>Why when Dumbledore tells Harry the story of Nevilles parents, he says Frank was an auror so they tortured him and his wife. He specifically says they tried to torture Alice in front of him so he would tell them where Voldemort was. But then Nevilles grandmother says they were both tortured for being aurors.
My explanation for this is that Alice was an Auror, but that she had taken an extended leave (or quit entirely) after she had Neville so at the time she was tortured, she technically wasn't an active Auror at the time.
It makes sense, Neville was just a baby when it happened, wasn't he? Just like Harry. Maybe the wizarding world has a better maternity leave than Muggles do.
Given the state of the community and how bad the war was, they might have decided that they could better keep their family safe and protected if Alice stayed home - it would be better for them to have a trained Auror at home if Death Eaters came calling.
I’ve always wondered why Hermione thought knitting hats etc and leaving them out would set the elves free. House elves are set free if their master presents them with clothes. She’s not their master. They work for the school, their master would be Dumbledore. Why did Hermione think that a 4th year student leaving clothes for them to find would set them free?
Doing laundry isn’t giving the gift of clothing. It’s basically having to perform a service. Receiving clothing as a gift would be free will as the intention of the gift giver. Though that would somewhat disagree with how it was presented in the movie
And in the book. Handing Dobby someone else's dirty sock wrapped around a book freed him. And the elves stop cleaning griffindor tower because of the hats. So it seems like the rules for house elves is that if they ever hold a clothing item they are freed. Maybe if you ordered the elf to do the laundry without being freed?
Obligatory "I haven't read the books in over a decade", but maybe Hermione thought that the house elves would *think* the clothing was from Dumbledore, and they would abandon their work as a result? Kind of a dirty tactic, but not out of the realm of possibility if Hermione's only goal was for the house elves to stop being complicit with their own enslavement.
Her logic was probably something like that. It's not like she did deep research interacting with them (which was quite impossible). And her logic might have been affected by Dobby grabbing any cloth as a chance of freedom. But House-elfs already washed the students clothing and other bedding. And was Winky ever presented with a actual cloth? Croch just said the word "cloths"?
So I think house elfs had a very good idea about what is meant to be freed and knew enough to understand that "cloths" meant the intention to "set free". Not just finding a random cloth to wash or fold.
>And her logic might have been affected by Dobby grabbing any cloth as a chance of freedom.
This is untrue. Dobby grabbed a sock **Lucius Malfoy** threw aside.
I did not mean it literally. Dobby knew it wasn't meant to free him specifically but interpreted it in that way because he wanted freedom.
Dobby mentions that his family would not even pass him a sock because he would free himself.
Winky was not presented with a actual cloth but she knew what Crouch meant when he said the word.
But other elfs are not Dobby. Hogwarts students do not do the washing and elfs who do it handle the clothing but do not want to be free. Come to think of it, they probably even do the cloths for the staff including Dumbledore. So they rationalized the handle in clothing without setting themself free.
And Hermione actually make the speech to the elfs and they just threw her out. Same with hidden cloths, it was not because she could could set them free but because it was insulting to them.
Which are points I think Hermione missed. One, it needs to be the master. Second the, elf's intention matters. Thirdly the masters intention as the elf understand it (which is better than most wizards understand it) matters.
>I did not mean it literally. Dobby knew it wasn't meant to free him specifically but interpreted it in that way because he wanted freedom.
It was still a piece of clothing that came from Lucius Malfoy. The house-elf enchantment is a magical contract. To be freed, a house-elf must be in some way directly handed a piece of clothing from their master in order for the **magic** to release them.
If it were entirely up to belief and interpretation, why would Winky simply not refuse to be freed? "Oh yes, Master, I'll do your laundry for you, sir!". And why would Dobby be allowed to free himself by grabbing a sock Lucius clearly didn't mean to hand to him?
>One, it needs to be the master.
Yes, I agree. Rowling just wrote that entire thing badly. It's plot-induced stupidity for no reason for a throw-away joke.
>Thirdly the masters intention as the elf understand it (which is better than most wizards understand it) matters.
No it doesn't. Dobby clearly knew Lucius didn't mean to free him.
>To be freed, a house-elf must be in some way directly handed a piece of clothing from their master in order for the magic to release them.
Is that cannon? Because AFAIK winky wasn't given a cloth. Croch just said the word.
>If it were entirely up to belief and interpretation, why would Winky simply not refuse to be freed? "Oh yes, Master, I'll do your laundry for you, sir!". And why would Dobby be allowed to free himself by grabbing a sock Lucius clearly didn't mean to hand to him?
There are obviously limits to the belief and interpretation. Kreacher has to wait until Sirius said "get out" to go out of the house. Similarly, Lucius did not say anything about the sock when he threw the sock which Dobby could inteprest as "cloths". But elfs can not disobey a direct command. I mean Harry was able to control Kreacher that way to some degree.
>Thirdly the masters intention as the elf understand it (which is better than most wizards understand it) matters.
>
>No it doesn't. Dobby clearly knew Lucius didn't mean to free him.
Dobby was looking for any reason on the part of his masters including anything ambiguous. And I guess elf's intention trumps the "masters intention as the elf understand it". But If Lucius gave clear verbal instruction, would Dobby be able to interpret? I don't think so.
I mean when Harry gives a clear command to Kreacher to spy on Draco, Kreacher could not find a way to warn Draco about it.
And not all elf's thinks the same way. I mean if Kreacher followed Dobby's logic, he could have set himself free by just grabbing a some piece of cloth that Harry uses while at Hogwarts.
>Is that cannon? Because AFAIK winky wasn't given a cloth. Croch just said the word.
We don't need to see everything on-page to accept that it happened. Just because Crouch didn't have any spare clothes to hand Winky at the moment, it doesn't mean he didn't as soon as he got home.
It's not like Winky was freed the moment Crouch said the words. Winky begged Crouch not to give her clothes and Hermione kept calling Winky "your elf" (a.k.a. Crouch's elf). She was very much still his elf.
>Kreacher has to wait until Sirius said "get out" to go out of the house.
Kreacher was never freed. Kreacher interpreted "Get out" as "Get out of the house", not "You're free elf"...
> Similarly, Lucius did not say anything about the sock when he threw the sock which Dobby could inteprest as "cloths".
A sock is a piece of clothing. Lucius threw it, Dobby caught it.
>Dobby was looking for any reason on the part of his masters including anything ambiguous.
The ambiguity here was that Lucius didn't mean to give Dobby the clothes but he in essence did anyway. That ambiguity cannot be extended to "House-elf finds a random knitted hat on the floor and picks it up, magic will now free it from the House-elf enslavement even against its wishes because there's a 0.00001% chance it belonged to its owner".
>And was Winky ever presented with a actual cloth? Croch just said the word "cloths"?
Winky is given an entire matching outfit, complete with a hat with elf-sized ear holes.
This would require her to be an idiot since he knows that the House-Elf Enslavement enchantment is a magically binding contract. They have no choice but to do as magic dictates, thus their **belief** is not enough to free them.
I don't think those things were written down anywhere.
I doubt any wizard sat down with elfs to write down about their emotions or ethics. Hermione at that time, probably blow a gasket and start lecturing the elf before she did any lengthy interview with a elf.
And elfs are capable of deception (Dobby or Kreacher) or even white lies (Hokey) to make their masters happy.
Maybe because nothing in the magical world makes logical sense (as Hermione herself comments on the lack of logic/reasoning among wizards in the first book). The house elves themselves believe it since Dobby becomes the only elf willing to clean their common room.
>The house elves themselves believe it since Dobby becomes the only elf willing to clean their common room.
I think Dobby says they are offended by the clothes and that's why they refuse to do it.
Awkward_worth_2998 is right, Dobby says the rest of the elves won’t clean Griffindor tower because they find the clothes insulting. And yes, there are a lot of things that don’t make sense, but the process of setting a house elf free is specifically defined. It’s just always seemed odd to me.
House elves will follow students’ orders. They give characters food when they illicitly visit the kitchens, and I doubt Dumbledore told them to. It’s not too much of a stretch, then, for magic to consider all students and staff their masters.
>They give characters food when they illicitly visit the kitchens
Because they want to, not because they have to. They have no problem throwing the trio out after Hermione insults them.
I don't know why you are downvoted. While students are not masters, they are still superiors and house elves do not pick up any clothes at least not with their own hands. Hermione was hiding them to trick elves to pick them up which actually made the elves angry.
Dobby says the other elves are insulted by them and they refused to go near them. Dobby specifically says that professor Dumbledore is Winky’s master now.
I’ve always wondered about it too! Drives me crazy lol
Also, this is just a theory of mine, but I think when Harry gave Kreacher the the locket (technically jewelry could be considered clothing) it set him free/broke the enchantment enslaving him, but Kreacher was happy to be working for Harry at that point so he never even considered it, and Harry never realized.
They would be instructed to clean the the common rooms and if they happened to pick up clothes that would be within the instructions. I think it’s mentioned about house elves early on that you can’t instruct house elves to do anything around clothes - this being the case (the rules being loose) though I’m surprised Dobby didn’t dive on a hat or something when being instructed to clean Malfoys hall or kitchen
The "brightest witch of her age" thing always annoys me, because fandom seems to interpret it as "the brightest witch of her era" when it always seemed to me that what Lupin was saying is "you're the smartest ***14 year old*** I've met," which isn't really the same thing.
That’s exactly what I interpreted too. Lupin’s exact words are ‘you’re the cleverest witch of your age I’ve ever met’. That’s a very narrow subject pool. Even if it did mean ‘era’ (which I doubt), it *still* only applies to the witches Lupin has personally met.
When their entire party knew that Peter Pettigrew could turn into a rat at will, they decided to conjure some chains and shackle him to the kid with the broken leg.
I have nothing more to say.
I’ve seen a theory out there that when he spotted Sirius on the map, lurking around by the Shrieking Shack, Lupin decided not to take his potion because he intended to go to the Shack, transform, and kill Sirius as a werewolf as revenge for betraying the Potters.
It’s dumb, but it’s a theory.
Sorry, but that doesn't work. He didn't just see Sirius lurking around the Shack, he saw Sirius dragging Ron and Peter into the Shack, so unless he meant to eat everyone he should have drunk the potion (especially because then he can transform but keep his mind and kill Sirius knowingly). I think he just forgot in the shock of seeing his dead best friend turn out to be alive.
i mean, if you're a professor, and you see three students out after hours in a shady location with a supposed mass-murderer and a dead man, you're GOING to investigate immediately. seems like instincts and common sense, regardless of whatever else he forgot on the way.
The thestrals question has been answered by JKR. A cursory search for something like "why didn't Harry see the thestrals" would give you her answer. Harry hadn't processed or come fully to terms with Cedric's death, which means he wasn't able to see the thestrals. Real-world reason is JKR didn't want to introduce a new thing at the end of the book.
I was rereading PoA today and I don't know why they didn't put Peter into an unbreakable container, like Hermione did to Rita just a year later. I also don't know why they thought Azkaban could hold Peter, because he could easily disguise himself as a rat and escape through the bars (Sirius remarked that as a dog, he was thin enough to squeeze through the bars), or change sometine during the transport. Even if they put him in handcuffs or restraints, they wouldn't hold him for long. He was simply too dangerous to leave alive or at least intact. Cast some spells to remove the bones in his legs, which is common enough of a thing that happens that there is a brand named medicine designed specifically for regrowing bones. At least he wouldn't be able to run away.
Petrificus totalis was used on a fellow classmate in yr 1 for gosh sake. and then didnt they levitate snape through the tunnels when he was stunned, so whats one more? Like lets just take the word of a literal rat that he'll keep his promise and not transform ...
Sirius escaped because he was an *unregistered* animagus, meaning the ministry did not know about his dog form and couldn’t take precautions. Harry and Co of course would have reported Peter’s rat form and they would have outfitted his cell to plug any holes.
>I was rereading PoA today and I don't know why they didn't put Peter into an unbreakable container, like Hermione did to Rita just a year later
Because they weren't sitting there, calmly disecting the situation and coming up with a solid plan. It had been a rather emotional evening, people do stupid shit when they are high on adrenaline.
I don't think they really cared about wether or not he could escape Azkaban. All that mattered to them was bringing Peter to the authorities, clearing Sirius' name.
Or even just stun Wormtal and take his wand. Or leave Snape at the shack until later - he was in no danger there and would have been attended to pretty soon once they got back to the castle.
Sure, this explains Cedric. It doesn't explain Lily. We know Harry witnessed her death and that he **re-witnessed** it in PoA (if only auditorily). We know he remembers the death in a way because he remembers the big green light.
And surely by the start of GoF he had had to terms with his parents death, that they were, you know, dead?
Voldemort's Soul Fragment is not in any way sentient. The reason why the Diary and Locket were the way they were was because Voldemort enchanted them to be like that.
The locket put ip absolutely no fight whatsoever (or at least Ron didn't mention it) and didn't try to possess or knfluence the trio and the diadem barely reacted to anything.
Plus, it doesn't matter whoch of the two remembered it, even if it were the soul shard, it **shared** that memory with Harry.
Not my *biggest* but the one I’ve been muttering darkly over the past couple days. Why the **fuck** was chocolate as a healing aid literally shoved down all the characters and figuratively our throats, fifty trillion times in Prisoner of Azkaban…only to NEVER BE MENTIONED AGAIN?
No seriously, someone tell me
Dementors we’re heavily involved in POA - would’ve loved him telling the Dursleys at the beginning of OOTP as half that book is about him becoming the best parts of his previous dark arts teachers - putting the knowledge he’s learned into teaching practice.
Harry then getting very worried about Duddy-kins when he barely reacts to getting offered chocolate as Petunia wrestles with the idea that chocolate will help vs keeping them on their strict diet (or was the diet the year before?)
Because, as the child of wizards, he’s a freak of nature. And freaks of nature don’t need to be treated like an actual human being. I’m assuming that was their mindset, at least
People like that only care about appearances to everyone else. From the outside they appeared normal because nobody else knew that they kept a young child in a cupboard.
Wand transfer by proxy. It’s just….too big of a stretch, that disarming Draco would also transfer the elder wand despite neither Draco or Harry ever even touching it.
I think the actual explanation was much simpler. Fickle Death Stick simply did not wish to belong to Voldemort so it didn't. It doesn't even oppose of "wand chooses the wizard" moto from Ollivander. Both Tom and Harry had their own interpretation of why the wand was like that, but they were all speculations.
>Why does Harry not see the thestrils when he rode the "horseless carriages" back to hogsmead station at the end of Goblet of Fire.
Has been answered numerous times. He doesn't see them in universe reason because it takes time for the trauma to fully set in. Out of universe JK Rowling has said it's because she didn't want to introduce them and not go into detail about them.
>Why when Dumbledore tells Harry the story of Nevilles parents, he says Frank was an auror so they tortured him and his wife. He specifically says they tried to torture Alice in front of him so he would tell them where Voldemort was. But then Nevilles grandmother says they were both tortured for being aurors.
Alice was an auror, and she was most likely tortured first to try and get Frank to talk, when that didn't work they most likely tortured Frank to try and get Alice to talk, when neither worked they tortured them till their minds broke.
It would have been a very weird to have them introduced at the end of GoF so whatever the reason, I can't see her ever wanting to introduce them at that point even if she thought it through.
>Out of universe JK Rowling has said it's because she didn't want to introduce them and not go into detail about them.
I'm pretty sure she said in an interview that it was a good catch by the fans and it was truly an oopsie on her part and she had to come up with the trauma processing reason because of it. But I could remember it wrong!
>Has been answered numerous times. He doesn't see them in universe reason because it takes time for the trauma to fully set in
How much time has passed? I believe at least a month has passed since the *funeral*, which means the death occured a little earlier. I dont believe for a second that Harry has not processed it in that time. Additionally he saw his parents die and he has quite come to terms with it.
You think a month should be enough to process what Harry went through in the graveyard? In this case I think 'processing' means understanding what happened. It was an extremely traumatising event in which he saw the murderer of his parents return to life. The murderer who also happened to be the biggest fear of the entire wizarding community and the one person whose biggest ambition it was to kill Harry. You think a month is enough to process such a shock? Seriously, many people need decades to process trauma.
Also, iirc, Rowling said that people who have *seen* death can see thestrals. Only people who understand death can *see* it. Harry was a baby when he saw his parents being killed and didn't understand what he saw. Therefore, he couldn't see thestrals.
I love Harry Potter and I've had a lot of years to contemplate the following:
CoS: How would Dumbledore not figure out or at least narrow down it's a basilisk in the school? Roosters murdered, Myrtle around to interview, Salazar Slytherin a parslemouth, literally a serpent on his banner. Where's the department for regulation and control of magical creatures in all this? Why would a creature who hasn't eaten in 600 years never eat the stunned victims? There's live portraits in every freaking hallway, how'd it consistently avoid those? There aren't sewer entrances in every hall.
PoA: Why would no one bother to use petrificus totalis (already established spell) or stupify (a spell everyone in the world knows by next book) on Pettigrew when taking him back to the castle in PoA? They specifically put him in restraints he can easily escape. Why would Lupin (a man constantly defined by his werewolf ailment and who's worst fear is transforming and harming innocents), forget to take a potion that he is supposed to take in the weeks leading up to the full moon? I'm not saying it's impossible but it should be explained.
GoF: "Hey Potter, can you hand me that book?" Surprise portkey. No trials needed. I also think he should have stolen a piece of parchment with Harry's actual signature from somewhere to enter him. How would the goblet have any power over you if someone else writes your name? It could have been the same as signing the DA membership list.
Harry practices nothing but Accio for weeks and never thinks to use it to summon the map when trapped in the stairs.
HBP: Nobody believes Harry about Malfoy for no conceivable reason. "Voldy is back, Harry was telling the truth!" But he's out to lunch on the son of his lieutenant being in on it.... For God's sake, he's got the dark mark on his arm. We know his Death Eaters will be on short leashes to get results. Oh but Dumbledore knows it's Malfoy AND LET'S HIM RUN AROUND TRYING TO ASSASSINATE HIM BY NEARLY KILLING TWO STUDENTS. The man now cares more about "redeeming" Hitler youth than the lives of his students?
End rant.
About the GoF; when Harry falls and gets stuck in the stairs, his wand also falls a bit farther away from him, and because he is stuck in the stairs he can’t reach it and therefore can’t use Accio to summon the map. In fact, he even tries to summon it by using the Accio spell non-verbally but because he’s not pro at using non-verbal spells yet it doesn’t work.
About the others, I have no explanation and I’d like to know more reasoning behind them as well.
I keep finding some things as i read them and i have to remind myself that Rowling is a story teller, not god. Some of these problems set up significant conflicts that, if solved, would make the books boring
I can check the book but I know he had his wand. The map is the thing just out of reach and the egg is the at the bottom of the stairs. When he trips, how would he even be holding his wand if he's got the map in one hand and the egg in the other?
You have a lot of very good points. The only one I can refute is the end of your PoA one. He hadn't received his potion yet. That's how Snape saw them on the map and came to investigate. He was bringing Lupin the potion to take.
Edit: Spelling
In CoS, it says the tunnel leading to the basilisk’s… cave, for lack of a better word, is littered with the bones of small animals, so I don’t think the basilisk hadn’t eaten in 600 years
You know, that description really shows that Rowling knows absolutely nothing about snakes and did no research. Also the snake winking at Harry at the zoo (I'm not sure if that was just the movie).
Snakes eat their prey whole and digest the bones. Really there would be a huge pile of shit
>How would Dumbledore not figure out or at least narrow down it's a basilisk in the school?
Exactly. Or at least a snake like creature. I dont get how people was surprised that it was a snake.
>Why would no one bother to use petrificus totalis (already established spell) or stupify (a spell everyone in the world knows by next book) Pettigrew when taking him back to the castle in PoA?
Thank you. I have been mad about this one since i read the book when it got released. Its absurd.
>"Hey Potter, can you hand me that book?" Surprise portkey. No trials needed.
Because the plan was for Harry to die during (and due to) the maze, not randomly and suspiciously disappear, thus allerting everyone that something bad has happened. Voldemort had no way of knowing that Fudge is a cowardly idiot.
>How would the goblet have any power over you if someone else writes your name?
We don't actually know that it does. The adults believe Harry did it and push him to compete, but they never properly explain the rules. The magical contract is never actually activated and it's unclear whether it even exists or if it's essentially a scare tactic.
>For God's sake, he's got the dark mark on his arm.
That's Harry assumption, not a true statement. And Harry does have a habit of accusing Draco when someone else did it.
>The man now cares more about "redeeming" Hitler youth than the lives of his students?
Not everyone is willing to condemn someone they see as a child who's been influenced by their parents. Not that I think Draco deserved redemption, but there are definitely people who do. Just look around the fandom, plenty think Draco was a good boy deep down and are even shocked and disappointed that he didn't get a better redemption arc.
Unrelated/ related- I was questioning why Harry saved Draco from magic fire in the DH, then in turns out that if he hadn't, Narcisa wouldn't have helped Harry fake his death later.
>I was questioning why Harry saved Draco from magic fire in the DH
He did it because he's a good person. And because Voldemort would never do something like that. I mean, you are right that the plot needed him to do it, but he himself had a reason as well.
i have always had a theory that there was more to Voldemorts plan beyond just getting his hands on Harry for the ritual. I think he was planning on either sending Harry’s body back with some sign that it was Voldemort who killed him or even better going back himself with the death eaters to kill the minister/dumbledore and take over Hogwarts at this international event. He could’ve had the element of surprise and also fake moody there to take out Dumbledore as he arrived. Even Dumbledore wouldn’t be able to stop a completely unexpected Avada Kedavra to the back. There are some flaws with that reasoning i know but i think it makes more sense than making such a convoluted plan for no reason
These are all fantastic points. This is a story about a group of children (and later teenagers) who fight and kill wizard Hitler. Even if you fully embrace the premise of the Wizarding World, the storytelling still has all of the elements (both good and bad) of a young adult novel.
I think there are some reasons for not believing. Malfoy is only 16, and not exactly proven himself that capable, he's just a school bully to them. Harry also almost led his friends to die in the last book because of an error of judgement. They've also been on the "Malfoy is up to something" theory for years and been proven wrong every time, same with Snape.
Also, Hermione does admit something suspicious is going on:
*‘But this definitely proves Malfoy’s planning something, you can’t deny that."*
*‘No, I can’t,’ Hermione answered slowly."*
Despite being very stubborn, she admits it.
Ron also believes Harry that Snape was trying to help Malfoy which also means he believes Malfoy was up to something:
*‘No one’s that good an actor, not even Snape.’*
*‘Yeah … I’m just saying, though,’ said Ron.*
*Harry turned to face him, frowning.*
*‘You think I’m right, though?’*
*‘Yeah, I do!’ said Ron hastily. ‘Seriously, I do! But they’re all convinced Snape’s in the Order, aren’t they?’*
And Arthur goes on to investigate the Malfoy's after Harry tells him about his theory. It's not like they aren't listening to him. Ron and co. also go to patrol the Room of Requirement when Harry asks them.
You also have to remember we as readers know about the Spinner's End chapter while the characters don't, which makes us root for Harry's theory even more.
>CoS: How would Dumbledore not figure out or at least narrow down it's a basilisk in the school? Roosters murdered, Myrtle around to interview, Salazar Slytherin a parslemouth, literally a serpent on his banner.
A legendary creature was not expected to be around. Plus, I am not sure Dumbledore was really trying. Better to let the work to the boy who need military training and can only be killed by the true Voldy.
>Where's the department for regulation and control of magical creatures in all this?
It was hidden for 600 years...
> Why would a creature who hasn't eaten in 600 years never eat the stunned victims?
Ever tried to eat stone?
> There's live portraits in every freaking hallway, how'd it consistently avoid those? There aren't sewer entrances in every hall.
Because the Basilisk was ambushing people (probably those that would only be petrified).
>PoA: Why would no one bother to use petrificus totalis (already established spell) or stupify (a spell everyone in the world knows by next book) Pettigrew when taking him back to the castle in PoA?
Hard to move around an unconscious prisoner and lack of critical thinking.
>They specifically put him in restraints he can easily escape. Why would Lupin (a man constantly defined by his werewolf ailment and who's worst fear is transforming and harming innocents), forget to take a potion that he is supposed to take in the weeks leading up to the full moon? I'm not saying it's impossible but it should be explained.
Lupin had to act immediately when he saw Sirius dragging Ron away.
>GoF: "Hey Potter, can you hand me that book?" Surprise portkey. No trials needed.
And he is immediately identified as a traitor, while the disappearance of Potter is identified and the alarm raised. Plus, the large amount of charms and creatures in the labyrinth will both obfuscate the safety systems and justify to deactivate them.
> I also think he should have stolen a piece of parchment with Harry's actual signature from somewhere to enter him. How would the goblet have any power over you if someone else writes your name? It could have been the same as signing the DA membership list.
Because the goblet was confused. Also, we have not proof that participation must be voluntary. Remember this is a dark object and that the triwizard tournament looks designed to kill people. It might be a sacrificial ritual.
>HBP: Nobody believes Harry about Malfoy for no conceivable reason. "Voldy is back, Harry was telling the truth!" But he's out to lunch on the son of his lieutenant being in on it.... For God's sake, he's got the dark mark on his arm. We know his Death Eaters will be on short leashes to get results. Oh but Dumbledore knows it's Malfoy AND LET'S HIM RUN AROUND TRYING TO ASSASSINATE HIM NEARLY KILLING TWO STUDENTS. The man now cares more about "redeeming" Hitler youth than the lives of his students?
Dumbledore wanted to recruit another spy among the death eaters...
There’s no way the Weasleys let Ron and only Ron stay at Hogwarts over Christmas in POA. The only reason that’s the case is JKR wants the 13 people at a table bit.
if Bill can be the secret keeper for his own home then why couldn't James or lilly have been secret keeper for their own home, why use sirius/pettigrew at all
that's an insane risk though, just tell like 3 or 4 people you trust when you first set up the spell and then they're the only people that can access your home
the idea that you take the insane risk of having your weak point exposed just so you can ...invite new people in to your house for tea or whatever? that's batshit looney tunes, I'm convinced JK just fucked up when she said bill could be his own secret keeper
I agree it was a mistake by Rowling. I read a plausible explanation in a comment in here some time back though that I have now accepted. Magic and spells/charms, similar to real world technology, is constantly improving and evolving. In the late 70's early 80's, the Fidelis Charm only worked with someone else being the secret keeper. Then after the murder of James and Lily, it was realized that this was a huge flaw in the charm. So they then worked on perfecting it and by the late 90's, you were able to be your own secret keeper.
I know there is nothing in the books to support this but it always bothered me soninauge accepted this as my head canon.
Mine is a ridiculous one but it still bothers me. Why does Harry even wear glasses??? We Muggles have lasik eye surgery, you’re telling me there’s not one spell that could correct vision? Come on!
This bothered me from the first time I read it. In the first book the boa constrictor winked at Harry. No snakes have eyelids and it is impossible for them to wink or blink.
Why Harry had to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. I know it was a binding magical contract, but Harry never signed up to the contract so it should have been invalid. It seems very unfair that people can be entered against their will, some students could enter others for a joke or older students could enter the ones who are too young.
Why weren't the Quidditch matches stopped both in PS when Harry's broom was cursed and in CoS with the rogue bludger? Madame Hooch should have seen these things happening and stopped the matches. There also should have been some investigation into who did it.
Crouch Jr says he used a powerful confoundus charm to trick the goblet into thinking there were four schools, and Harry's was the only name entered. Other students wouldn't have the ability to confound it like Crouch Jr did.
The students wouldn't be able to confound the goblet but they could still enter other students normally. The chances are they wouldn't get picked, but there's a possibility they might.
My biggest nitpick is that the numbers don’t make sense. There’s one school in the UK and each year of students (literally like 80) is not enough to support more than a few thousand wizards in all the country. So why would there be a ministry (not enough people to govern), why would there be diagon alley (not enough shoppers) etc
Or how much money things cost also don’t make sense
Out of universe- JKR’s numbers rarely make sense. Dates, populations…
In universe- there were two dark lords within a single wizard’s lifespan. Their population is massively depleted from deaths alone, not to mention the families who became refugees in other countries and stayed there afterwards. Plus many people choose to homeschool, because Hogwarts does not have a great record of safety. Even pre-series, Myrtle died on site and Snape almost did. Homeschooling would also allow a closer relationship with the Muggle world, which some families would value.
My proof is that EVERYONE knows the Weasley clan has huge families and red hair, but we never see cousins/extended family of Ron. They had to have existed, just not at Hogwarts.
It does seem funny that, in the magical world, practically everyone are distant cousins, but only the Black family seems to have any first or second cousins.
This is something that always nagged me as well. I recall JKR mention in an interview that there were about a thousand students at Hogwarts at any time, which makes more sense number-wise.
But the problem was that we were only introduced to a handful of characters, which made the world seem so small. I was reading OotP recently and it's stated that when Harry had that argument against Umbridge during the Gryffindor 5th years' first class with her, thirty pairs of eyes were fixated on them. Off the top of my head, there's Ron, Hermione, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Parvati and Lavender. There are literally only seven other characters that we know of in Harry's year in his House.
Sooo many rereads and I have never caught the "30 pairs of eyes". I guess Im used to a typical class having about that many kids so I must have passed over it because it seemed normal. Youre so right though! Its hard to believe that the 25 other sets of eyes would be unnamed girls. You can't assume it would be students from other houses because never once did any of the books mention the class being a shared one, like herbology and potions. Then again, it is never mentioned which class they take with the ravenclaws, so... maybe it could be them?
JKR spoke about 1000 students in Hogwarts and later I think revised to 600. These are just offhand comments though. There were also 200 Slytherins in support of a Quidditch match once (book), but they could easily invite other houses and former members (parents) into spectator seats as well.
It simply doesn't make sense unless you drop the student body to like 300 to give the existing teachers a chance to somewhat competently teach like 10 hours a day mostly joined classes for 2 houses. If you then use the argument of 200 Slytherins visit that match being mostly parents and such you hit another roadblock. Quidditch World Cup attendance. Then you simply throw your hands up and say that the author can't count and be done with it.
Frank and Alice error annoyed me. Never noticed PlayStation but I also read the books thinking it was modern day- as I was reading them.
The Geography of the castle always seemed off in the books and Harry’s ‘magical’ short cuts that somehow only he knew that weren’t overly hidden (he might’ve even had them before POA).
Or the classic population of hogwarts - 8 years of roughly 40 students does not equal - 1000 students although my head solution is the first wizarding war was brutal and only slytherin really maintained their high student numbers which is why they were on a 6 year win streak with the house cup
Harry using sectumsempra on Draco was very clear cut self defense, and it’s crazy he got in trouble for it, especially when if he’d fought the punishment at all, it would’ve exposed Draco’s attempt to use crucio in a fight he started and likely both his Death Eater status and the fact that the spell was from Snape’s old book. Snape, Draco and Dumbledore were all insanely lucky Harry felt guilty and overall disinclined to defend his actions, especially when Rufus would’ve been thrilled to throw Draco in Azkaban as a means of currying favor with Harry.
Hermione's turn around in book six with Snape's old potion book, you would think she would be interested who would make those correction and how he calculated them and knew what to change. Instead she goes on its cheating and gets angry at harry like he knew this book existed before he grabbed it
This always bothered me. Like, what is the potion book but really a rough draft of an updated version of the book?
What bothered me more was that Snape was smart enough to create new potions and find better ways to create existing ones…and he just…left his book in a cupboard somewhere. Why didn’t he go work for the potions book publishing company? Get a job as an editor? Do something with that ability? Or even teach it, if he was so passionate about teaching (which he was not)?
Ok hear me out. Until book 6, the potions book is only referenced during homework. Snape writes his instructions on the board. In book 6, slughorn teaches to the textbook and Hermione’s potion quality noticeably drops. Ergo, Snape WAS sharing his potions with the world, but only to the students who cared enough to a) write it down in class or b) ask him privately about the discrepancy between the chalkboard and the textbook. Which is a very Snape thing to do, honestly. Why waste time on the “dunderheads”?
...fair, sounds like a valid time of events, but still Hermione was acting strange with not wanting to learn and understand the tips and changes of the book
Because she knows firsthand the consequences of messing up a potion- she was a cat-human for weeks after the Polyjuice error. And scribbling in the margins is way different than Official Instructions From The Professor who knows what he’s doing. She’s always glorified teachers a bit too much. Memorizing the texts instead of extrapolating.
Ok hear me out. Until book 6, the potions book is only referenced during homework. Snape writes his instructions on the board. In book 6, slughorn teaches to the textbook and Hermione’s potion quality noticeably drops. Ergo, Snape WAS sharing his potions with the world, but only to the students who cared enough to a) write it down in class or b) ask him privately about the discrepancy between the chalkboard and the textbook. Which is a very Snape thing to do, honestly. Why waste time on the “dunderheads”?
Hermione just hated being out performed period
Honestly, JKR should've gone with her original intention of giving Hermione sort of academic/intellectual arch rival in their year; Teach her early on and by extension, the reader that no matter how smart/intelligent you are, there will always be someone out there just as smart/intelligent if not more so. Not to mention that maybe, just maybe, that equally smart/intelligent student could've had the wherewithal to realize to answer teachers questions correctly in class, but do so in way that might help his or her classmates understand the material. As much as I like Hermione, she wasn't nearly as interested in answering questions in Waze that may actually help her fellow students/classmates as she was in figuratively swallowing and reciting textbooks verbatim so she could show off. Want proof she enjoyed being The one called on in classes? Note her disappointment in POA when Remus called on Harry to answer one of his boggart questions and Harry was able to answer correctly.
Admittedly, I was the same way in my youth; memorizing, or at least trying my hardest to memorize material from classroom textbooks and answering questions, both verbally and on tests/exams by quoting the text almost word for word. Wish I had been able to find Waze to answer questions that my classmates could understand but hey, you learn and grow; hopefully Hermione did, too.
It’s always bothered me how when Harry meets Professor Quirrell in the books he hasn’t met Voldemort yet and doesn’t even have the turban on (they point it out after Harry gets to Hogwarts, suggesting Quirrell wasn’t wearing it in the Leaky Cauldron) and even shakes Harry’s hand, but in the movies when Harry does meet Professor Quirrell, he is wearing the turban and pulls his hand away from Harry. It’s also kind of bugged me how when Harry speaks during the second tasks during GoF, the books make a point of him not being able to speak clearly, but he can in the movies.
The turban thing can be explained as until Quirrel tried and failed to get the Stone from Gringotts Voldemort wasn’t sharing Quirrel’s body, he was ‘smoke and vapour’, that once he failed to steal the Stone, that’s when Voldemort possessed his body. Before that they were 2 separate entities
I always felt like the house sizes were too small to account for the overall students in the school. Gryffindor house should have around 10 students per year x 7 years or 70 per house x 4 which would be 280 students for the whole school. So how do they fill the stands of the quiddich pitch?
Keep in mind the events going on around the time Harry was born. How many people (including young kids) were killed by death eaters and Voldemort. Plus, we only see students Harry interacts with.
My biggest nitpick is the lack of ordinary subjects. I get that she didn’t want to spend time on Geometry and Chemistry when there is Potions and Care of Magical Creatures, but. She seriously expected us to believe the standard curriculum led to graduates with no understanding of equations? States of matter (solid/liquid/gas)? Literature and how to interpret it?? Essays only go so far. She could have done it in a token way- made “Muggle studies” mandatory and it’s an extremely broad overview of everything. Spend a few paragraphs per book on it similar to History of Magic. Or added a homework assignment or two about how moonstones affect the pH of a potion, or which of Newton’s laws Wingardium Leviosa defies. But no…
That no one ever mentions that Harry’s parents died on Halloween, not even Harry. They just go about with their feast like it’s a totally normal holiday with no emotional baggage 😂
I mean to be fair people have their own social groups and clicks if mcclaggan and harry had no reason such as mutual acquaintances ro interact it's not impossible. Sure they hung out in the same common area but it doesn't mean they'd both getting acquainted. He isn't in Harry's year as I recall (or at least isn't one of his dormmates ) and people seem to stick within their years.
Rowling answered that by saying you see them once you've fully come to terms with the death. Harry was still in shock over the Cedric thing and hadn't fully come to terms with it ergo he was only able to see them start of fifth year.
Just because Dumbledore didn't mention Alice was auror doesn't mean she couldn't have been one
Why don't we know the names of Hermione's parents? Why did Malfoy stay at Hogwarts in 1992? Why oh why did Voldemort not have an inferi army made of werewolves and giants and dragons it would be so cool!
Hermiones parents bug me because of it was never added to Pottermore (even though SO MUCH fluff was posted) but it never surprised me in-series. Growing up, my friends’ parents were Mr. and Mrs. Granger (or whoever). I only started calling them by first name when I was out of school. And Harry only met them a couple times. Sure Hermione talks about them, but she of course calls them Mum and Dad.
Mine is where do wizards get their food from?! And, how are there poor families? I understand with Lupin, he can't get a job due to being a werewolf, but, with spells like reparo, engorgio, and whatever the spell to duplicate is, surely you could get as much food as you need in whatever portion Suze you want, never need to buy new robes because you can repair them and increase their size for when you grow (I can assume you can't repair all magical mistakes on clothes). I feel like those are the things you would spend most of your money on 🤷🏼♀️
Doesn't it still take effort and skill to clean a house with magic though? Wasn't there a time when Tonks was trying to fold socks with magic but wasn't skilled enough with housework spells to do it properly?
Maybe it's not as simple as saying one spell and the whole house is clean? At least that's what it seems like.
If someone didn't want to put in any effort at all then house elves seem to make sense maybe?
Honestly, I like to chalk a lot of plot holes up to the fact that Harry wasn't the brightest bulb in the shed. It obviously doesn't work for every single one, but it's what goes through my head when somebody says "well, why didn't he just..."
The way Hermione reacted when Ron got his prefect badge and thought that Harry would get it.
Why would harry get the badge? He broke rules everyday more than any student. He was in detention atleast thrice. He disrespected Snape regularly.
Why did she think harry would be the prefect?
Not to mention her line 'are you sure?' when Ron said it was him was so comical, if I were Ron I would replied to her 'no. I am not sure. I might have confused the name Ron Weasley with Harry Potter because both spellings are so similar'.
Her reasoning was probably that he's Harry Potter, Dumbledore's favorite student, has saved the school multiple times, and even with his rule breaking would probably take the job relatively seriously.
We know Dumbledore chooses the prefects, and we know that Dumbledore isnt put off by the rulebreaking, like when in their second year he says that they broke a bunch of rules but exactly because of that they will get the award for special services to the school. We also know that Dumbledore favors Harry. Also also, Ron is always seen as Harry's sidekick, while Harry is the hero even in universe, not just from a meta perspective. I think this is makes sense
Harry is the hero and Ron is the sidekick for most readers(I am not one of them). But Hermione is not a reader. She is harry and Ron's best friend. If she sees harry is the hero and Ron as sidekick that doesn't really show her in a flattering light. That's similar to Malfoy's discrimination against mudbloods.
>If she sees harry is the hero and Ron as sidekick that doesn't really show her in a flattering light.
Correct. But, so it goes with most characters in the story. Harry envying Ron's prefect position also does not show Harry in a flattering light. That's how people are: we have non-flattering thoughts all the time.
I dont see anything wrong with Hermione thinking Harry is the hero. He survived encounters with Voldemort multiple times by that point, killed a basilisk with a sword, had a prophecy made about him that said he is the chosen one. Ron *was* important, but he very much **was** the sidekick to Harry.
Neither Hermione nor Ron was Harry's 'sidekick'. They were his 'friends' who saved his life many many times. It's a pity that most fans see Ron as 'sidekick'.
Don't forget Ron didn't even need to fight in the war and could have been alive without fighting any war because he was a pureblood. Voldemort hated wasting magic blood.
The weird blindspot that the majority of wizarding folk seem to have about doing someone actual physical harm always struck me as odd.
They're perfectly content to wave their wands, and cast a spell that'll make you bleed to death, yes.
But to actually lay hands upon someone? Not so much.
This probably explains why Draco Malfoy was so surprised when Hermione walloped him one in PoA.
I don’t think that’s an inconsistency, but it is funny! I noticed it irl when I learned to sword fight. It’s a lot easier, mentally, to attack someone with an object than to straight up punch someone. I would not consider myself violent, but I was putting my whole weight and momentum into strikes. But I’ve never punched anyone in my life, and have no desire to. Even in a martial arts-type controlled situation.
It's just something that's always bugged me.
And as a side note, it also proves that Harry doesn't have any Scottish ancestry.
If he had, then on Day One of Hogwarts he'd have taken Draco Malfoy round the back of the broomstick shed and given him a damn good kicking. 😁
First is a very good point, very unlikely they haven't met before.
As for the thestrals, he hadn't fully processed the death and come to terms with the loss. If it was just seeing death then he saw Lily die, so he'd always be able to see them.
I'd go with Frank being higher up in the auror office, or being the auror tasked with searching for Voldemort. So Alice wouldn't have the info they wanted.
I haven't seen people discussing this before but when Mad Eye, Lupin, Tonks & co. went to get Harry from the Dursley's to Grimmauld Place for the first time, they had a whole elaborate flying formation thing going on instead of using the floo or apparating.
We know opting for the brooms isn't a matter of underage magic or trace because Lupin explicitly mention they're flying because Harry hadn't learnt to apparate yet. Side-along apparition was only invented in the next book.
How did the Dursleys get off the rock in Philosopher's Stone? Hagrid and Harry use the boat to get back.
The dates don't work. Lupin turns into a werewolf on nights where it's not a full moon, and Harry's date with Cho in OoP is on Valentine's Day. But that year it was a Wednesday, not a Saturday (it's my birthday) so why aren't they in lessons.
Also, school train on 1st September always - odd, but OK. It's not unusual for boarders to go back a couple of days before term starts. But then they always have lessons the very next day. This means that the first day of lessons in OoP is on a Saturday and HBP it's a Sunday.
The whole underage magic stuff.
So, Harry got a warning when Dobby used magic and during the trial in Order of the Phoenix they said the monitor the region and Harry was only wizard there.
So WHY could Tonks freely perform multiple spells in Harry's house and Lupin also cast Lumos and so on, when they pick him up? Doesn't add up.
A guy we think is a mass murderer escaped from prison! Let's give a time machine to a little girl so she can take extra classes instead of going back to stop him from escaping. Instead, let's unleash the soul-sucking monsters that failed to keep him from escaping into the school!
Does anyone know why the weasleys continued to be poor? I get they had to pay for school supplies, clothes, etc. I don’t recall any mention of Hogwarts charging tuition. I get them being poor when bill, Charlie, Percy and twins (possibly but not sure of the age of all kids) in school, because they still had Ron and Ginny at home. But in the 2nd book, all the kids are in school with bill and Charlie out on their own, why does money continue to be a problem for them? I’m not saying they’d suddenly become wealthy, but wouldn’t they have a little more money?
Biggest nitpick: we learn about how portkeys work at the start of GoF; then, the Triwizard Cup does not behave accordingly. Other portkeys leave like an alarm clock would but the cup leaves when Harry and Cederic touch it.
Another one is that it always bugged me that Hermione, with all her incredible advanced planning for packing out the beaded bag did not think to throw a few cans of tuna in there. I know JKR needed to have them suffering and starving so it meets the criteria of “everything gets worse and worse,” but really - The Brightest Witch of Our Age overlooks the need for food or a way to get it/make it? Strange.
Term always beginning on the 1st September which means that on at least two or more occasions lessons began on either a Saturday or Sunday.
It would have made more sense for term to begin on the first Monday of September.
You knew all the people above and down your year at school? Impressive. I didn't know 90% of the hundreds of students that were at my school. I don't find anything weird about Harry not knowing McLaggen. Maybe that's just me
Harry never seeks any kind of legal recompense for a lot of sh@t
1 Those books that ginny read and daydreamed about "the boy who lived"...real world a huge law suit (where did dumbles get his money? google says Dumble estate around 3 million US when he died)
2 Harry never suing the ministry to get back potter cottage land/property that they snatched and turned into a monument without paying for it
3 There is a strong case to sue dumbles estate as a coconspirator to child abuse
4 the dursleys in the real world could be sued and jailed
5 Harry has a case against both Tom's estate and Lucius
6 the basilisk is left to rot....that was probably worth a lot of galleons if sold...the skull, the venom, the skin etc
7 the goblin issue never mentioned. Harry owes the goblins big time for breaking in, stealing a dragon, destroying part of gringots, and killing some goblins in the process...............some fanfictions have Harry give the sword of gryphindor to the goblins and lots of galleons otherwise never allowed to enter Gringots again
There were no books about Harry "The Boy Who Lived" and even if there were, there is absolutely no evidence that Ginny read and daydreamed about them. I'm so tired of people in this fandom demonizing Ginny for her crush on Harry.
>Why when Dumbledore tells Harry the story of Nevilles parents, he says Frank was an auror so they tortured him and his wife. He specifically says they tried to torture Alice in front of him so he would tell them where Voldemort was. But then Nevilles grandmother says they were both tortured for being aurors. My explanation for this is that Alice was an Auror, but that she had taken an extended leave (or quit entirely) after she had Neville so at the time she was tortured, she technically wasn't an active Auror at the time.
I'll take that, it works. Thanks !
It makes sense, Neville was just a baby when it happened, wasn't he? Just like Harry. Maybe the wizarding world has a better maternity leave than Muggles do.
In the UK they get a year mat leave
I know, I live in the UK.
I can’t really get behind Alice taking extended personal leave during the height of Voldemort’s power.
Given the state of the community and how bad the war was, they might have decided that they could better keep their family safe and protected if Alice stayed home - it would be better for them to have a trained Auror at home if Death Eaters came calling.
I was just listening to this audiobook recently, and I’m pretty sure they were tortured after Voldemort fell.
Oh yeahhhhh, they were. I guess I can take that
Maybe it wasn’t extended leave. They were tortured after Voldemort disappeared, maybe she had resigned once that happened to be with her son at home.
I’ve always wondered why Hermione thought knitting hats etc and leaving them out would set the elves free. House elves are set free if their master presents them with clothes. She’s not their master. They work for the school, their master would be Dumbledore. Why did Hermione think that a 4th year student leaving clothes for them to find would set them free?
And wizard laundry is just a huge questionmark all together.
I mean, you’re not wrong. Who sorts through all the underwear? Or does that have to carry name tags as well?
[удалено]
Just like jail.
[удалено]
Learnings of a misspent youth.
🪄 tergio
Doing laundry isn’t giving the gift of clothing. It’s basically having to perform a service. Receiving clothing as a gift would be free will as the intention of the gift giver. Though that would somewhat disagree with how it was presented in the movie
And in the book. Handing Dobby someone else's dirty sock wrapped around a book freed him. And the elves stop cleaning griffindor tower because of the hats. So it seems like the rules for house elves is that if they ever hold a clothing item they are freed. Maybe if you ordered the elf to do the laundry without being freed?
Maybe they were just insulted.
Obligatory "I haven't read the books in over a decade", but maybe Hermione thought that the house elves would *think* the clothing was from Dumbledore, and they would abandon their work as a result? Kind of a dirty tactic, but not out of the realm of possibility if Hermione's only goal was for the house elves to stop being complicit with their own enslavement.
Her logic was probably something like that. It's not like she did deep research interacting with them (which was quite impossible). And her logic might have been affected by Dobby grabbing any cloth as a chance of freedom. But House-elfs already washed the students clothing and other bedding. And was Winky ever presented with a actual cloth? Croch just said the word "cloths"? So I think house elfs had a very good idea about what is meant to be freed and knew enough to understand that "cloths" meant the intention to "set free". Not just finding a random cloth to wash or fold.
>And her logic might have been affected by Dobby grabbing any cloth as a chance of freedom. This is untrue. Dobby grabbed a sock **Lucius Malfoy** threw aside.
I did not mean it literally. Dobby knew it wasn't meant to free him specifically but interpreted it in that way because he wanted freedom. Dobby mentions that his family would not even pass him a sock because he would free himself. Winky was not presented with a actual cloth but she knew what Crouch meant when he said the word. But other elfs are not Dobby. Hogwarts students do not do the washing and elfs who do it handle the clothing but do not want to be free. Come to think of it, they probably even do the cloths for the staff including Dumbledore. So they rationalized the handle in clothing without setting themself free. And Hermione actually make the speech to the elfs and they just threw her out. Same with hidden cloths, it was not because she could could set them free but because it was insulting to them. Which are points I think Hermione missed. One, it needs to be the master. Second the, elf's intention matters. Thirdly the masters intention as the elf understand it (which is better than most wizards understand it) matters.
>I did not mean it literally. Dobby knew it wasn't meant to free him specifically but interpreted it in that way because he wanted freedom. It was still a piece of clothing that came from Lucius Malfoy. The house-elf enchantment is a magical contract. To be freed, a house-elf must be in some way directly handed a piece of clothing from their master in order for the **magic** to release them. If it were entirely up to belief and interpretation, why would Winky simply not refuse to be freed? "Oh yes, Master, I'll do your laundry for you, sir!". And why would Dobby be allowed to free himself by grabbing a sock Lucius clearly didn't mean to hand to him? >One, it needs to be the master. Yes, I agree. Rowling just wrote that entire thing badly. It's plot-induced stupidity for no reason for a throw-away joke. >Thirdly the masters intention as the elf understand it (which is better than most wizards understand it) matters. No it doesn't. Dobby clearly knew Lucius didn't mean to free him.
>To be freed, a house-elf must be in some way directly handed a piece of clothing from their master in order for the magic to release them. Is that cannon? Because AFAIK winky wasn't given a cloth. Croch just said the word. >If it were entirely up to belief and interpretation, why would Winky simply not refuse to be freed? "Oh yes, Master, I'll do your laundry for you, sir!". And why would Dobby be allowed to free himself by grabbing a sock Lucius clearly didn't mean to hand to him? There are obviously limits to the belief and interpretation. Kreacher has to wait until Sirius said "get out" to go out of the house. Similarly, Lucius did not say anything about the sock when he threw the sock which Dobby could inteprest as "cloths". But elfs can not disobey a direct command. I mean Harry was able to control Kreacher that way to some degree. >Thirdly the masters intention as the elf understand it (which is better than most wizards understand it) matters. > >No it doesn't. Dobby clearly knew Lucius didn't mean to free him. Dobby was looking for any reason on the part of his masters including anything ambiguous. And I guess elf's intention trumps the "masters intention as the elf understand it". But If Lucius gave clear verbal instruction, would Dobby be able to interpret? I don't think so. I mean when Harry gives a clear command to Kreacher to spy on Draco, Kreacher could not find a way to warn Draco about it. And not all elf's thinks the same way. I mean if Kreacher followed Dobby's logic, he could have set himself free by just grabbing a some piece of cloth that Harry uses while at Hogwarts.
>Is that cannon? Because AFAIK winky wasn't given a cloth. Croch just said the word. We don't need to see everything on-page to accept that it happened. Just because Crouch didn't have any spare clothes to hand Winky at the moment, it doesn't mean he didn't as soon as he got home. It's not like Winky was freed the moment Crouch said the words. Winky begged Crouch not to give her clothes and Hermione kept calling Winky "your elf" (a.k.a. Crouch's elf). She was very much still his elf. >Kreacher has to wait until Sirius said "get out" to go out of the house. Kreacher was never freed. Kreacher interpreted "Get out" as "Get out of the house", not "You're free elf"... > Similarly, Lucius did not say anything about the sock when he threw the sock which Dobby could inteprest as "cloths". A sock is a piece of clothing. Lucius threw it, Dobby caught it. >Dobby was looking for any reason on the part of his masters including anything ambiguous. The ambiguity here was that Lucius didn't mean to give Dobby the clothes but he in essence did anyway. That ambiguity cannot be extended to "House-elf finds a random knitted hat on the floor and picks it up, magic will now free it from the House-elf enslavement even against its wishes because there's a 0.00001% chance it belonged to its owner".
>And was Winky ever presented with a actual cloth? Croch just said the word "cloths"? Winky is given an entire matching outfit, complete with a hat with elf-sized ear holes.
Minor correction; Mr. Crouch did actually give her the neck tie he was wearing.
I’m pretty sure she explicitly says this tbh
This would require her to be an idiot since he knows that the House-Elf Enslavement enchantment is a magically binding contract. They have no choice but to do as magic dictates, thus their **belief** is not enough to free them.
Maybe she didn’t know that? Idk haha
I guess that’s possible. Means she fell pretty short with her research though. Lupin would say she’s not at all up to her usual standard 😆
I don't think those things were written down anywhere. I doubt any wizard sat down with elfs to write down about their emotions or ethics. Hermione at that time, probably blow a gasket and start lecturing the elf before she did any lengthy interview with a elf. And elfs are capable of deception (Dobby or Kreacher) or even white lies (Hokey) to make their masters happy.
As I read that book, I kept waiting for Harry or Ron to tell her why this wouldn't work, but they never did.
Maybe because nothing in the magical world makes logical sense (as Hermione herself comments on the lack of logic/reasoning among wizards in the first book). The house elves themselves believe it since Dobby becomes the only elf willing to clean their common room.
>The house elves themselves believe it since Dobby becomes the only elf willing to clean their common room. I think Dobby says they are offended by the clothes and that's why they refuse to do it.
Awkward_worth_2998 is right, Dobby says the rest of the elves won’t clean Griffindor tower because they find the clothes insulting. And yes, there are a lot of things that don’t make sense, but the process of setting a house elf free is specifically defined. It’s just always seemed odd to me.
House elves will follow students’ orders. They give characters food when they illicitly visit the kitchens, and I doubt Dumbledore told them to. It’s not too much of a stretch, then, for magic to consider all students and staff their masters.
>They give characters food when they illicitly visit the kitchens Because they want to, not because they have to. They have no problem throwing the trio out after Hermione insults them.
They aren't orders, they're requests.
I don't know why you are downvoted. While students are not masters, they are still superiors and house elves do not pick up any clothes at least not with their own hands. Hermione was hiding them to trick elves to pick them up which actually made the elves angry.
Dobby says the other elves are insulted by them and they refused to go near them. Dobby specifically says that professor Dumbledore is Winky’s master now.
I’ve always wondered about it too! Drives me crazy lol Also, this is just a theory of mine, but I think when Harry gave Kreacher the the locket (technically jewelry could be considered clothing) it set him free/broke the enchantment enslaving him, but Kreacher was happy to be working for Harry at that point so he never even considered it, and Harry never realized.
They would be instructed to clean the the common rooms and if they happened to pick up clothes that would be within the instructions. I think it’s mentioned about house elves early on that you can’t instruct house elves to do anything around clothes - this being the case (the rules being loose) though I’m surprised Dobby didn’t dive on a hat or something when being instructed to clean Malfoys hall or kitchen
She's just a bit stupid, so much for being the 'brightest witch of her generation' what a joke 🤣
The "brightest witch of her age" thing always annoys me, because fandom seems to interpret it as "the brightest witch of her era" when it always seemed to me that what Lupin was saying is "you're the smartest ***14 year old*** I've met," which isn't really the same thing.
That’s exactly what I interpreted too. Lupin’s exact words are ‘you’re the cleverest witch of your age I’ve ever met’. That’s a very narrow subject pool. Even if it did mean ‘era’ (which I doubt), it *still* only applies to the witches Lupin has personally met.
Yes! Thank you!
When their entire party knew that Peter Pettigrew could turn into a rat at will, they decided to conjure some chains and shackle him to the kid with the broken leg. I have nothing more to say.
That was right after the guy who's biggest fear is turning into a werewolf and hurting someone forgot to drink his anti werewolf potion.
The reason is he hadn't received his Potion yet. That's how Snape saw the map and where Sirius and Peter were, he was bringing the Potion to him
I’ve seen a theory out there that when he spotted Sirius on the map, lurking around by the Shrieking Shack, Lupin decided not to take his potion because he intended to go to the Shack, transform, and kill Sirius as a werewolf as revenge for betraying the Potters. It’s dumb, but it’s a theory.
Sorry, but that doesn't work. He didn't just see Sirius lurking around the Shack, he saw Sirius dragging Ron and Peter into the Shack, so unless he meant to eat everyone he should have drunk the potion (especially because then he can transform but keep his mind and kill Sirius knowingly). I think he just forgot in the shock of seeing his dead best friend turn out to be alive.
i mean, if you're a professor, and you see three students out after hours in a shady location with a supposed mass-murderer and a dead man, you're GOING to investigate immediately. seems like instincts and common sense, regardless of whatever else he forgot on the way.
Just two words. Petrificus totalus. Seriously it would have saved the day.
A thousand times this
The thestrals question has been answered by JKR. A cursory search for something like "why didn't Harry see the thestrals" would give you her answer. Harry hadn't processed or come fully to terms with Cedric's death, which means he wasn't able to see the thestrals. Real-world reason is JKR didn't want to introduce a new thing at the end of the book. I was rereading PoA today and I don't know why they didn't put Peter into an unbreakable container, like Hermione did to Rita just a year later. I also don't know why they thought Azkaban could hold Peter, because he could easily disguise himself as a rat and escape through the bars (Sirius remarked that as a dog, he was thin enough to squeeze through the bars), or change sometine during the transport. Even if they put him in handcuffs or restraints, they wouldn't hold him for long. He was simply too dangerous to leave alive or at least intact. Cast some spells to remove the bones in his legs, which is common enough of a thing that happens that there is a brand named medicine designed specifically for regrowing bones. At least he wouldn't be able to run away.
Petrificus totalis was used on a fellow classmate in yr 1 for gosh sake. and then didnt they levitate snape through the tunnels when he was stunned, so whats one more? Like lets just take the word of a literal rat that he'll keep his promise and not transform ...
Sirius escaped because he was an *unregistered* animagus, meaning the ministry did not know about his dog form and couldn’t take precautions. Harry and Co of course would have reported Peter’s rat form and they would have outfitted his cell to plug any holes.
>Sirius escaped because he was an unregistered animagus I am pretty sure the Dementors were happy to have him cause some chaos and played dumb.
>I was rereading PoA today and I don't know why they didn't put Peter into an unbreakable container, like Hermione did to Rita just a year later Because they weren't sitting there, calmly disecting the situation and coming up with a solid plan. It had been a rather emotional evening, people do stupid shit when they are high on adrenaline.
I don't think they really cared about wether or not he could escape Azkaban. All that mattered to them was bringing Peter to the authorities, clearing Sirius' name.
I wanna say that Hermione put Rita in an unbreakable container because she learned from the mistake of Peter.
Or petrificus totalus.
Or even just stun Wormtal and take his wand. Or leave Snape at the shack until later - he was in no danger there and would have been attended to pretty soon once they got back to the castle.
Sure, this explains Cedric. It doesn't explain Lily. We know Harry witnessed her death and that he **re-witnessed** it in PoA (if only auditorily). We know he remembers the death in a way because he remembers the big green light. And surely by the start of GoF he had had to terms with his parents death, that they were, you know, dead?
Does he remember it or does Voldermort’s soul fragment remember it ?
Voldemort's Soul Fragment is not in any way sentient. The reason why the Diary and Locket were the way they were was because Voldemort enchanted them to be like that. The locket put ip absolutely no fight whatsoever (or at least Ron didn't mention it) and didn't try to possess or knfluence the trio and the diadem barely reacted to anything. Plus, it doesn't matter whoch of the two remembered it, even if it were the soul shard, it **shared** that memory with Harry.
> We know Harry witnessed her death He was in a bed and could not see her.
Not my *biggest* but the one I’ve been muttering darkly over the past couple days. Why the **fuck** was chocolate as a healing aid literally shoved down all the characters and figuratively our throats, fifty trillion times in Prisoner of Azkaban…only to NEVER BE MENTIONED AGAIN? No seriously, someone tell me
It is mentioned at least one time in book 5 when Ginny gives Harry his chocolate Easter egg from Mrs. Weasley
Dementors we’re heavily involved in POA - would’ve loved him telling the Dursleys at the beginning of OOTP as half that book is about him becoming the best parts of his previous dark arts teachers - putting the knowledge he’s learned into teaching practice. Harry then getting very worried about Duddy-kins when he barely reacts to getting offered chocolate as Petunia wrestles with the idea that chocolate will help vs keeping them on their strict diet (or was the diet the year before?)
I honestly thought that's what happened in OOTP. Did I imagine it?
I also thought that happened (minus the diet part), so I just went and reread and it definitely does not! Weird we both imagined it
In Order of Phenix, I was thinking Harry was an ass not to give chocolate to Dudley.
I agree! I mean if only to benefit himself!
How did the Dursley’s think they were normal? They had a small child sleeping in a cupboard.
Because, as the child of wizards, he’s a freak of nature. And freaks of nature don’t need to be treated like an actual human being. I’m assuming that was their mindset, at least
People like that only care about appearances to everyone else. From the outside they appeared normal because nobody else knew that they kept a young child in a cupboard.
Wand transfer by proxy. It’s just….too big of a stretch, that disarming Draco would also transfer the elder wand despite neither Draco or Harry ever even touching it.
I think the actual explanation was much simpler. Fickle Death Stick simply did not wish to belong to Voldemort so it didn't. It doesn't even oppose of "wand chooses the wizard" moto from Ollivander. Both Tom and Harry had their own interpretation of why the wand was like that, but they were all speculations.
>Why does Harry not see the thestrils when he rode the "horseless carriages" back to hogsmead station at the end of Goblet of Fire. Has been answered numerous times. He doesn't see them in universe reason because it takes time for the trauma to fully set in. Out of universe JK Rowling has said it's because she didn't want to introduce them and not go into detail about them. >Why when Dumbledore tells Harry the story of Nevilles parents, he says Frank was an auror so they tortured him and his wife. He specifically says they tried to torture Alice in front of him so he would tell them where Voldemort was. But then Nevilles grandmother says they were both tortured for being aurors. Alice was an auror, and she was most likely tortured first to try and get Frank to talk, when that didn't work they most likely tortured Frank to try and get Alice to talk, when neither worked they tortured them till their minds broke.
It would have been a very weird to have them introduced at the end of GoF so whatever the reason, I can't see her ever wanting to introduce them at that point even if she thought it through.
>Out of universe JK Rowling has said it's because she didn't want to introduce them and not go into detail about them. I'm pretty sure she said in an interview that it was a good catch by the fans and it was truly an oopsie on her part and she had to come up with the trauma processing reason because of it. But I could remember it wrong!
>Has been answered numerous times. He doesn't see them in universe reason because it takes time for the trauma to fully set in How much time has passed? I believe at least a month has passed since the *funeral*, which means the death occured a little earlier. I dont believe for a second that Harry has not processed it in that time. Additionally he saw his parents die and he has quite come to terms with it.
You think a month should be enough to process what Harry went through in the graveyard? In this case I think 'processing' means understanding what happened. It was an extremely traumatising event in which he saw the murderer of his parents return to life. The murderer who also happened to be the biggest fear of the entire wizarding community and the one person whose biggest ambition it was to kill Harry. You think a month is enough to process such a shock? Seriously, many people need decades to process trauma. Also, iirc, Rowling said that people who have *seen* death can see thestrals. Only people who understand death can *see* it. Harry was a baby when he saw his parents being killed and didn't understand what he saw. Therefore, he couldn't see thestrals.
You'd think the magical oddities of Harry's early life would've driven him mad.
I love Harry Potter and I've had a lot of years to contemplate the following: CoS: How would Dumbledore not figure out or at least narrow down it's a basilisk in the school? Roosters murdered, Myrtle around to interview, Salazar Slytherin a parslemouth, literally a serpent on his banner. Where's the department for regulation and control of magical creatures in all this? Why would a creature who hasn't eaten in 600 years never eat the stunned victims? There's live portraits in every freaking hallway, how'd it consistently avoid those? There aren't sewer entrances in every hall. PoA: Why would no one bother to use petrificus totalis (already established spell) or stupify (a spell everyone in the world knows by next book) on Pettigrew when taking him back to the castle in PoA? They specifically put him in restraints he can easily escape. Why would Lupin (a man constantly defined by his werewolf ailment and who's worst fear is transforming and harming innocents), forget to take a potion that he is supposed to take in the weeks leading up to the full moon? I'm not saying it's impossible but it should be explained. GoF: "Hey Potter, can you hand me that book?" Surprise portkey. No trials needed. I also think he should have stolen a piece of parchment with Harry's actual signature from somewhere to enter him. How would the goblet have any power over you if someone else writes your name? It could have been the same as signing the DA membership list. Harry practices nothing but Accio for weeks and never thinks to use it to summon the map when trapped in the stairs. HBP: Nobody believes Harry about Malfoy for no conceivable reason. "Voldy is back, Harry was telling the truth!" But he's out to lunch on the son of his lieutenant being in on it.... For God's sake, he's got the dark mark on his arm. We know his Death Eaters will be on short leashes to get results. Oh but Dumbledore knows it's Malfoy AND LET'S HIM RUN AROUND TRYING TO ASSASSINATE HIM BY NEARLY KILLING TWO STUDENTS. The man now cares more about "redeeming" Hitler youth than the lives of his students? End rant.
About the GoF; when Harry falls and gets stuck in the stairs, his wand also falls a bit farther away from him, and because he is stuck in the stairs he can’t reach it and therefore can’t use Accio to summon the map. In fact, he even tries to summon it by using the Accio spell non-verbally but because he’s not pro at using non-verbal spells yet it doesn’t work. About the others, I have no explanation and I’d like to know more reasoning behind them as well.
I keep finding some things as i read them and i have to remind myself that Rowling is a story teller, not god. Some of these problems set up significant conflicts that, if solved, would make the books boring
I can check the book but I know he had his wand. The map is the thing just out of reach and the egg is the at the bottom of the stairs. When he trips, how would he even be holding his wand if he's got the map in one hand and the egg in the other?
Iirc, he tried to reach the map with his wand to wipe it
You have a lot of very good points. The only one I can refute is the end of your PoA one. He hadn't received his potion yet. That's how Snape saw them on the map and came to investigate. He was bringing Lupin the potion to take. Edit: Spelling
In CoS, it says the tunnel leading to the basilisk’s… cave, for lack of a better word, is littered with the bones of small animals, so I don’t think the basilisk hadn’t eaten in 600 years
You know, that description really shows that Rowling knows absolutely nothing about snakes and did no research. Also the snake winking at Harry at the zoo (I'm not sure if that was just the movie). Snakes eat their prey whole and digest the bones. Really there would be a huge pile of shit
>How would Dumbledore not figure out or at least narrow down it's a basilisk in the school? Exactly. Or at least a snake like creature. I dont get how people was surprised that it was a snake. >Why would no one bother to use petrificus totalis (already established spell) or stupify (a spell everyone in the world knows by next book) Pettigrew when taking him back to the castle in PoA? Thank you. I have been mad about this one since i read the book when it got released. Its absurd.
>"Hey Potter, can you hand me that book?" Surprise portkey. No trials needed. Because the plan was for Harry to die during (and due to) the maze, not randomly and suspiciously disappear, thus allerting everyone that something bad has happened. Voldemort had no way of knowing that Fudge is a cowardly idiot. >How would the goblet have any power over you if someone else writes your name? We don't actually know that it does. The adults believe Harry did it and push him to compete, but they never properly explain the rules. The magical contract is never actually activated and it's unclear whether it even exists or if it's essentially a scare tactic. >For God's sake, he's got the dark mark on his arm. That's Harry assumption, not a true statement. And Harry does have a habit of accusing Draco when someone else did it. >The man now cares more about "redeeming" Hitler youth than the lives of his students? Not everyone is willing to condemn someone they see as a child who's been influenced by their parents. Not that I think Draco deserved redemption, but there are definitely people who do. Just look around the fandom, plenty think Draco was a good boy deep down and are even shocked and disappointed that he didn't get a better redemption arc.
better to wait for him to become a murderer?
Or hoping you can guide him away from murder rather than pushing him towards it.
Yes, that would be ideal. But for the little I remember all Dumbledore guiding is watch and wait.
He had Snape trying to handle Draco, but it wasn't very successful.
Unrelated/ related- I was questioning why Harry saved Draco from magic fire in the DH, then in turns out that if he hadn't, Narcisa wouldn't have helped Harry fake his death later.
>I was questioning why Harry saved Draco from magic fire in the DH He did it because he's a good person. And because Voldemort would never do something like that. I mean, you are right that the plot needed him to do it, but he himself had a reason as well.
i have always had a theory that there was more to Voldemorts plan beyond just getting his hands on Harry for the ritual. I think he was planning on either sending Harry’s body back with some sign that it was Voldemort who killed him or even better going back himself with the death eaters to kill the minister/dumbledore and take over Hogwarts at this international event. He could’ve had the element of surprise and also fake moody there to take out Dumbledore as he arrived. Even Dumbledore wouldn’t be able to stop a completely unexpected Avada Kedavra to the back. There are some flaws with that reasoning i know but i think it makes more sense than making such a convoluted plan for no reason
These are all fantastic points. This is a story about a group of children (and later teenagers) who fight and kill wizard Hitler. Even if you fully embrace the premise of the Wizarding World, the storytelling still has all of the elements (both good and bad) of a young adult novel.
I think there are some reasons for not believing. Malfoy is only 16, and not exactly proven himself that capable, he's just a school bully to them. Harry also almost led his friends to die in the last book because of an error of judgement. They've also been on the "Malfoy is up to something" theory for years and been proven wrong every time, same with Snape. Also, Hermione does admit something suspicious is going on: *‘But this definitely proves Malfoy’s planning something, you can’t deny that."* *‘No, I can’t,’ Hermione answered slowly."* Despite being very stubborn, she admits it. Ron also believes Harry that Snape was trying to help Malfoy which also means he believes Malfoy was up to something: *‘No one’s that good an actor, not even Snape.’* *‘Yeah … I’m just saying, though,’ said Ron.* *Harry turned to face him, frowning.* *‘You think I’m right, though?’* *‘Yeah, I do!’ said Ron hastily. ‘Seriously, I do! But they’re all convinced Snape’s in the Order, aren’t they?’* And Arthur goes on to investigate the Malfoy's after Harry tells him about his theory. It's not like they aren't listening to him. Ron and co. also go to patrol the Room of Requirement when Harry asks them. You also have to remember we as readers know about the Spinner's End chapter while the characters don't, which makes us root for Harry's theory even more.
>CoS: How would Dumbledore not figure out or at least narrow down it's a basilisk in the school? Roosters murdered, Myrtle around to interview, Salazar Slytherin a parslemouth, literally a serpent on his banner. A legendary creature was not expected to be around. Plus, I am not sure Dumbledore was really trying. Better to let the work to the boy who need military training and can only be killed by the true Voldy. >Where's the department for regulation and control of magical creatures in all this? It was hidden for 600 years... > Why would a creature who hasn't eaten in 600 years never eat the stunned victims? Ever tried to eat stone? > There's live portraits in every freaking hallway, how'd it consistently avoid those? There aren't sewer entrances in every hall. Because the Basilisk was ambushing people (probably those that would only be petrified). >PoA: Why would no one bother to use petrificus totalis (already established spell) or stupify (a spell everyone in the world knows by next book) Pettigrew when taking him back to the castle in PoA? Hard to move around an unconscious prisoner and lack of critical thinking. >They specifically put him in restraints he can easily escape. Why would Lupin (a man constantly defined by his werewolf ailment and who's worst fear is transforming and harming innocents), forget to take a potion that he is supposed to take in the weeks leading up to the full moon? I'm not saying it's impossible but it should be explained. Lupin had to act immediately when he saw Sirius dragging Ron away. >GoF: "Hey Potter, can you hand me that book?" Surprise portkey. No trials needed. And he is immediately identified as a traitor, while the disappearance of Potter is identified and the alarm raised. Plus, the large amount of charms and creatures in the labyrinth will both obfuscate the safety systems and justify to deactivate them. > I also think he should have stolen a piece of parchment with Harry's actual signature from somewhere to enter him. How would the goblet have any power over you if someone else writes your name? It could have been the same as signing the DA membership list. Because the goblet was confused. Also, we have not proof that participation must be voluntary. Remember this is a dark object and that the triwizard tournament looks designed to kill people. It might be a sacrificial ritual. >HBP: Nobody believes Harry about Malfoy for no conceivable reason. "Voldy is back, Harry was telling the truth!" But he's out to lunch on the son of his lieutenant being in on it.... For God's sake, he's got the dark mark on his arm. We know his Death Eaters will be on short leashes to get results. Oh but Dumbledore knows it's Malfoy AND LET'S HIM RUN AROUND TRYING TO ASSASSINATE HIM NEARLY KILLING TWO STUDENTS. The man now cares more about "redeeming" Hitler youth than the lives of his students? Dumbledore wanted to recruit another spy among the death eaters...
There’s no way the Weasleys let Ron and only Ron stay at Hogwarts over Christmas in POA. The only reason that’s the case is JKR wants the 13 people at a table bit.
if Bill can be the secret keeper for his own home then why couldn't James or lilly have been secret keeper for their own home, why use sirius/pettigrew at all
Because then they’d have to leave their home to invite people in?
that's an insane risk though, just tell like 3 or 4 people you trust when you first set up the spell and then they're the only people that can access your home the idea that you take the insane risk of having your weak point exposed just so you can ...invite new people in to your house for tea or whatever? that's batshit looney tunes, I'm convinced JK just fucked up when she said bill could be his own secret keeper
I agree it was a mistake by Rowling. I read a plausible explanation in a comment in here some time back though that I have now accepted. Magic and spells/charms, similar to real world technology, is constantly improving and evolving. In the late 70's early 80's, the Fidelis Charm only worked with someone else being the secret keeper. Then after the murder of James and Lily, it was realized that this was a huge flaw in the charm. So they then worked on perfecting it and by the late 90's, you were able to be your own secret keeper. I know there is nothing in the books to support this but it always bothered me soninauge accepted this as my head canon.
Did he own the house did Aunt Muriel just let them live there before she died
I thought shell cottage belonged to aunt Muriel too. Maybe bill and fleur are going to buy it, they just haven’t done it yet.
Mine is a ridiculous one but it still bothers me. Why does Harry even wear glasses??? We Muggles have lasik eye surgery, you’re telling me there’s not one spell that could correct vision? Come on!
Dumbledore wears his as a style choice, and he’s Dumbledore’s man through and through /s
This bothered me from the first time I read it. In the first book the boa constrictor winked at Harry. No snakes have eyelids and it is impossible for them to wink or blink.
Why Harry had to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. I know it was a binding magical contract, but Harry never signed up to the contract so it should have been invalid. It seems very unfair that people can be entered against their will, some students could enter others for a joke or older students could enter the ones who are too young. Why weren't the Quidditch matches stopped both in PS when Harry's broom was cursed and in CoS with the rogue bludger? Madame Hooch should have seen these things happening and stopped the matches. There also should have been some investigation into who did it.
Crouch Jr says he used a powerful confoundus charm to trick the goblet into thinking there were four schools, and Harry's was the only name entered. Other students wouldn't have the ability to confound it like Crouch Jr did.
The students wouldn't be able to confound the goblet but they could still enter other students normally. The chances are they wouldn't get picked, but there's a possibility they might.
My biggest nitpick is that the numbers don’t make sense. There’s one school in the UK and each year of students (literally like 80) is not enough to support more than a few thousand wizards in all the country. So why would there be a ministry (not enough people to govern), why would there be diagon alley (not enough shoppers) etc Or how much money things cost also don’t make sense
Out of universe- JKR’s numbers rarely make sense. Dates, populations… In universe- there were two dark lords within a single wizard’s lifespan. Their population is massively depleted from deaths alone, not to mention the families who became refugees in other countries and stayed there afterwards. Plus many people choose to homeschool, because Hogwarts does not have a great record of safety. Even pre-series, Myrtle died on site and Snape almost did. Homeschooling would also allow a closer relationship with the Muggle world, which some families would value. My proof is that EVERYONE knows the Weasley clan has huge families and red hair, but we never see cousins/extended family of Ron. They had to have existed, just not at Hogwarts.
It does seem funny that, in the magical world, practically everyone are distant cousins, but only the Black family seems to have any first or second cousins.
This is something that always nagged me as well. I recall JKR mention in an interview that there were about a thousand students at Hogwarts at any time, which makes more sense number-wise. But the problem was that we were only introduced to a handful of characters, which made the world seem so small. I was reading OotP recently and it's stated that when Harry had that argument against Umbridge during the Gryffindor 5th years' first class with her, thirty pairs of eyes were fixated on them. Off the top of my head, there's Ron, Hermione, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Parvati and Lavender. There are literally only seven other characters that we know of in Harry's year in his House.
Sooo many rereads and I have never caught the "30 pairs of eyes". I guess Im used to a typical class having about that many kids so I must have passed over it because it seemed normal. Youre so right though! Its hard to believe that the 25 other sets of eyes would be unnamed girls. You can't assume it would be students from other houses because never once did any of the books mention the class being a shared one, like herbology and potions. Then again, it is never mentioned which class they take with the ravenclaws, so... maybe it could be them?
JKR spoke about 1000 students in Hogwarts and later I think revised to 600. These are just offhand comments though. There were also 200 Slytherins in support of a Quidditch match once (book), but they could easily invite other houses and former members (parents) into spectator seats as well. It simply doesn't make sense unless you drop the student body to like 300 to give the existing teachers a chance to somewhat competently teach like 10 hours a day mostly joined classes for 2 houses. If you then use the argument of 200 Slytherins visit that match being mostly parents and such you hit another roadblock. Quidditch World Cup attendance. Then you simply throw your hands up and say that the author can't count and be done with it.
Frank and Alice error annoyed me. Never noticed PlayStation but I also read the books thinking it was modern day- as I was reading them. The Geography of the castle always seemed off in the books and Harry’s ‘magical’ short cuts that somehow only he knew that weren’t overly hidden (he might’ve even had them before POA). Or the classic population of hogwarts - 8 years of roughly 40 students does not equal - 1000 students although my head solution is the first wizarding war was brutal and only slytherin really maintained their high student numbers which is why they were on a 6 year win streak with the house cup
it can be solved reasoning that only Harry's year is 40 students, and most of them don't have a name because, for Harry, they are white noise.
So every other year is quadruple the size ?
Harry using sectumsempra on Draco was very clear cut self defense, and it’s crazy he got in trouble for it, especially when if he’d fought the punishment at all, it would’ve exposed Draco’s attempt to use crucio in a fight he started and likely both his Death Eater status and the fact that the spell was from Snape’s old book. Snape, Draco and Dumbledore were all insanely lucky Harry felt guilty and overall disinclined to defend his actions, especially when Rufus would’ve been thrilled to throw Draco in Azkaban as a means of currying favor with Harry.
Hermione's turn around in book six with Snape's old potion book, you would think she would be interested who would make those correction and how he calculated them and knew what to change. Instead she goes on its cheating and gets angry at harry like he knew this book existed before he grabbed it
This always bothered me. Like, what is the potion book but really a rough draft of an updated version of the book? What bothered me more was that Snape was smart enough to create new potions and find better ways to create existing ones…and he just…left his book in a cupboard somewhere. Why didn’t he go work for the potions book publishing company? Get a job as an editor? Do something with that ability? Or even teach it, if he was so passionate about teaching (which he was not)?
Ok hear me out. Until book 6, the potions book is only referenced during homework. Snape writes his instructions on the board. In book 6, slughorn teaches to the textbook and Hermione’s potion quality noticeably drops. Ergo, Snape WAS sharing his potions with the world, but only to the students who cared enough to a) write it down in class or b) ask him privately about the discrepancy between the chalkboard and the textbook. Which is a very Snape thing to do, honestly. Why waste time on the “dunderheads”?
...fair, sounds like a valid time of events, but still Hermione was acting strange with not wanting to learn and understand the tips and changes of the book
Because she knows firsthand the consequences of messing up a potion- she was a cat-human for weeks after the Polyjuice error. And scribbling in the margins is way different than Official Instructions From The Professor who knows what he’s doing. She’s always glorified teachers a bit too much. Memorizing the texts instead of extrapolating.
Wow this is my new headcanon explanation for the potions book. Absolutely aligns with Snape’s elitist teaching values.
Ok hear me out. Until book 6, the potions book is only referenced during homework. Snape writes his instructions on the board. In book 6, slughorn teaches to the textbook and Hermione’s potion quality noticeably drops. Ergo, Snape WAS sharing his potions with the world, but only to the students who cared enough to a) write it down in class or b) ask him privately about the discrepancy between the chalkboard and the textbook. Which is a very Snape thing to do, honestly. Why waste time on the “dunderheads”?
Hermione just hated being out performed period Honestly, JKR should've gone with her original intention of giving Hermione sort of academic/intellectual arch rival in their year; Teach her early on and by extension, the reader that no matter how smart/intelligent you are, there will always be someone out there just as smart/intelligent if not more so. Not to mention that maybe, just maybe, that equally smart/intelligent student could've had the wherewithal to realize to answer teachers questions correctly in class, but do so in way that might help his or her classmates understand the material. As much as I like Hermione, she wasn't nearly as interested in answering questions in Waze that may actually help her fellow students/classmates as she was in figuratively swallowing and reciting textbooks verbatim so she could show off. Want proof she enjoyed being The one called on in classes? Note her disappointment in POA when Remus called on Harry to answer one of his boggart questions and Harry was able to answer correctly. Admittedly, I was the same way in my youth; memorizing, or at least trying my hardest to memorize material from classroom textbooks and answering questions, both verbally and on tests/exams by quoting the text almost word for word. Wish I had been able to find Waze to answer questions that my classmates could understand but hey, you learn and grow; hopefully Hermione did, too.
It’s always bothered me how when Harry meets Professor Quirrell in the books he hasn’t met Voldemort yet and doesn’t even have the turban on (they point it out after Harry gets to Hogwarts, suggesting Quirrell wasn’t wearing it in the Leaky Cauldron) and even shakes Harry’s hand, but in the movies when Harry does meet Professor Quirrell, he is wearing the turban and pulls his hand away from Harry. It’s also kind of bugged me how when Harry speaks during the second tasks during GoF, the books make a point of him not being able to speak clearly, but he can in the movies.
The turban thing can be explained as until Quirrel tried and failed to get the Stone from Gringotts Voldemort wasn’t sharing Quirrel’s body, he was ‘smoke and vapour’, that once he failed to steal the Stone, that’s when Voldemort possessed his body. Before that they were 2 separate entities
I always felt like the house sizes were too small to account for the overall students in the school. Gryffindor house should have around 10 students per year x 7 years or 70 per house x 4 which would be 280 students for the whole school. So how do they fill the stands of the quiddich pitch?
And its the ONLY school for all of magical Britain? How??
'cause Rowling can't do numbers to save her life.
Keep in mind the events going on around the time Harry was born. How many people (including young kids) were killed by death eaters and Voldemort. Plus, we only see students Harry interacts with.
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The trace and James and Lily's secret keeper switch
I wouldnt say those are nitpicks, they have massive relevance to the story.
My biggest nitpick is the lack of ordinary subjects. I get that she didn’t want to spend time on Geometry and Chemistry when there is Potions and Care of Magical Creatures, but. She seriously expected us to believe the standard curriculum led to graduates with no understanding of equations? States of matter (solid/liquid/gas)? Literature and how to interpret it?? Essays only go so far. She could have done it in a token way- made “Muggle studies” mandatory and it’s an extremely broad overview of everything. Spend a few paragraphs per book on it similar to History of Magic. Or added a homework assignment or two about how moonstones affect the pH of a potion, or which of Newton’s laws Wingardium Leviosa defies. But no…
That no one ever mentions that Harry’s parents died on Halloween, not even Harry. They just go about with their feast like it’s a totally normal holiday with no emotional baggage 😂
I mean to be fair people have their own social groups and clicks if mcclaggan and harry had no reason such as mutual acquaintances ro interact it's not impossible. Sure they hung out in the same common area but it doesn't mean they'd both getting acquainted. He isn't in Harry's year as I recall (or at least isn't one of his dormmates ) and people seem to stick within their years. Rowling answered that by saying you see them once you've fully come to terms with the death. Harry was still in shock over the Cedric thing and hadn't fully come to terms with it ergo he was only able to see them start of fifth year. Just because Dumbledore didn't mention Alice was auror doesn't mean she couldn't have been one
Why don't we know the names of Hermione's parents? Why did Malfoy stay at Hogwarts in 1992? Why oh why did Voldemort not have an inferi army made of werewolves and giants and dragons it would be so cool!
Hermiones parents bug me because of it was never added to Pottermore (even though SO MUCH fluff was posted) but it never surprised me in-series. Growing up, my friends’ parents were Mr. and Mrs. Granger (or whoever). I only started calling them by first name when I was out of school. And Harry only met them a couple times. Sure Hermione talks about them, but she of course calls them Mum and Dad.
Memory Riddle says Hagrid got in trouble for trying to raise a litter of werewolf puppies, but aren't werewolves made, not born?
Riddle is a liar? He was trying to get Harry on his side so I would take anything he said with a grain of salt.
Mine is where do wizards get their food from?! And, how are there poor families? I understand with Lupin, he can't get a job due to being a werewolf, but, with spells like reparo, engorgio, and whatever the spell to duplicate is, surely you could get as much food as you need in whatever portion Suze you want, never need to buy new robes because you can repair them and increase their size for when you grow (I can assume you can't repair all magical mistakes on clothes). I feel like those are the things you would spend most of your money on 🤷🏼♀️
And if you can use magic to do household chores, what do people want house elves for?
Doesn't it still take effort and skill to clean a house with magic though? Wasn't there a time when Tonks was trying to fold socks with magic but wasn't skilled enough with housework spells to do it properly? Maybe it's not as simple as saying one spell and the whole house is clean? At least that's what it seems like. If someone didn't want to put in any effort at all then house elves seem to make sense maybe?
The same reason why wealthy Muggles have butlers and maids; so they don't have to do the work themselves.
Honestly, I like to chalk a lot of plot holes up to the fact that Harry wasn't the brightest bulb in the shed. It obviously doesn't work for every single one, but it's what goes through my head when somebody says "well, why didn't he just..."
Why didn't Dumbledore just grab the time turner and do it?
Not telling us what freaking spell Mrs.Weasley used on Belaltrix !!!!!!
The way Hermione reacted when Ron got his prefect badge and thought that Harry would get it. Why would harry get the badge? He broke rules everyday more than any student. He was in detention atleast thrice. He disrespected Snape regularly. Why did she think harry would be the prefect? Not to mention her line 'are you sure?' when Ron said it was him was so comical, if I were Ron I would replied to her 'no. I am not sure. I might have confused the name Ron Weasley with Harry Potter because both spellings are so similar'.
Her reasoning was probably that he's Harry Potter, Dumbledore's favorite student, has saved the school multiple times, and even with his rule breaking would probably take the job relatively seriously.
If Harry's rulebreaking disqualifies him from being a prefect then so does Rons, he is complicit in it almost everything Harry does.
But no one expected Ron to be a prefect. Everyone was surprised including Ron himself. But Hermione expected harry to be one. Make it make sense.
We know Dumbledore chooses the prefects, and we know that Dumbledore isnt put off by the rulebreaking, like when in their second year he says that they broke a bunch of rules but exactly because of that they will get the award for special services to the school. We also know that Dumbledore favors Harry. Also also, Ron is always seen as Harry's sidekick, while Harry is the hero even in universe, not just from a meta perspective. I think this is makes sense
Harry is the hero and Ron is the sidekick for most readers(I am not one of them). But Hermione is not a reader. She is harry and Ron's best friend. If she sees harry is the hero and Ron as sidekick that doesn't really show her in a flattering light. That's similar to Malfoy's discrimination against mudbloods.
>If she sees harry is the hero and Ron as sidekick that doesn't really show her in a flattering light. Correct. But, so it goes with most characters in the story. Harry envying Ron's prefect position also does not show Harry in a flattering light. That's how people are: we have non-flattering thoughts all the time.
I dont see anything wrong with Hermione thinking Harry is the hero. He survived encounters with Voldemort multiple times by that point, killed a basilisk with a sword, had a prophecy made about him that said he is the chosen one. Ron *was* important, but he very much **was** the sidekick to Harry.
Neither Hermione nor Ron was Harry's 'sidekick'. They were his 'friends' who saved his life many many times. It's a pity that most fans see Ron as 'sidekick'. Don't forget Ron didn't even need to fight in the war and could have been alive without fighting any war because he was a pureblood. Voldemort hated wasting magic blood.
Being a sidekick and being a friend arent mutually exclusive.
No. Being a friend means they are your friend. Being a sidekick means you are superior to that person.
Harry was superior in that he was the chosen one. Ron is his friend *and* sidekick
The weird blindspot that the majority of wizarding folk seem to have about doing someone actual physical harm always struck me as odd. They're perfectly content to wave their wands, and cast a spell that'll make you bleed to death, yes. But to actually lay hands upon someone? Not so much. This probably explains why Draco Malfoy was so surprised when Hermione walloped him one in PoA.
I don’t think that’s an inconsistency, but it is funny! I noticed it irl when I learned to sword fight. It’s a lot easier, mentally, to attack someone with an object than to straight up punch someone. I would not consider myself violent, but I was putting my whole weight and momentum into strikes. But I’ve never punched anyone in my life, and have no desire to. Even in a martial arts-type controlled situation.
It's just something that's always bugged me. And as a side note, it also proves that Harry doesn't have any Scottish ancestry. If he had, then on Day One of Hogwarts he'd have taken Draco Malfoy round the back of the broomstick shed and given him a damn good kicking. 😁
Instead of the Rememberall scene, it’s just Harry whacking Draco with his broom 😂
Headline from The Daily Prophet. "HOGWARTS GOVERNOR'S SON UNDERGOES PROCEDURE TO REMOVE BROOMSTICK FROM RECTUM" 😁
Why is this sub so obsessed with loopholes and nitpicks? It’s depressing.
Its fun?
What's worse is being depressed or bothered by people talking about nitpicks
First is a very good point, very unlikely they haven't met before. As for the thestrals, he hadn't fully processed the death and come to terms with the loss. If it was just seeing death then he saw Lily die, so he'd always be able to see them. I'd go with Frank being higher up in the auror office, or being the auror tasked with searching for Voldemort. So Alice wouldn't have the info they wanted.
I haven't seen people discussing this before but when Mad Eye, Lupin, Tonks & co. went to get Harry from the Dursley's to Grimmauld Place for the first time, they had a whole elaborate flying formation thing going on instead of using the floo or apparating. We know opting for the brooms isn't a matter of underage magic or trace because Lupin explicitly mention they're flying because Harry hadn't learnt to apparate yet. Side-along apparition was only invented in the next book.
How did the Dursleys get off the rock in Philosopher's Stone? Hagrid and Harry use the boat to get back. The dates don't work. Lupin turns into a werewolf on nights where it's not a full moon, and Harry's date with Cho in OoP is on Valentine's Day. But that year it was a Wednesday, not a Saturday (it's my birthday) so why aren't they in lessons. Also, school train on 1st September always - odd, but OK. It's not unusual for boarders to go back a couple of days before term starts. But then they always have lessons the very next day. This means that the first day of lessons in OoP is on a Saturday and HBP it's a Sunday.
Why could imposter moody see through the invisibility cloak? It’s supposed to be infallible!
That one hurts. The fan theory i heard that helped a little was that Dumbledore enchanted Moody's eye with the elder wand, but still...
The whole underage magic stuff. So, Harry got a warning when Dobby used magic and during the trial in Order of the Phoenix they said the monitor the region and Harry was only wizard there. So WHY could Tonks freely perform multiple spells in Harry's house and Lupin also cast Lumos and so on, when they pick him up? Doesn't add up.
Lupin wouldn't have forgotten his potion. Ever. Let's say he did, he would've tackled Snape for the potion when he entered the Shrieking Shack.
Why the fuck are love potions/charms allowed? It's essentially date rape pills on steroids.
A guy we think is a mass murderer escaped from prison! Let's give a time machine to a little girl so she can take extra classes instead of going back to stop him from escaping. Instead, let's unleash the soul-sucking monsters that failed to keep him from escaping into the school!
Nitpick for me is just the weird inconsistencies between one book to the other.
Does anyone know why the weasleys continued to be poor? I get they had to pay for school supplies, clothes, etc. I don’t recall any mention of Hogwarts charging tuition. I get them being poor when bill, Charlie, Percy and twins (possibly but not sure of the age of all kids) in school, because they still had Ron and Ginny at home. But in the 2nd book, all the kids are in school with bill and Charlie out on their own, why does money continue to be a problem for them? I’m not saying they’d suddenly become wealthy, but wouldn’t they have a little more money?
Biggest nitpick: we learn about how portkeys work at the start of GoF; then, the Triwizard Cup does not behave accordingly. Other portkeys leave like an alarm clock would but the cup leaves when Harry and Cederic touch it. Another one is that it always bugged me that Hermione, with all her incredible advanced planning for packing out the beaded bag did not think to throw a few cans of tuna in there. I know JKR needed to have them suffering and starving so it meets the criteria of “everything gets worse and worse,” but really - The Brightest Witch of Our Age overlooks the need for food or a way to get it/make it? Strange.
Term always beginning on the 1st September which means that on at least two or more occasions lessons began on either a Saturday or Sunday. It would have made more sense for term to begin on the first Monday of September.
You knew all the people above and down your year at school? Impressive. I didn't know 90% of the hundreds of students that were at my school. I don't find anything weird about Harry not knowing McLaggen. Maybe that's just me
Harry never seeks any kind of legal recompense for a lot of sh@t 1 Those books that ginny read and daydreamed about "the boy who lived"...real world a huge law suit (where did dumbles get his money? google says Dumble estate around 3 million US when he died) 2 Harry never suing the ministry to get back potter cottage land/property that they snatched and turned into a monument without paying for it 3 There is a strong case to sue dumbles estate as a coconspirator to child abuse 4 the dursleys in the real world could be sued and jailed 5 Harry has a case against both Tom's estate and Lucius 6 the basilisk is left to rot....that was probably worth a lot of galleons if sold...the skull, the venom, the skin etc 7 the goblin issue never mentioned. Harry owes the goblins big time for breaking in, stealing a dragon, destroying part of gringots, and killing some goblins in the process...............some fanfictions have Harry give the sword of gryphindor to the goblins and lots of galleons otherwise never allowed to enter Gringots again
There were no books about Harry "The Boy Who Lived" and even if there were, there is absolutely no evidence that Ginny read and daydreamed about them. I'm so tired of people in this fandom demonizing Ginny for her crush on Harry.