Scamander will be a playable character in the video game and will appear as part of  themed LEGO Dimensions sets.
 * In the Harry Potter films, a portrait of Scamander is present in the Headmaster's office, thus implying that he was a past Headmaster of Hogwarts and that he was dead by 1992, as the portrait first appears in Chamber of Secrets. However, the Pottermore Timeline of the Wizarding World (see it here) establishes that Scamander was still alive by 2015, thus making this non-canon.
 * Interestingly, the portrait of Newt Scamander mentioned above bears the monogram of Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528). Dürer's dates to not match those of Scamander the slightest. The portrait itself seems to have been based on a 17th-century portrait of Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, by David Scougall
 * In 2001, J. K. Rowling published a real version of for Comic Relief, a UK based charity event. The book was written from an in-universe perspective, and Scamander was credited as the "author" of the work. He is also slated to appear as the star character in a series of films based on this work, beginning with one named after it directly.
 * Newt was the first known Hufflepuff introduced in the series, although this information was not revealed until.
 * When PS undefined was originally translated into German, Newt's name was translated as "Lurch" Scamander. Lurch is a German word for amphibians, a family of animals the newt is also part of. When Fantastic Beasts was translated, his original first name was untranslated instead and Lurch was one of his middle names. This makes his full name in the German version "Newton Artemis Fido Lurch Scamander".
 * Similarly, in the French version of the Harry Potter books, he is named "Norbert Dragonneau" (Dragonneau meaning baby dragon), a possible foreshadowing to Norberta. In the translation of Fantastic Beasts, however, it is said that this is actually a pen name, and the book uses his original name the rest of the time. Even though it's a pen name, the name "Monsieur Dragonneau" is also used in the French trailer for the first film in the pentology.

Appearances

 * PS undefined
 * PS G
 * Inside the Magic: The Making of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
 * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Character Guide
 * J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life
 * Inside the Magic: The Making of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
 * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Character Guide
 * J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life
 * Inside the Magic: The Making of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
 * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Character Guide
 * J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life
 * Inside the Magic: The Making of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
 * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Character Guide
 * J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life
 * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Character Guide
 * J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life
 * J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life
 * J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life

Notes and references
Newton Scamander Newton Scamander Norbert Dragonneau Newton Scamander Newton Skamander Ньют Саламандер ニュートン・スキャマンダー