Spoiler warning! This article contains spoilers for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. If you haven’t seen the film yet, you might want to turn back now…

The case for Teddy

Was there ever any doubt? Of course the answer to ‘who is the cutest companion?’ is Teddy the Niffler. Of course it is. We fell in love with Teddy even before we knew his name, and upon learning his name, this only served to escalate our adoration for the little guy even further.

We first learnt about the existence of these fluffy, snout-nosed mischief-makers in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Hagrid ups the ante in his Care of Magical Creatures class by setting the students a gold-digging challenge with Nifflers. And, as we came to learn, there is nothing a Niffler loves more than snuffling around for shiny things. ‘I wish I had a Niffler,’ bemoaned Ron – and who could blame him? Skip backwards a few decades, and we would meet Newt Scamander’s Niffler companion, who, though adorable, did tend to get Newt in trouble due to his kleptomaniac tendencies. And yes, looking after a Niffler would require a lot of admin, but that is kind of the point. It is woven into the fabric of a Niffler’s entire purpose for being that they hunt down shiny things – so you can’t really get too mad at them. And you have to hand it to the Nifflers – they can get quite clever when it comes to acquiring trinkets. Think of Teddy’s sleight of hand (or should that be, ‘sleight of paw’?) when he managed to snatch Gellert Grindelwald’s blood vial at the end of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – a crucial item that would help Dumbledore in our latest instalment of the series. Without this link in the chain, perhaps things might’ve gone differently in the struggle against the Dark wizard. So, case in point; Nifflers aren’t just a cute fuzzy face.

And if we have to labour the point further, mark on these two words. Baby. Nifflers.

The Case for Pickett

Ok, so Pickett might not be as squidgy or as fluffy as Teddy, but we still maintain that he is the cuter of the two. Firstly, he’s so tiny, you just want to scoop him up and put him in your pocket, and you can, because he’s literally pocket-sized. The way he is happily carried around by Newt in his jacket is beyond sweet. Then there is his little voice. The high-pitched squeaks he makes are just utterly delightful. In terms of appearance, this dinky Bowtruckle is cuteness personified.

Though his appeal is not just limited to his appearance but his personality too – especially when it comes to his relationship with Newt. Those two are inseparable and their bond is so strong. Who can forget the look on Pickett’s little face (in the first Fantastic Beasts film) when he thought he was going to be given to Gnarlack in a deal at the Blind Pig Speakeasy? Of course, Newt would never really give his faithful companion away, but the way Pickett stretched out his little arms to Newt broke our hearts and proved that Pickett truly loved Newt.

Then there’s Pickett’s heroic actions in The Secrets of Dumbledore, when he helped Newt and Theseus escape the clutches of the Manticore from the Erkstag in Germany. Yes, Teddy did technically help too, but he was still easily distracted by shiny things. It was Pickett who was really determined to save his friend and showed that while he might be tiny, his heart is huge, and you couldn’t ask for a more loyal companion.

Pickett is a faithful, endearing, resourceful and (conveniently) pocket-sized companion. Out of Newt’s magical menagerie we think that he deserves to be recognised as the most adorable. In fact, we think you’d have to have a heart of stone to not be immediately won over by him, he’s just that cute.

What do you think? Are you team Teddy or team Pickett? Or do you think there is another of Newt’s creature companions which is even more endearing?

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