A self-made wizard. That described how Newt Scamander liked to think of himself. And for the most part, it was true.
After being expelled from Hogwarts, he found himself back home with his head hung in shame. His family happened to be an old one, but not a wealthy one. His mother's hippogriff breeding allowed them a modicum of comfort, but they weren't living in a manor on a palatial estate.
Newt never fully discerned the extent of the favors his mother either called in as due to her, or created as due to others, in order to get him his first job.
Yet, somehow, there he stood, aged 17, no NEWT scores to show at all, and working at The Ministry of Magic. Not at his dream job, but at least in the department he wished to be in – the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He paid his dues for two years, doing the thankless job of relocating house elves in need.
Then Newt moved to the Beast Division and finally began working with the creatures he had always dreamt of. For a pittance. He still lived at home, and at the age of 20 found it to be rather embarrassing.
Luckily, that was the year that his life really began.
By the time he was 30, Newt had seen 100 countries on five different continents. He emerged as a best-selling author. A chance encounter in New York City led to a beautiful new wife. All because he never stopped daring to say "what's next?"
The school that kicked him out over an altercation involving a magical beast, now considered him the undisputed expert in the field – ironically using his book to teach students and bringing him back as an occasional guest lecturer.
The Ministry that had paid him so little that they nearly lost him, started promoting him as quickly as they could to keep him. When he still threatened to go, they started letting him draft laws.
On his 80th birthday he threatened retirement, and when the Minister himself begged Newt to stay, promising to make it worth his time, Newt promised him two more years. And so it came about he received an Order of Merlin, Second Class. To end his official career with The Minister of Magic owing Newt a favor felt like quite the coup.
The Chocolate Frog card Newt held in his hand detailed all of these achievements; what it didn't detail was how they made Newt feel.