Harry Potter is brilliantly imaginative, fiercely compelling, and… well, extraordinarily complex. Not only has J.K Rowling created two worlds that manage to co-exist without the other knowing (hello, Platform 9 3/4), but she’s also brought us a new lexicon of wizarding words, a purposefully confusing fictional sport, quotes to whip out for every moment in life, and a character, Lord Voldemort, who’s made up of seven horcruxes. Seven.
Yet, with all of the wand waving, complicated characters, fantastical storylines and time travel, it’s a possibility that in and among this huge fantasy universe, there may be the odd – dare we say it? – plot hole.
That's right, some hardcore fans are convinced they've uncovered gaps in the series - and the evidence they've provided is certainly compelling.
Check it out:
1) The impossible time-travelling in The Cursed Child
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the play which tells the ‘untold part’ of the boy wizard’s story (aka the lives of his murdered parents and the strained relationship he has with his son, Albus), has one major issue that’s left us scratching our heads – and it’s a big one.
One writer at Seventeen magazine has proven that all of the events that occurred in the play couldn’t have possibly happened. Remember the part when Albus tries to stop the death of Cedric Diggory through the use of a Time-Turner? Similar to the one Harry and Hermione used in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban?
Yeah, as Kelsey Stiegman points out, this breaks the wizarding rules of time travel.
Citing Rowling’s own words in Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide, Stiegman has reminded us that time travel can only be limited to a few hours:
“All attempts to travel back further than a few hours have resulted in catastrophic harm to the witch or wizard involved. It was not realised for many years why time travellers over great distances never survived their journeys.”
But Albus and Scorpius Malfoy managed to travel back decades. And then again when Harry, Ron and Hermione go back to the day Lily and James Potter were murdered on October 31 1981.
2) The missing day in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Potter fans have pointed out a major flaw with the Philosopher’s Stone, dubbing it the ‘Missing Day’.
The book begins as Voldemort, who had been told of the whereabouts of James and Lily Potter by Wormtail, murders Harry’s parents in their home at Godric's Hollow on 31 October. Just hours later, Hagrid rescues Harry from the ruins of his parents' house before the Muggle officials arrive and takes him to Number 4 Privet Drive.
Upon arrival, Hagrid insists that the journey had been easy – especially with the aid of Sirius Black’s magical flying motorcycle. So why did it take them 24 hours to get there?
That’s right: Hagrid and Harry did not arrive at the Dursley house until gone 11pm on 1 November. So where were they all day?
“It must have been something more important than leaving Harry, in his own destroyed house, alone for almost 24 hours? Then again, it might have been a small error in dates by J.K Rowling which led to the theory,” one user wrote on Cosforums.
Another suggested: “I think it is reasonable to think that they took that day to write out the letter, conduct surveillance on the Dursleys and make sure the coast was clear.”
3) The awkward Peter Pettigrew issue
While Fred and George were up to no good, courtesy of the Marauder’s Map, many a fan has wondered: why didn’t they notice that some guy called Peter Pettigrew (also known as Scabbers the rat) was sleeping in their brother Ron’s bed every single night?
Oliver Phelps, who played George in the movies, has his own theory as to why the Weasley twins never confronted Ron about his unusual bed-mate.
“Maybe it’s a boo in the family that no one talks of. ‘Who’s this Peter bloke?’” he told HuffPost.
He later added, “Maybe it was an unspoken word in the Weasley’s family,” insinuating, perhaps, that Fred and George didn’t want to press Ron on a relationship he wasn’t yet comfortable talking about. Sure, Ron was 11 years old when he first had brought Scabbers/Peter to Hogwarts, but maybe the relationship wasn’t romantic.
Phelps suggested that the family was probably surprised when Ron and Hermione got together.
“When it came out that he got with Hermione, they were like, ‘Oh.’” said Phelps.
4) The wizarding economy makes no sense at all
In a world where you can literally wave a wand and an item you wish for will magically appear, is there any real need for money? Apparently so, as there’s plenty there in glorious gold form – but the economics just doesn’t add up.
Don’t believe us? Well, a unicorn hair costs 10 galleons while a wand from Ollivander — some of which contain unicorn hair and other expensive cores like dragon heartstring and phoenix feathers — will only cost you seven galleons.
Which means that, yes, he’s losing three galleons on every single sale. No wonder everyone makes a point of buying their wands from Diagon Alley, eh?
5) Why didn’t Voldemort just steal Harry’s glasses?
As one savvy Tumblr user points out, “Voldemort could have defeated Harry if he just said 'Accio Glasses’.
“Like, the Boy Who Lived ain’t got s**t if he’s visually impaired.”
With over 110,000 notes and re-blogs, this user has a serious point. Even if Voldemort fancied himself far too superior for such low tricks, there was nothing to stop Draco Malfoy or another Slytherin bully from running off with Harry’s specs mid-argument.
Plus, he’s a wizard – why does Harry even need glasses?
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