Why is a muggle wielding a wand? What lurks within the room of requirement?
Keep watching for all the secrets hiding in the latest "Fantastic Beasts" trailer!
One of the opening shots of the trailer shows Newt Scamander and his brother Theseus strolling
through a snowy village of tall houses with even taller chimneys. This is very clearly Hogsmeade,
a small village on the outskirts of Hogwarts which is home to a number of little shops and
several pubs like The Three Broomsticks and The Hog's Head Inn. It's certainly
not the first time the village has shown up in the "Wizarding World" franchise,
as it is first introduced in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."
Hogwarts students have to get permission from their parents or guardians to visit Hogsmeade
on their days off, but Harry doesn't get his form signed by the Dursleys. That's
why Fred and George Weasley give the Boy Who Lived the Marauder's Map in the third film,
which he uses to sneak down to Hogsmeade through one of the secret passages out of Hogwarts castle.
It's interesting that Hogsmeade is Newt and Theseus' first port of call
rather than Hogwarts, but clearly their latest mission is a dangerous one.
Luckily they find someone there who's able to point them in the right direction.
Newt and Theseus wind up in The Hog's Head Inn and meet Aberforth Dumbledore,
who is played by Richard Coyle. This isn't the first time Coyle's career has steered him toward
a magical world, as fans will recognize him as the villainous Father Blackwood from Netflix's
"Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" — which also follows witches and warlocks. Aberforth previously
appeared in "The Order of the Phoenix," where he's played by Jim McManus. But Ciaran Hinds took over
the role when Aberforth, who is Albus Dumbledore's brother, reappeared in "Deathly Hallows Part II."
Aberforth is clearly happier with a much quieter life as a bartender, rather than
Albus Dumbledore's antics with dark wizards. And that attitude is clear in the trailer as well.
"Off to save the world, are we?"
Of course, it isn't surprising that the "Wizarding World" series is fleshing out Dumbledore's family,
since the sequel is literally called "The Secrets of Dumbledore."
Let's not forget that the previous film, "The Crimes of Grindelwald,"
reveals that Credence Barebone is actually Aurelius Dumbledore. Oh dear.
This family reunion is gonna get messy.
When we first see "Fantastic Beasts" villain Grindelwald, now played by Mads Mikkelsen after
he replaced Johnny Depp in the role, he appears to be extracting the memory of the wizard Yusuf Kama.
The memory extraction spell has popped up regularly throughout the "Harry Potter" series.
It's been used by Dumbledore in the past and was also deployed in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to
Find Them" on Katherine Waterston's character Tina Goldstein when she's brought to the Death Cell.
Wizards or witches who use the spell will often store the memories for later review,
using what's known as a Pensieve. Why Grindelwald needs Kama's memories is unclear,
but we know from "The Crimes of Grindelwald" that Kama is from an
ancient pureblood wizarding family, so who knows what secrets he might have.
One magical creature above all that has played a significant
part in the corner of the wizarding world we Muggles have been lucky enough to see
is the elusive phoenix. Seen halfway through the teaser, the bird on fire swoops over the head of
Credence Barebone with its wingtips slightly lit. According to Newt Scamander's book,
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," phoenixes nest at the top of mountain peaks,
suggesting that Barebones has climbed to this snowy cliff face in search of one.
The only concern is for what reason, given the bird's numerous magical properties.
Phoenix tears possess powerful healing properties,
as shown in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." Not only that,
but any wizard who is lucky enough to have a phoenix feather at the center of their wand
is a force to be reckoned with. Two feathers belonging to Dumbledore's own phoenix, Fawkes,
eventually wound up in the wands of two of history's most powerful wizards: Harry Potter
and Lord Voldemort. Keeping that in mind, could Credence's new encounter actually be the bird that
will end up under the protection of Dumbledore himself? We're getting fired up to find out.
The Room of Requirement is one of the most fascinating parts of "Harry Potter" lore.
House Elf Dobby tells Harry about this secret room, which only appears when a
person is in great need of it. It doesn't appear on any maps, even the Marauder's Map,
and cannot be found unless you know exactly what you are looking for.
The room was later used by Dumbledore's Army in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" when
Neville Longbottom and other members hid out there after Death Eaters infiltrated Hogwarts.
And now the Room of Requirement is back!
"What is this place?" "The room we require"
We will have to wait, though, to see exactly what this group requires from the room,
and what that big spinning cylinder thing is.
Halfway through, we see one of the most shocking moments of the
trailer — Jacob Kowalski, a Muggle, is given a wand.
"Dumbledore asked that I give you something." "Are you kidding me right now?"
As any "Potter" fan knows, the wand chooses the wizard, though,
and Jacob isn't even a wizard. So how does he have a wand?
Most likely, it's a fake. The plot of "The Secrets of Dumbledore" focuses on Grindelwald's desire to
destroy the muggle race. This means that during any encounter with Grindelwald or his followers,
Jacob would be especially at risk. Wielding a wand is a clever way to disguise Jacob's non-magical
abilities, and Dumbledore likely planned this. This theory is further evidenced by the final
scene of the trailer, showing Jacob eating in the Great Hall with some Hogwarts students
and refusing to hand it over to a student — a witch who might be able to out him as a phony.
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