Hang onto your wands because Harry Potter is back!
Well … sort of.
Our favorite Boy Wizard isn't gracing the big screen again, but his Wizarding World
has expanded, shedding some light on one of the series' previously little-known characters:
Newt Scamander.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them introduces a fuller version of the guy previously best
known in the Potter universe for writing a wizarding textbook.
And while the new series starter introduces a distinct time, setting, characters, and
even vocabulary elements, there were some subtle nods to the Harry Potter faithful you
might've missed.
And of course, let's not forget the magic words: spoilers ahead.
Making a name
The biggest tie-in between Scamander and the Potter universe — well, apart from being
a wizard, of course — is the fact that he once wrote the book on magizoology that would
later be taught at Hogwarts.
Fantastic Beasts takes place long before Newt's anthology would become a part of Hogwarts'
curriculum, so it was something of a nod to the Potter realm that Newt's new gal Tina
gives its manuscript the name we all know.
That tiny-giant suitcase
The fact that Newt's suitcase had a limitless interior size was certainly a callback to
things we'd seen in the Harry Potter series before.
Consider how massive the Weasleys' Quidditch World Cup tent was on the inside.
The visual element of the attache being opened by prying claws too, seemed like a distinct
wink to that sassy The Monster Book of Monsters that tormented Harry in Prisoner of Azkaban.
Hufflepuff pride
Even though he's no longer in good standing within the halls of Hogwarts, Newt Scamander
obviously doesn't hold anything against his old house, as evidenced by the Hufflepuff-colored
scarf tucked away in his briefcase.
"The best wizarding school in the world is Hogwarts."
"Hogwash."
It's a good thing he's not bitter towards his old institution, because we know his future
grandson, Rolf, is due to marry Hogwarts' resident weirdo, Luna Lovegood down the line.
Quidditch quip
Quidditch was a beloved aspect of the wizarding world throughout the Harry Potter series,
and Newt makes a small reference to the sport when he's asked whether he's a seeker.
His response?
He's "more of a chaser, really."
That, of course, is a reference to his choice of field position.
But perhaps if he had spent more time seeking the Golden Snitch, it would've better prepared
him for the beast-grappling duties in this installment.
Merlin's beard!
Even though American muggles are called "no-majs" and there's plenty of other new terminology
to take in during Fantastic Beasts, there's one turn of phrase that's a direct quote of
a line from the Harry Potter films: "Merlin's beard!"
Where've you heard that before?
"Merlin's beard!"
There are also some familiar spells and wizarding entryways, and this floating apple that eats
itself in front of the boy is as direct a wink to Potter as they come.
Behold, the Niffler
The niffler might be new to the big screen with Fantastic Beasts, but the adorable mole-duck-porcupine-mix
creature has long existed in the written realm of magic.
Although the fantastic beast never made the cinematic cut for Goblet of Fire, he gets
more than adequate screen time in Fantastic Beasts.
There are other creatures who'd been mentioned before but only made their screen debut in
Fantastic Beasts — including the size-shifting Occamy and the disappearing Demiguise — but
the niffler is the real adorable hero of this movie.
Dumbledore before
We didn't get to see our favorite headmaster in Fantastic Beasts, but he did get a major
mention that proves he's alive and well as this movie unfolds.
"Thrown out of Hogwarts for endangering human life."
"That was an accident."
"With a beast.
Yet one of your teachers argued strongly against your expulsion.
Now, what makes Albus Dumbledore so fond of you?"
We can probably expect to actually see him show up in the next installments of this series,
because there's another important character coming into play as well that he'll have a
lot to do with...
Gellert Grindelwald 2.0
Polyjuice Potion impersonations ran rampant throughout the Harry Potter series, so perhaps
the big twist in Fantastic Beasts — that is, that Gellert Grindelwald had disguised
himself as Percival Graves throughout most of the events of the movie — shouldn't have
been a surprise.
But the reintroduction of Grindelwald does set the stage for some interesting character
history to come, especially when it comes to Professor Dumbledore.
In the final Harry Potter movies, we learned that the pair once worked together to recover
the Deathly Hallows in hopes of making the world a better place, but their friendship
soured after Grindelwald began dabbling in the Dark Arts.
Their duel to come will be one for the ages.
Lestrange family history
The Lestrange family became a major part of the mayhem that arose at Lord Voldemort's
end, but Fantastic Beasts proves there was more to their backstory than we might've guessed.
Before Bellatrix and Narcissa carried the family into the Dark Lord's corner, there
was Leta.
Leta LeStrange doesn't get much discussion in the first Fantastic Beasts movie, but we
do find out she was a former friend-slash-flame of Newt's — who apparently betrayed him.
Count on her to come back and have some part in Gellert Grindelwald's attempt to establish
a new world order for sure.
The Deathly Hallows
If there's one thing that could not be hidden during Fantastic Beasts it's the symbolism
of the Deathly Hallows.
In the movie, Grindelwald, posing as Graves, gives our new pal Credence a Deathly Hallows
necklace, much like the ones we'd seen before in the Harry Potter movies.
This is also a clear reminder that the Deathly Hallows are going to be a big part of the
battle to come.
"I wanna be a wizard!"
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