In “Harry Potter” Mrs. Norris and Mr. Filch make life difficult for the students of Hogwarts. But is there perhaps a big secret behind the house cat Mrs. Norris?
Mrs. Norris from “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”. (Source: Screenshot Netflix/Warner Bros. Studios)
- Mrs. Norris is the nasty cat of Hogwarts caretaker Mr. Filch in the “Harry Potter” books.
- In addition to her wickedness, she is also known for her special intelligence.
- One fan theory has it that Mrs. Norris may be more than just a regular house cat.
Mr. Filch from the “Harry Potter” series loves no one and is loved by no one – with one exception. His cat, Mrs. Norris, is his close companion and the two are bound by their hatred of Hogwarts students.
But it doesn’t seem to be a normal relationship between a pet and its owner. The two are apparently linked telepathically, after all Mrs. Norris makes her own wanderings around the castle and is somehow able to contact the caretaker, Mr. Filch, if anything irregular is going on within Hogwarts walls.
We see a similarly close bond between humans and pets in the books and films of another duo – Voldemort and Nagini. Some fans therefore suspect that Mrs. Norris could also be a Maledictus.
What is a Maledictus?
In the prequel film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, we learn that Nagini was actually once a human woman. A blood curse turned her into the Maledictus, allowing her to turn into a snake. However, the Maledictus eventually loses control over when he becomes an animal and eventually remains in his animal form permanently.
The Maledictus Curse affects only females and is passed down through generations. Unlike an Animagus, a Maledictus does not require a wand or spell to assume its animal form.
That’s why Mrs. Norris could be a Maledictus
The Marauder’s Map
Supporting the theory that Mrs. Norris is a Maledictus is that she appears on the Marauder’s Map. A castle like Hogwarts is home to countless animals, if they all appeared on the map it would be completely unreadable.
Only the magical creatures are displayed in this way. The tomcat Krumbein shows up because he’s half cat and half Kniesel, so he’s partly magical. Peter Pettigrew is also recognized by the map, although he roams the castle as an animagus in his rat form. But why Mrs. Norris is shown as a supposedly normal cat from the Marauder’s Map is never mentioned. However, as a Maledictus, she would fall under the magical beings.
Mrs. Norris’ petrification
Many fans also believe that Mrs. Norris’ petrification in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” is an indication that there is something magical about the cat. A normal animal would still die from the basilisk’s gaze, even if it only saw it through a reflection, so the theory goes. After all, the spiders flee in panic from the monster and no other petrified animals have been found in the castle.
Mr. Filch’s obsession
Mr. Filch’s deep love for his cat could also be explained by the fact that he is simply a lonely person who, as a squib, is neither really a wizard nor a muggle. However, fans think Mrs. Norris used to be a woman the grumpy caretaker cared for dearly, like a family member.
Joanne K. Rowling, the author of the “Harry Potter” books, already debunked the theories that Mrs. Norris is an animagus or a half-kneeze. She didn’t explicitly comment on the Maledictus theory, but she did say that Mrs. Norris was just an intelligent cat and quite nasty. But Rowling has been known to divulge details about her characters through tweets and interviews. Maybe she still joins the Maledictus theory.
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