“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” has a surprising connection to Bellatrix Lestrange

Merlin’s beard, the newest expansion of the Harry Potter universe has FINALLY arrived as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in theaters this weekend. The anticipation for Fantastic Beasts has sparked a lot of questions about callbacks and tie-ins to the original Harry Potter books and films, which take place decades after Fantastic Beasts in HP chronology.

While it’s been confirmed that there are many references to the Harry Potter series that we all know and love, there’s ONE in particular that’s currently catching our eye. (Note: SPOILERS LIE AHEAD.)

It seems that we’ll learn about Newt Scamander’s (Eddie Redmayne) former love, Leta Lestrange.

Does Lestrange sound familiar? That’s because it’s the same last name as Bellatrix Lestrange, Death Eater, killer of Sirius Black, and all-around terrible person. In Fantastic Beasts, Leta appears as a memory of Newt’s, while Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) reads his mind. We don’t learn that much else about her other than that her and Newt apparently had a falling out.

Director David Yates has already confirmed that a young Dumbledore will make an appearance in the next Fantastic Beasts film, so it wouldn’t surprise us if Leta has a larger role in the film. The original Harry Potter franchise never focused much on the Lestrange family, only focusing on Bellatrix’s life as a member of the Black family. Her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange, was also a Death Eater, and his family was one of the dark, pure-blood wizard families.

Since the Fantastic Beasts series doesn’t take place too much earlier than Harry Potter series, as Dumbledore is alive during both times, maybe it’ll shed light on the darker wizarding families. While the Lestrange family didn’t have a huge role in Harry Potter, maybe Leta is the key to unlocking the dark secrets of the wizarding community.

As if we weren’t already excited for the film! We were so focused on our excitement in learning about Newt that we completely forgot about all the other implications Fantastic Beasts has on our beloved Harry Potter series.

We seriously can’t wait to find out more!