Crookshanks & Regulus Black: Animal, Long-Lost Pet, or Human?

I have honestly been looking forward to this post! However, it got a bit convoluted when a new theory popped up that got tangled in with the original and now, we get to talk about Crookshanks and Regulus Black, not just Crookshanks. I know what you are thinking, "How do these two totally different characters tie into each other?" What you will read, might just blow your mind!

In this post, we are going to discuss the dual theories of Crookshanks, and where he fits into some crazy fan theories; then we are going to tie in how he pertains to Regulus and the secondary theory that he fits into. When it all comes down to it, the overall question to blanket all three theories is this: animal, long-lost pet, or just a grumpy cat? Get ready to settle down for a very long Fantastic Fan Fantasy answer.

Crookshanks

Let's start with Crookshanks, as he is almost the complete center of this entire post. There is a lot of back and forth surrounding what is considered a witch's familiar in the fandom, but when you stop to consider what we never knew about Voldemort's snake Nagini until the Fantastic Beasts franchise, it's not surprising that one of the more intelligent animals winds up having their own fan theories made about them. What’s surprising is some of the theories that have evolved. Let’s start with the most debatable one.

He is the Potter’s Missing Cat

This is probably the most heated debate that I have seen happen online when it comes to Harry Potter; even more than some of the darker Dumbledore theories that are debated don’t compare. I would even gather to say that the Wizarding Fandom is spilt probably straight down 50/50 about which way this theory goes, which absolutely baffles me. So, let’s get dissecting!

I want to start with the supporting evidence that he was, in fact, the Potter’s cat. When the gang is hiding out in Grimmauld Place in Deathly Hallows, Harry finds himself in Sirius' room where he discovers a letter that Sirius had received from Lily shortly after Harry's first birthday. Enclosed is a photo of Harry riding around on a broom. There are multiple times when it is mentioned that the Potter's had a ginger cat and, in this letter, Lily even mentions that Harry had nearly killed the cat. Other than the letter, there is no mention about what happened to their cat after Voldemort attacked that night when they died.

One reason for that could be because the only ones who would have possibly seen the cat would have been Sirius or Hagrid; Sirius was quite clearly in a state of grief and anger, and Hagrid was focused on getting Harry to Dumbledore. Therefore, neither of them would have thought much about the cat. Only one other person would have been around, and that was Severus; but we all know that his hyper-focus had been on Lily. We must keep in mind, though, that Severus being at the house was movie canon and not book canon, so there is no real confirmation that he was even present. Peter was focused on leaving as soon as Voldemort had been defeated. (Whichever one you believe was there depends on how you think that night went down, since there's no real confirmation that anyone was there with when he killed the Potters; Peter could have just told him the secret and then run for the hills.)

Fast forward thirteen years, and Hermione turns up with a ginger cat who, according to the shop owner, had been there "for many years" and "didn't like anyone". Now, here is where the argument that this theory is incorrect starts: Crooks is part Kneazle. However, Kneazles are also known to live upwards of 70 years; which would make sense for them to live in wizarding homes as domestic pets, since wizards have a long life span as well. This would also explain how he had been in the store for such a long time.

Now, where the real argument appears is due to the fact that Crooks honed in on Scabbers, but was also apparently standoffish to Sirius as well. It is because he was standoffish to Sirius that everyone claims the theory Crooks was the Potter's cat is incorrect. I am going to offer a different perspective to that and show why this is still a legit theory despite how long it took him to trust Sirius. Again.

It's that one word that can make or break this theory. Kneazles are well-known to be of high intelligence and can detect distrustful people. Imagine you are an animal (in this case a cat or Kneazle), who knows how much your owners trust person A, B, and C. Now imagine that you (as an intelligent animal) know that person A is meant to take care of the young one that chases you around if anything happened to the elders. What if, from the distance of a now destroyed home, you watched that person hand over the little one to someone you didn't know and head off to find the traitor who is also known as person B. Years pass, you finally find a young witch who you feel you can trust and go with her. Why? She has the faint smelling of the little human that you watched over once upon a time. Then you sniff out person B, but the scent comes from the body of a rat; a rat you had seen before. You head to school with the young witch, only to find another familiar smell; the smell of person A in the body of a dog. A dog that you also have seen before.

So now, you have the person who betrayed your family, and the person you feel betrayed your young charge by running away and not raising him. Would you honestly trust person A so readily again? As a highly intelligent creature the answer is easy: of course not! Just because Crooks took a long time to trust Sirius, again, does not disprove that he was potentially the Potter's missing cat; it proves that he is highly intelligent and doesn't know if he can trust that this person will not abandon the young charge for a second time.

Crooks basically acted as any human who had been betrayed would have. The only other way to decide if this is really true or not would be if we had any information on if Crooks trusted Remus, or if he watched him as well to make sure that he wouldn't abandon Harry again, either. However, as we don't have that information all we can do is theorize. Crooks being the Potter's cat is a very sound theory, and there is plenty of questionable evidence to believe this could actually be more fact than theory.

While I do not find fault with anyone who disagrees, I simply provide evidence over the fact that I firmly agree with this theory myself. Now, the next theory about Crooks is... Quite questionable to me and is interesting to see the arguments for it to be true.

Crookshanks is Actually Regulus Black's Animagus Form

As I said, this next one will be a ride. From what I have discovered between Reddit and an old Tumblr post, many people have called this theory dumb. I do not believe in "dumb" theories, only interesting or far-fetched. We live in a world where fanfiction exists, which means anything is possible. We've already established that fanfiction has caused the fandom belief that it is canon Severus is Draco's Godfather, which means something like this could be believable too. Tumblr user crookshanks-is-regulus-black, not only do they back the previous theory, but they make some sound arguments for this one as well. I was honestly quite impressed and can't wait to delve into it with you. So, let's go!

The user begins with the theory that Regulus as a Death Eater is an unregistered animagus. This is not anything to sneer at, as we know of at least four animagi that are unregistered: James, Peter, Sirius, and Rita Skeeter. It is safe to assume there are plenty others who are unregistered, especially considering that there had been basically back-to-back wars and being a secret animagus would be a huge help in a pinch. However, with that assumption, it's not that far of a jump to assume that Regulus could have been as well. So, in taking the theory that he was an unregistered animagus, crookshanks-is-regulus-black brings the point that it would be easy for him to fake his death and live as Peter did in his animagus form. This would be due to no matter how loyal Kreacher was to Regulus, he may not have fully trusted the elf as he was the House Elf to a dark house; if Kreacher believed he was still alive, his plan would have never worked to fool Voldemort a second time.

There are only two holes in this theory: one is that according to what we know about animagi, there is something that connects the form to the human. McGonagall had rings around her eyes in the shape of her glasses, as did Rita ironically. Peter's form as a rat was missing a toe due to when he cut off his finger when he framed Sirius. Argumentatively, Sirius' form as a Grimm with black, lanky fur could be a testament to his black, shaggy hair. While it is unknown what traits that James and "Prongs" shared, it is safe to say that there was definitely something there. Personally, I think it would also be his glasses and discoloured fur around his eyes to represent it. So, by this theory, there is not much in regard to Crooks that could be marked as Regulus. Even if we follow the theory with Sirius that his fur represents his trademark hair, Regulus did not have red hair. A reddit user tossed up the theory that if Crooks was an animagus, that it would be more likely for him to be Mundungus Fletcher as he was described to have wiry red hair. (Any Prewitt, Weasley, or Bones could also fit into this description.)

The second hole in this theory is, in fact, how he would have "faked" his death. If you recall, a House Elf has to tell the truth when directly ordered to do so. Kreacher was ordered by Harry to tell him what happened to Regulus when they discovered that he was R.A.B. We already had the proof that Kreacher recognized Harry as his Master after Sirius' death, which means that Kreacher would not have been able to lie about what happened in the cave. While we are aware that Regulus was very gifted in the Dark Arts (accredited to being of Black descent), it is not known if he was extremely powerful or not. Considering how the scene with Harry and Dumbledore in the cave went down, I feel it is safe to assume that only a very powerful Witch or Wizard would be able to get out of that situation unscathed once they were dragged under the water. As Kreacher witnessed him being drug under, I believe it is safe to say that Regulus unfortunately died in the cave as an unknown hero. The other part to this hole, also comes with the fact that the Black Family Tapestry does, indeed, have a date of death for him. While we may not know the specific date, the fact that Sirius has no negative reactions to it (like disbelief of the date itself) then it is safe to say that the date there reflects roughly with when he went missing. Unless there was some crazy way he fooled the family magic into believing his death as well, as it is heavily implied that is how the tapestry is made: Regulus Black never left that cave.

However, crookshanks-is-regulus-black makes several more interesting points as to why Crooks is actually Regulus; including the fact that Dumbledore offered Draco protection if he turned, making it seem as though Dumbledore has done that several times despite the fact that the only real confirmed case we have is Severus Snape. They interlink several other theories to the whole thing, including the "Ronbledore" theory; the theory that Ron is actually Dumbledore traveled back in time. (I make no promises about addressing this theory anytime soon, let alone at all; but you never know, I just might!) If you would like to read crookshanks-is-regulus-black's theory, I will refer you to the end where I will share their post link.

Now, the next theory is quite similar to this one so there's not much to really dissect; but considering it's similarity, I would feel remiss if I didn't mention it.

Regulus Black is Buckbeak

Now, I am struggling to find my direct source of this one again, so I'm inclined to believe that this one was seen in a passing comment; quite possibly on some Regulus/Crooks post on Reddit. There obviously wasn't a lot of actual support to this, but I feel it should be given an honourable mention as it is something that I saw.

However, I have read a fanfic where this happened. Buckbeak was, in fact, Regulus' form and he had shifted in an attempt to get away from the Inferi but in the end got stuck in his form. If I remember correctly, he managed to change back somehow just before Buckbeak was sentenced to be executed. The theory behind that was that his magical core had depleted to almost nothing and it took many years to reset. I am not sure which fic it is in my history, but when I figure it out, I will post it in our community forum regarding this post.

As you can see, the biggest debate comes down to who Crooks really is or was. Between these theories, the soundest one is definitely that Crooks was once the Potter's; but the joy of fan theories is being able to debate with each other in a healthy, and friendly way. That's all for today but stay tuned as I plan on delving deep into some more theories on Regulus in the future!

For crooshanks-is-regulus-black post, click here: https://www.tumblr.com/crookshanks-is-regulus-black/156486269565/ok-but-building-on-the-post-that-points-out-that?source=share