Theseus Scamander

Theseus Scamander (born c. 1888 ) was a British wizard and Auror. He was the son of Mrs Scamander and the older brother of Newton Scamander. Theseus was regarded as a war hero after his involvement in the First World War, and was promoted to Head Auror during the early days of the Global Wizarding War, with Theseus greatly contributing to the effort against Gellert Grindelwald.

Early life and schooling
Theseus Scamander was born into the wizarding Scamander family sometime around 1888, and had at least one sibling, a younger brother, Newton, better known as "Newt". Despite his mother's hobby of breeding fancy hippogriffs, Theseus evidently never shared his brother's interest in the field of Magizoology, and regarded caring of magical creatures as a fine way of passing the time, but did not take it seriously as a professional pursuit. This was an opinion he apparently had in common with his mother, seen as neither of them was very impressed with his younger brother's career. At some point, he bought or inherited a wand.

During his formative years, he attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, having been Sorted into Hufflepuff, where he excelled in his studies and proved himself an academically gifted student. Proficient in both the theoretical aspects of his lessons and savvy in regard to their practical application, he would finish his education earning at least five N.E.W.T.s, with top grades of either 'Outstanding' or 'Exceeds Expectations'.

Early career
At some point after he finished his magical education, Theseus would join the British Ministry of Magic, and complete a stringent series of character and aptitude tests to become a fully-fledged applicant for individuals wishing to work at the Auror Office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, which he would eventually do after he successfully satisfied the requirements necessary to join their ranks by passing their notoriously demanding training programme.

First World War
As an official Dark Wizard catcher, he proved himself a gifted employee and was recognised as a powerful wizard, yet proved himself to be a man of principle who was not content with sitting idly by when catastrophe strikes, as shown by how he was counted among the "thousands" who defied the then Minister for Magic Archer Evermonde's emergency legislation that forbade the British wizarding community to get involved when the Muggle world entered a period marked by a massive, military conflict that became known as the First World War. Throughout the war, his participation in the wizarding effort of the war was, while not decisive, nevertheless a distinguished one, during which he presumably fought and defeated numerous magical enemies and won many victories in preventing additional loss of life, seen as he would return home a tried and tested veteran of war, and would be donned by many as a war hero.

Global wizarding war
A considerably hard-working and conscientious man, Theseus would continue to work for the Ministry following his return to Britain, and rose to become a very high-ranking and well-respected Auror indeed, to the point where, when a Dark Wizard by the name of Gellert Grindelwald became active in the Wizarding World and whose charismatic idealism had began to muster support for the cause of bringing about the annulment of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and subsequently earned him the discontent of both Theseus's own superiors as well as the International Confederation of Wizards, the celebrated "war hero" was assigned by the Ministry to leave for Europe to help track him down. A notable accomplishment, considering the whole department wanted the case, and excitedly wrote an owl to his brother and told him of his mission. At the time, he had no knowledge of his brother's whereabouts, but simply wished him well "wherever [he was]" on "whatever beastly quests [he was] undertaking!". While his efforts to "ferret out" the aspiring revolutionary ultimately proved unsuccessful, he was eventually promoted to the Head of the Auror Office.

Hunt for Gellert Grindelwald
As the For the Greater Good revolutionary endeavours of Grindelwald grew ever fiercer and the number of individuals who joined his cause began to increase steadily, with both Grindelwald and his supporters having began launching several devastating attacks across Europe, aimed at exposing wizardkind, and provoke war with the Muggle world, any help Theseus could have provided in opposing him were most likely halted by people in authority such as Minister Hector Fawley, who did not take the threat Grindelwald and his legion of fanatics seriously, seen as he was still working nationally by the mid-1920s.

In 1926, Theseus corresponded with the man whom he assumed to be Percival Graves, the Director of Magical Security of MACUSA, regarding recent events in New York, unaware that the man with whom he communicated was actually Gellert Grindelwald himself, in disguise.

1927
By 1927, Leta Lestrange, a friend of Newt's from their school years, had become his fiancée.

When he learned that Gunnar Grimmson had been hired to hurt Credence Barebone, Theseus was infuriated.

Grindelwald's Paris rally
At the French Ministry of Magic Headquarters, Theseus hesitantly questioned Torquil Travers, whom he had been at odds with for a long time. He had ordered the Aurors to break up Grindelwald's rally. However, at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, he defied Travers by saying that listening to Grindelwald was legal. He was the one who gave the word to engage Grindelwald in combat, provoking him into conjuring a blue ring of fire. He listened to him threaten them into joining him or accepting death as the alternative. After virtually everyone had made their decision, Theseus defended Tina Goldstein and Nagini by joining Newt in a double spell projected to deflect Grindelwald's fire. Leta interfered and sadly expressed her love for Theseus and Newt. She proceeded to distract their enemy by stunning Vinda Rosier, horrifying Theseus as Grindelwald turned and directed the fire into her flesh while he could only frantically throw up protective barriers. Leta shouted at him to leave in her final moments, but he refused to leave without her, refusing to accept that she was sacrificing herself for their safety. Newt grabbed his hand, forcing him to Disapparate by his side. Horrified at the loss of his fiancee, Theseus helped put out the Paris fire unleashed by Grindelwald, who had fled the scene.

Personality and traits
Theseus was frequently described as being "very powerful" and was noted to be "commanding". Given his participation in the First World War, and his description as a hero, he appeared also to be extremely brave, and was therefore quite respected among International Confederation of Wizards officials. Theseus is highly intelligent, as he was academically gifted in both the theoretical aspects of his lessons, as well as their practical applications. In stark contrast to his anti-social younger brother Newt Scamander, Theseus is rather confident and outgoing.

Despite this bossy and prim reputation, Theseus is a well-meaning, hard-working, noble, and responsible man, in true Hufflepuff fashion not allowing his status as a war hero to make him arrogant or conceited, and seemingly attempting to act as a good role model to his younger brother Newt Scamander. Theseus loved Newt, and attempted to give him useful advice to keep Newt out of political trouble, and patiently put up with the bitterness with which Newt treated him, simply wanting the best for his brother. Theseus is also quite affectionate, with him notably hugging Newt (though the latter was initially uncomfortable with this), and kissing his beloved fiancee Leta Lestrange. Moreover, Theseus seems to despise violence, since he admitted to Newt that he hated the idea of Gunnar Grimmson going after Credence for the British Ministry. Theseus's nobleness is also shown when he acted calm and quiet while visiting Albus Dumbledore, as opposed to the arrogance and disdain with which with his boss Torquil Travers carried himself, with Theseus also taking to heart Dumbledore's advice about not showing counter-productive violence against Gellert Grindelwald's army during the Paris rally. However, Theseus was tragically unable to stop one of his own Auror subordinates from making that mistake at the rally.

Also, after fellow Auror Tina Goldstein tied Theseus up, demanding that he "restrain his temper", Theseus was noble again by not resenting her for that later, understanding Tina's loyalty to Newt. Overall, Theseus lived up to his brave reputation, and had an incorruptible moral code, as he was able to resist Gellert Grindelwald's persuasive speech, and even had the bravery to subsequently duel Grindelwald, despite knowing that he was no match for the fearsome Dark Wizard. Theseus also dearly loved his late fiance Leta Lestrange, not caring about her negative reputation, and her selfless death devastated Theseus, but left him more determined than ever to help stop Grindelwald and end the Global Wizarding War, so he readily frees Dumbledore of the latter's Admonitors.

Magical abilities and skills

 * Magical Mastery: Theseus Scamander was described as "very powerful", and, as a Hogwarts student, he excelled in his studies enough to meet the qualifications for Auror training, becoming an Auror, and eventually getting promoted to the position of Head Auror. While Theseus alone was admittedly no match for the extraordinarily powerful Gellert Grindelwald, who was possibly the most powerful Dark Wizard to ever live, Department of Magical Law Enforcement Head Torquil Travers trusted the combined might of Theseus and the latter's subordinate Aurors with the task of bringing Grindelwald in after Albus Dumbledore refused to, with even Dumbledore seemingly believing that Theseus could survive a fight with Grindelwald if aided by his allies. Indeed, Theseus proved powerful and skilled enough to be able to survive such a fight, alongside Newt and Leta, and was moreover able to aid his brother, future sister-in-law, Yusuf, and Nicolas Flamel in saving Paris from Grindelwald's blue fire.
 * Leadership skills: Theseus, as the Head Auror in the British Ministry of Magic, had exceptional leadership skills, with him very effectively commanding a team of no less than 50 Aurors at Grindelwald's rally, and even Albus Dumbledore seemed to respect the Auror's leadership, since he took the time to give the younger man some useful advice. Tragically, however, Theseus was unable to stop one of his Auror subordinates from using the Killing Curse at the rally.
 * Auror skills: Theseus Scamander, as the Head Auror, was an exceptionally skilled Auror, more than likely completing the Concealment and Disguise, as well as the Stealth and Tracking portions of Auror training with excellence. These skills greatly contributed to Theseus's outstanding performance during the First World War, and to him gaining the respected status of "war hero", to the point that Hector Podmore, Momolu Wotorson, Rudolph Spielman, Arnold Guzman and even the abrasive Torquil Travers respected him, while Gellert Grindelwald kept up a correspondence with Theseus while posing as Percival Graves. During the Global Wizarding War, Theseus was trusted by the British Ministry of Magic with the mission to participate in the international wizardhunt for Gellert Grindelwald (which proved unsuccessful), and later with the international mission to help the French Ministry of Magic to track down the Obscurial Credence Barebone, with Theseus's Auror team ultimately succeeding at finding Credence in the Lestrange family Mausoleum. Theseus was also observant enough to quickly notice his brother Newt and American Auror Tina Goldstein infiltrating the French Ministry, despite their efforts to be discreet.
 * Duelling: As the Head Auror, Theseus was exceptionally skilled in martial magic, surviving magical involvement in the First World War and being considered a "war hero" for his efforts, and later actively participated in the Global Wizarding War against Gellert Grindelwald. Theseus was notably only overpowered by fellow Auror Tina Goldstein due to being caught off-guard by her, so he later greatly contributed to stopping Grindelwald's Paris rally, defeating many of Grindelwald's allies. Although Theseus was no match for the incredibly powerful Dark Wizard alone, while aided by the combined efforts of his brother Newt and girlfriend Leta as well as future sister-in-law Tina, he could still stand his ground against Grindelwald for a time.
 * Defence Against the Dark Arts: As the Head Auror, Theseus likely received an Outstanding in his O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. for this subject, having been taught this subject by Albus Dumbledore himself, who was likely the greatest master of the field to ever live, as quite likely one of his best students, making him highly accomplished in defending against the Dark Arts. Theseus's skills are evident in his victory in many duels against formidable dark wizards, such as Grindelwald's allies, and even surviving a brief duel against the incredibly powerful Grindelwald himself, alongside Newt and Leta, being able to hold off Grindelwald's extremely powerful blue flames long enough to be saved by Leta, and even pushing the flames back when Grindelwald was not focusing it on him (due to being distracted by Leta). Theseus also was able to easily follow Nicolas Flamel's instructions in casting the General Counter-Spell to contain and extinguish the violent blue flames.
 * Charms: Theseus was highly capable in Charms, since as an Auror, he would have received at least an Exceeds Expectations in his O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. for this subject. He was particularly apt in the use of defensive spells and counter-dark magic spells, as shown by his ability cast a Shield Charm strong enough to protect himself for a prolonged period of time against Grindelwald's lethal blue fire while aided by Newt, by himself fending off a wild, but unfocused burst of said blue flames after Grindelwald was distracted by Leta, and also later proving proficient enough in the General Counter-Spell to use it to an enough scale alongside Nicolas Flamel, Newt, Tina and Yusuf in containing and extinguishing said blue fire.
 * Transfiguration: As an Auror, Theseus was skilled in Transfiguration, as he had to have received at least an Exceeds Expectations in his O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. for this subject.
 * Potions: As an Auror, Theseus was skilled in potions, as he had to have received at least an Exceeds Expectations in his O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. for this subject.
 * Herbology: As an Auror, Theseus was skilled in Herbology, as he had to have received at least an Exceeds Expectations in his O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. for this subject.
 * Apparition: Theseus, like most adult wizards, could Apparate at will, but he seemed more skilled than most, with Theseus managing to dodge lethal tendrils of blue fire after Grindelwald had departed.
 * Nonverbal magic: Theseus was very skilled at nonverbal magic, with him assisting his brother Newt, Nicolas Flamel, Tina Goldstein, and Yusuf Kama in containing and dissipating the lethally dangerous blue fire left behind by Grindelwald, all without uttering a word.
 * Indomitable willpower: Theseus possessed immense willpower and bravery, being a respected hero of the First World War, and joining in on the subsequent Global Wizarding War as the Head Auror without hesitation. As such, despite recognising Gellert Grindelwald as a "charismatic blighter", and despite seeing horrifying visions of a future Second World War, Theseus's moral code was incorruptible, and therefore, he resisted Grindelwald's persuasive speech, and continued valiantly fighting to break up the rally, whilst at the same time rejecting Travers's oppressive orders to arrest anyone simply present.

Newt Scamander
While not very impressed with his brother's career, it would still appear that they got along reasonably well, given the light-hearted tone of the letter he sent his brother. Even so, he still had certain high expectations of his brother, demanding that Newt pick a side in the war against Grindelwald when the news reached them that the dark wizard had escaped MACUSA custody, and resumed his rise to dominance over the Wizarding World. Even though Newt is distant and bitter towards Theseus, due to his older brother's engagement to his ex-girlfriend Leta Lestrange, Theseus harbours no ill will towards his brother, and has a tendency to hug Newt, much to Newt's discomfort. However, after Leta sacrifices her life to save the both of them, a devastated Newt is the one to initiate a hug with Theseus, mending their relationship, and assuring his brother that he has finally chosen a side in the Global Wizarding War.

Leta Lestrange
While it is unknown what kind of relationship they might have had during their younger years, if any, Theseus and Leta would eventually get better acquainted at the Ministry of Magic, where he worked as the Head Auror, and she as the assistant to the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Torquil Travers, resulting in the gradual burgeoning of a mutual love between them, and an engagement. Leta's death left Theseus absolutely devastated, and he readily agreed to free Albus Dumbledore of the Admonitors, so that the professor could more actively help in the war against Grindelwald.

Torquil Travers
Despite Theseus' boss Travers usually being an arrogant and abrasive, he respected Theseus enough to promote him to the position of Head Auror following the First World War, and trusted Theseus and the latter's Auror subordinates with the extremely dangerous mission of going after Grindelwald in Paris, in cooperation with the French Ministry of Magic.

Albus Dumbledore
Dumbledore was Theseus' former professor, and he respected the young Head Auror quite a bit, giving Theseus some useful advice on how to act while infiltrating Grindelwald's Paris rally. Theseus reciprocated the respect, as he took Dumbledore's advice to heart, and later returned to Hogwarts to free his former professor from Ministry Admonitors.

Possessions

 * Wand: Theseus's wand had a tortoiseshell handle, to represent his elegance and for a man who would do rather well for himself in his future. His wand wood, core and length were all unknown.

Etymology

 * Theseus (Θησεύς) was the mythical king of Athens who is most known as having undergone the Labyrinth where he slew the Minotaur. Like his mythological namesake, he laboured for the common good and won wide renown (as both an Auror and a war hero), battling against moral evil (comparable to the monsters of mythological renown).
 * Though it may seem Newt's brother Theseus has no connection with beasts on the outside, according to, Hippolytus (mythological Theseus's son with Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons) was a loyal follower of the goddess , who besides being more known as the goddess of the hunt, also functions (among other things) as "mistress of the animals" (in her capacity of her title as "Potnia Theron") & "nurse of youths" (epithet "Kourotrophos"); "Artemis" being one of Newt's middle names. Alternatively, Theseus's connection to beasts may be more direct. While Newt, nicknamed for a creature, seeks to protect animals, Theseus, with the name of a man who killed such a creature, the Minotaur, may have an opposing perspective.

Behind the scenes

 * Theseus is portrayed by Callum Turner in the sequel of.
 * Callum Turner is actually younger than Eddie Redmayne, who plays Newt Scamander, despite being his older brother in-universe.
 * An unknown actor voiced Theseus Scamander reading his letter in the opening of the level pack for.
 * In a interview posted to YouTube by SnitchSeeker.com on 25 September 2018, Callum Turner stated that Theseus is in Hufflepuff house.

Notes and references
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