Albus Dumbledore

Albus Dumbledore’s foreword frames this special edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as both a trusted wizarding textbook and a vehicle for charity: his endorsement links Newt Scamander’s scholarly guide, Harry Potter’s annotated copy, and the book’s support for children’s causes.

Foreword and Authority

The contents identify Albus Dumbledore as the foreword’s author. He says he was deeply honoured when Newt Scamander asked him to write for the special edition, establishing a personal connection between the foreword writer and the magizoologist whose work it presents. Dumbledore describes Scamander’s book as a masterpiece and notes that it has been an approved textbook at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ever since its publication. His institutional vantage point gives the guide a standing beyond private scholarship: it has a place in the education of Hogwarts students, and Dumbledore credits it with contributing substantially to their consistently high results.

The Annotated Copy and Its Readers

Dumbledore explains that readers are holding a duplicate of Harry Potter’s own copy, complete with informative marginal notes by Harry and his friends. The textbook is thus presented not as a pristine reference work alone, but as a marked object that has already passed through the hands of students. Dumbledore also notes that Harry seemed somewhat reluctant to let the copy be reprinted in its annotated form. Newt Scamander, long resigned to the relentless graffitiing of his masterpiece, nevertheless agreed to the reproduction. The foreword makes the marginalia part of the edition’s appeal while acknowledging the author’s tolerance of readers writing in his book.

Charity and Publication

Dumbledore places the edition within the wizarding world’s opportunity to help Comic Relief. The surrounding appeal explains that the Harry’s Books fund receives twenty percent of the retail sales price, less taxes, from sales of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages. The proceeds are intended to support children’s causes around the world, including education, the fight against child slavery, and the reunification of parents and children separated by war; the fund also supports education about HIV/AIDS and child victims of landmine explosions. The foreword’s account of the book as a familiar wizarding text therefore sits alongside a direct appeal to real-world buyers and beneficiaries.

Dumbledore notes that the edition will be sold both at Flourish and Blotts and in Muggle bookshops. Its production is described as a cooperative contribution: the author, publisher, suppliers of paper, printers, binders, and booksellers all gave their time, energy, and materials free or at reduced cost. This shared effort extends the charitable purpose beyond the purchase itself and helps explain how the edition was made available across wizarding and Muggle settings.

Narrative and Editorial Role

Dumbledore’s contribution belongs to the book’s framing material rather than to the creature entries proper. Its position as a foreword gives him a distinct speaking role: he authenticates Scamander’s guide through Hogwarts’ approval, introduces Harry’s annotated copy as part of the edition, and directs attention outward to the charitable project. The result is a layered presentation in which an in-world textbook, students’ marginal marks, and a real fundraising appeal coexist without being mistaken for the same kind of text. Dumbledore’s authority helps hold those purposes together, presenting the book as useful knowledge and as an instrument for helping others.