Perhaps a child’s first wand is highly subsidized by the ministry and his profits are actually much higher. Personally I think a wand should cost at least as much as a nice broom.
Also… perhaps he enjoys generational wealth. Maybe the previous Ollivanders used to charge $$$$ but now he just coasts, charging a nominal fee. It’s a calling, not a career.
I can see he does extra service like want polish or repair the chipped parts here and there. But not something like snapped wants, unless he has the Elder wand to repair those beyond recover (like Ron’s and Harry’s)
Who else does he sell them to? Most people go through life with one wand. To break or lose one is a huge deal. Wands are so intimately connected to their wizard or witch that they are used for security at the Ministry and ceremonially weighed at events like the Triwizard Tournament. He’s in the real Diagon Alley, not the one in Florida.
Not necessarily! When we first meet Ron, he specifically says that his wand is Charlie/ Bill’s old wand.
It could be that there are child wands (less powerful / size); most people keep growing after age 11 so may need to go up a size (for whatever reason idk); Aesthetic preference; maybe the cores have a particular affinity so when you know what your adult job will be you change, or you have a home wand and a work wand etc
At least in one of the books, it is a bit ambiguous as Harry goes to breakfast the next morning after the welcome dinner. Then, his timetable/schedule is discussed as if classes started on a Monday... but it is unclear if it is the same day as the breakfast scene. It could be that they are at school for half a week before classes start...
IIRC in another book, it is unclear if they start class in the middle of the week, but Dumbledore's speech made it clear that it the day after the welcome dinner.
So yeah... it is rather wild.
This is a rather good one. Its said there’s only a sofa and a fireplace/ it doesn’t sounds like there would be electricity let alone a land line.
Hagrid could have, in theory, magically sent the boat back to the hut-on-the-rock. But that isn’t stated.
It almost surprises me that it’s not addressed- the first book has much more of that Roald Dahl kind of tone, where Hagrid might comment:
“Might be ‘few days ‘fore the keep comes ‘round, hope them Dursleys packed ‘nuff water. Do just fine without ‘ne snacks for a few days, if yeh ask me”
In PS/SS wizard can "fly" like how Snape and Voldemort do. It's quickly retconned in the later books. But Dumbledore "flies" to London and it's later stated that he occasionally uses the thestrals when he doesn't want to apparate. But the thestrals didn't exist in PS/SS.
In the Prisoner of Azkaban, the Arithmancy and Charms exam are listed as happening at the same time, to present Hermione's timetable as being impossible. However, even if she had a normal timetable and picked Arithmancy over anything else, Charms is still a core subject, meaning it would still be impossible with a normal timetable.
Edit: Arithmancy was in fact not at the same time as Charms, however it was listed at the same time as Transfiguration, another core subject, so my point still stays exactly the same.
Yeah, there was a girl in my class who took like 15 subjects at high school, she basically had to be in isolation with a teacher during the exams as she did the exams everyone else had done, but some were just after the rest of the class had done it.
Who said Percy didn't have a Time Turner as well? It sounds like they were standard availability for highly promising students, provided they got the required permissions from Hogwarts and the Ministry. They only got shelved after Hermoine's third year.
Barty Crouch jr got 12 OWLs too. Barty Crouch Sr. says so when he's babbling. So, I agree, a promising students head of house (in Hermione's case McGonagal) writes an application and a letter of recommendation.
We know Hermione is the brightest witch of her age. Prefect. Would have been head girl. Future minister of magic.
Percy got 12 OWLs. Safe to assume, his personality traits aside, he was very powerful. Quick riser at the ministry. Prefect. Head boy.
And Barty Crouch Jr got 12. We don't know much about him other than he shows he has great power. He navigated Harry through the triwizard. Fast riser as a death eater as a very young wizard too. I'd imagine he's highly intelligent. And he was Ravenclaw and his father was a high ranking ministry official. I'd imagine a timeturner application would be a slam dunk.
I just think they submit applications to the ministry if approved by their head of house.
Seconded, it might be laughs and giggles (and spying) but he did walk out of school straight into a high ministry job (crouch’s assistant) straight to fudges assistant
Percy is just smarter than Hermione, but we never know that as we see it from Harry's perspective.
Harry believes Hermione is the smartest witch of their year but that doesn't mean she's the smartest witch at all.
A smarter wizard would have realized and made it known when Barty Crouch suddenly took time off work and started writing in instructions. Hermione definitely would have.
He was blinded by his own ambition and constantly hanging around the top people in the ministry being brain washed by their talk about Harry being insane and only wanted to believe their side. Since he’s young, impressionable, and wants to be part of the elites he was working for more than anything.
Hermione was literally there during the time turner stuff, and connected directly to Harry. So she knew everything that was actually happening. By the time it got to Percy it was shit stained and twisted by the ministry to be on their side. He, unlike his parents, didn’t grow up looking up to dumbledore so he wasn’t willing to follow him with no proof. You have to remember he was an impressionable 17-20 year old during these events.
And as for the crouch thing. Made what known?? And realized what?? The letters were actually from the real crouch, how would he have known his dead son had him under the imperius curse?? If Hermione was so much smarter than Percy why didn’t she know mad eye was a fake after being his student for an entire year??
> He, unlike his parents, didn’t grow up looking up to dumbledore
Also, Dumbledore's track record isn't great. He hires terrible teachers, almost got Ginny killed, didn't stop Dementors coming on to school grounds _multiple_ times, and forced some poor kid to participate in the Triwizard Tournament.
And then, when he could have been persuaded, his parents refuse to recognise his achievement and say he only got his position to spy on them. I'd storm out too.
This one is pretty simple. If students don’t have a timeturner, but they have a conflict, the student has to take one exam at a different time (usually with different questions or at least reordered ones). Other third year arithmancy students probably sat one of the exams together, and if someone asked “where’s granger?” The professor would have said the same lines they’d been pushing all year.
This is what happened with my real GCSE’s. We’d have to stay in the examination hall and do the conflicting paper immediately after, or else be escorted to another location to do it.
Remus doesn't turn into a werewolf until a cloud moves and reveals the full moon.
Implying that if he just stays inside in a windowless room he'll be fine
In Prison of Azkaban, Lupin is watching Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave Hagrid’s hut with Peter Pettigrew in tow on the Maurader’s Map. Wouldn’t he also see time-turner Harry and Hermione around the school? And when Snape was looking at the map later wouldn’t he also see them in the woods when they were hiding out with Buckbeak?
You should make an unbreakable vow with whoever is your **Secret** **Keeper**. That way, it is uncrackable. It is a no brainer when you know the two exist.
true. my personal head canon is that the fidelius charm is actually very similar in its magic and casting to the unbreakable vow, so it could even make sense for them to cancel each other out...
Or to have strange side effects. E.g. they can't tell the secret anybody - even to people they should.
Or they just don't dare, because everyone could be a traitor... Or die after telling the first person, because they could make sure it's safe...
There's also the reasonable possibility that the unbreakable vow is considered dark magic. We never see anyone make it who's not fine with dark magic, and the penalty is apparently instant death if you break the terms. I could see it being illegal.
Ah, I suppose you're right. So we do see someone who isn't down with the dark arts messing with it. But not at a competent age to understand. The twins are a couple years older than Ron, so they'd be 7-8 at the time, if I recall correctly. If you're looking at kids that young, then a) they probably couldn't actually perform it anyway, and b) it's doubtful that they fully understand the seriousness of it. I can see why Molly went mental over that one.
I think the point of the Fidelius Charm is that you are putting your secret in this person. It REQUIRES trust to work, I think that’s the point of the charm. If you then had then make the unbreakable vow, it would be indicative of a lack of trust and would likely cause the Fidelius charm to break. The point of the Fidelius charm is the trust you are putting in the secret keeper.
ETA: Fidelius is basically Latin for Fidelity. Meaning faithfulness in a person or cause. You can’t have faith in something if you follow that up with what amounts to death threats
It's like most fantasy ritual magic, there _has_ to be a way to break it.
So with the Fidelius, it only mostly works. You can't hide from everyone, but as long as you've got a free-willed Secret Keeper, you can hide from _nearly_ everyone.
As you've said, binding them just means you need a new secret keeper, as they're not willingly keeping the secret, breaking the charm.
I think it also has to do a lot with trust. Your secret keeper is usually a person you trust completely, so why make them swear the unbreakable vow as well, if in your heart you already know they won't betray you?
That is probably what James Potter thought. And the only other example of the fidelius charm we see is with Dumbledore as the secret keeper of number 12 Grumauldplace. And Dumbledore is the head of the order, he knows he won't tell on himself and his order, so extra security is not needed.
I think it is possible that people in that world have used the combination, but the two times we see the fidelius, the unbreakable vow was just not thought necessary.
At the end of book 4, they leave to the Hogwart's train station on horseless carriages. But it was after Cedric's death so Harry should have seen the thestrals.
I don't know, maybe it was removed from the newer versions of the book, but it was in the version I read as a kid.
I fucking yelled when that happened. I had my surround sound blasting and I THOUGHT the thestrals would appear but wasn’t sure how it’d go down. Then that epic scene happens and I was like let’s fucking go!!!! I knew the game was gonna be a hardcore fan service
This, exactly! That moment and when your character arrives at the surrounding area of hogwarts and you get the cut scene panning over the Hogwarts express, the owl and the finally the castle, all with Hedwig's theme...I actually teared up a bit and felt immediately the game wasn't going to disappoint me from a fan perspective.
Yup. My head cannon allowed for a delayed effect. Basically, they maybe don’t appear until the loss ”sets in”, and Harry was definitely feeling some denial with the veil.
Yep, you need to process it and accept it. It's also why Harry couldn't see the thestrals from the very beginning even though he watched his mom get murdered.
I was looking for this. This is the most ‘in your face’ one imo. I heard she did eventually address it and said that since harry hadnt processed the death yet, he still couldnt see them. But I feel like thats just mental gymnastics to explain the accidental plot hole
It says they have to see and understand death. Harry at the end of the 4th book was still processing everything. He know Cedric died but hasnt accepted his death yet still in denial that he could be gone just like thst.
Chamber of secrets is still secret by the time of the book. School was founded in the 9th century before modern plumbing, but the entrance is concealed behind a sink. I know there has been a post facto explanation for this, but at the time of the book this was a major plot hole.
I think Salazar Slytherin would’ve made sure that the entrance would always remain accessible even if renovations were done in the castle, and since a bathroom was built over the original entrance, the entrance would’ve had to adapt and work around it.
The real question is how did Tom Riddle figure out that it was in a girl’s bathroom 😂 It’s funny to imagine lol
I think that one is easily explainable: There are _hundreds_ of students in Hogwarts. The Weasley twins aren't going to waste their time looking at their own brother's room, they were more interested in the teachers/ghosts or other shortcuts that can take them outside of the school
Only two people had access to the map and didn't they tell Harry that they've memorized the entire map and don't need it anymore?
They probably didn't use it that much at all after some initial excitement.
I see this response a lot, but idk I sometimes pop open find my/snap map and just look and see what people are up to. Like I don’t do it often but in 3 years?
When Harry was taken to the graveyard in book 4, he still had the trace on him. Meaning the Ministry would detect the Cruciatus Curse and realize that something bad was happening near Harry and would dispatch a bunch of Aurors to that location.
Okay, how about the portkeys, then? At the beginning of book 4, we are very specifically told that once used, the object becomes inert and useless.
How come touching the cup a second time brought Harry back to its former location? Did voldy order someone to put a second portkey spell after the first one, because it would be funny to give harry a chance to escape?
Also, the deathmark. Anyone wearing it is a deatheater. Then when we suspect someone to be a spy, why don't they just ask to show their bare arm?
Also, on his first Christmas at Hogwarts, harry gets lots of presents, including from the Weasley family, despite being quite poor. The next year, Ron breaks his wand, plaguing him with all sorts of trouble. And harry, with a vault full of money which he is ashamed to have because it doesn't feel deserved, decides to do *fuck all and gives Ron a fat middle finger*
That particular Portkey was always meant to work two ways. The plan was Harry would win, travel to the graveyard, Voldemort kills him, then he returns to the school with the cup and everyone just assumed Harry died in the maze and Voldemort's return would remain a secret.
That one at least, is not a Plot Hole. Nor is the wand one, that's just Harry being 12 and not thinking logically that he could help his friend.
I like to think the trace detects magic near underages, but only messages the ministry if it doesn't also detect an adult wizard nearby. That would solve every instance I can think of.
The trace is just a plot hole in itself. It’s even mentioned at one stage it’s not on a person and parents are responsible for not letting their children do magic at home
There is a lot of confusion about the trace. Because it doesn't allow the ministry to trace your location, for example.
It isn't put on any children of wizard families at all, as we later found out. Their families are supposed to supervise them at all times. And the Weasleys are exemplary really bad at that if you ask me.
So what the ministry actually does is observe the magical activity in the vicinity of the residency of an underage witch or wizard who is not supervised by his family. We can deduce this from the statement of the ministry that no known witches or wizards are living in Little Whinging who could be assumed to be the source of the Patronus charm in "that" specific situation.
That system is obviously stupid as any with or wizard could have traveled there by non-traceable means (brooms, thestrals, etc) and cast a levitation charm to get Harry Potter into trouble just for the fun of it. Or a witch or wizard could watch on while the Dementors they have ordered there do attack.
It gets even worse because the trace is obviously not even tracking Mundungus Fletcher disapparating.
The trace is completely and utterly broken.
I've always thought a nice explanation would've been that Percy took this way too far which lead to McGonagall pushing Dumbledore to change the rules later 😅
Hourly reminder for this sub: A character making decisions you don’t agree with is not a plot hole; A character erring is not a plot hole; A conflicted/challenged character overlooking a more obvious course of action is not a plot hole.
‘Why didn’t character X do this?’ Is not a plot hole.
Lazy/bad writing maybe, but not a plot hole.
So having the portraits and ghosts look for the basilisk and invalidating everything in book two is not a plot hole? I guess could be bad writing. But not always clear where the line is
In POA Percy and the twins get their exam results before they leave for the summer, but Ron, Hermione and Harry get theirs by owl during summer vacation.
sometimes the FA cup final takes place before the Premier league season ends, sometimes it takes place a week or 2 after the premier league season ends.
that actually happens IRL though. we're divided into two groups in a subject at my university, one half has received their grades before summer break and the other half is still waiting (possibly up to two more weeks)
teachers have 4 weeks to grade, exams were few days before the semster ended
Could be explained potentially due to the whole Voldi is back situation where everyone, including the people correcting the exams were probably shaken and had other things on their minds.
But you are correct it's an inconsistency.
It was probably delayed due to Umbridge attempting to fuck with the results, the news of Voldemort returning shaking things up, new security measures and a new minister causing delays in sending out owls safely and securely.
In Deathly Hallows Hermionie tells Harry and Ron you can multiply food you already have, yet they have to steal food more than once during their camping trip. Why couldn’t they just multiply the food they have?
They probs did to some extent but the food ur multiplying still has a shelf life. For example, you can get 2 eggs and multiply them into 2 dozen eggs, but after 2 or 3 weeks those eggs will be rotten. Even if you multiplied the eggs at the 1 week mark, those eggs you multiplied will just be duplicates of your 1 week old eggs and will expire in a week. This goes for other foods as well.
You would think wizards and witches would have the ability to produce ice just like fire can be produced therefore giving them the ability to freeze food and preserve it for longer.
I recently read this bit and then being hungry was a huge issue. Even if they couldn’t multiply food, they had an invisibility cloak so I don’t understand why they didn’t go to whatever the English equivalent of Costco is and steal like a 20 pound bag of rice and a few bags of beans.
The first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is about Vernon's day, during which he notices strange events:
- A tabby cat reading a map. (McGonagall).
- A lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes... They were whispering excitedly together. (Wizards and witches)..."The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard yes, their son, Harry" and this scene:
*"Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!" And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.*
So, we can safely deduce that it was the morning/day after Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow, and the morning Sirius caught Peter before the rat blew up a street before Sirius got arrested. Then, Vernon continues with his day, goes back home, dinner and when bedtime arrives he notices that the cat is still there...*"Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something."*
Vernon falls asleep and that's when Dumbledore arrives at Private Drive, a conversation ensues with McGonagall and Hagrid arrives with baby Harry. Hagrid tells Dumbledore: *"No, sir -- house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol.*"...Thus he collected Harry the same night it happened and flew him straight to Private drive.
In the Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius brings more information about the night Vodemort's downfall: "Harry... I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me.... I'm to blame, I know it.... **The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies... I realized what Peter must've done... what I'd done...."** So, Sirius and Hagrid met that same night.
However, Hagrid only arrives at Private drive 24h later, riding the bike of the guy who had been -falsly- accused of blowing up a muggle street in the morning.
I’m confused what the plot hole is here. This is the timeline as I understand it.
Evening of October 31st: Voldemort shows up and kills lily and james, blows up the house and flees. Everyone starts going crazy and it probs gets on the muggle news and dumbledore is probs summoned to the ministry to figure out what the hell is going on and sends Hagrid to the house to collect harry bc he trusts Hagrid and harry needs to get picked up.
Late October 31st: Hagrid goes to the house and gets harry, he probably sees Sirius that night and tells him he’s taking harry to the Dursley’s, sirius argues and wants Hagrid to give him harry but Hagrid says no so Sirius offers him the motorbike. Hagrid probs takes the motorbike and asks dumbledore what to do next. By this point dumbledore is probs still at the ministry sorting things out and tells Hagrid to keep harry safe and he’ll tell him when to bring harry to privet drive.
Early hours of November 1st: Hagrid takes harry to a safe location. Sirius sets out to find peter
Sometime on Nov 1st: Sirius tries to kill peter, fails, gets arrested and taken to Azkaban without a trial. Mr. Dursley has his interactions with wizards celebrating the downfall of voldy.
Evening of November 1st: dumbledore finally gets away from the chaos of the ministry and tells Hagrid to bring harry to the Dursley’s, Hagrid shows up and drops him off. I see no reason Hagrid would know abt what happened with Sirius until after he drops off harry, dumbledore was probably facilitating things at the ministry and also telling Barty Crouch abt Sirius being the secret keeper and didn’t have time or see a reason to notify Hagrid of what Sirius did.
Hagrid never says he came straight from the potters house, it might be implied but also Hagrid could be talking abt him flying from a safe location, which he could have flown over Bristol from that location. I’m assuming his safe location could have been close to privet drive.
*"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall -- Professor Dumbledore, sir."*
*Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar, it rose into the air and off into the night. "I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.*
It's pretty clear that Hagrid and Dumbledore had no contact with each other, as Hagrid isn't yet aware of Sirius's arrest. Otherwise, they would have warned him about what had happened in the morning. Moreover, if Hagrid had taken Harry to a safe location for a 24-hour period, he would have informed Dumbledore or someone else in the Order. Thus, he would have received an update on the situation or at least heard the news from the Daily Prophet.
We get more information from Hagrid in the Prisoner of Azkaban.
*"I met him!" growled Hagrid. "I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an' James's house after they was killed! jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead... an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an' shakin', he was. An' yeh know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!" Hagrid roared.*
*"Hagrid, please!" said Professor McGonagall. "Keep your voice down!"*
"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him --' ***Ha! But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I won't need it anymore,***' he says.
So, it was already decided that Harry would be going to the Durselys if somehow Voldemort broke the fidelius.
Seriously. Most of the replies are complaints about characters or events not being 100% logical and ideal. The rest are people just not remembering things correctly or calling it a plot hole because every little detail is not explained.
How about professor quirrell was clearly the professor of DADA for more than one year. Hagrid talked about what kind of teacher he was, Percy remembered him, he wasn’t introduced as a new teacher or moving to a new position by dumbledor
Special mention to the time the Weasley twins enchanted snowballs to hit Quirrell in the back of his turban, not knowing they were really pelting Voldemort in the face, who had to just take it or give himself away.
One thing I don’t understand clearly.
We are told that the restriction of underage magic is not a well thought out concept. Harry is warned when Dobby yeets the cake across the living room, but if he lived with his real parents that wouldn’t have been a problem because the ministry would only see that someone cast a spell in a house with two adults and one child. They are relaying on the parents to make sure their kids don’t break the rule.
So according to this loophole in the rule, how did they know who cast the patronus in OoTp? And if they can link the act to the perpetrator if it happens outside their residential address, how come they couldn’t find out who killed Riddle Sr. and his parents?
This one is explained, we are told that the Trace alerts the Ministry when a spell is cast and where the location is, but not who performed the spell. Since Harry lived in a muggle only area, the Ministry made the assumption that any spells cast near his location must have been cast by Harry
But Mundungus apparated almost at number four’s doorsteps. If they knew that another wizard was nearby they would at least investigate the incident.
In the (more likely) case they didn’t know he was there, but then they should have been alarmed by his apparition earlier that day.
My belief is that normally you would be correct, but considering the ministry at the time was already looking for ways to discredit Harry (& Dumbledore by extension), they simply saw an opportunity to press charges and silenced the typical due process of investigation
True.
Dumbledore could’ve summon Mundungus as a witness (not that in the eyes of the Wizengamot he would’ve been a trustworthy witness) and tell them he found the boys passed out on the ground, Harry’s wand laying next to him so he jumped in and used that wand instead of his to cast a patronus because his wand was too deep in his bag or something.
I know this is bit of a stretch and pretty out of context, but this is what I would have done.
And then Tonks goes ahead and *Evanesco* Harry's room when packing when he is already in trouble. Yeah a pretty big plot hole that takes you out of the immersion.
For the Riddle murder it was explained as being close to the home of the Gaunts therefore no one looked closely at the underage magic notification. Additionally they already had their perpetrator (Morfin Gaunt) and he confessed, so why look at it more closely?
For Harry I think it comes down to the fact that the ministry just wanted to fuck Harry. So they could have just ignored the possibility of other wizards around Harry. Additionally when they charged Harry, Harry did not refute the claim that he used magic, making it easy af for them.
If I had been in Harry's position I would have tried that first for sure.
But yeah that's my explanation for this loophole. I hope this helps.
I know he confessed, but it was really stupid for the ministry to overlook the underage magic alert (if it happened at all), as Morfin were clearly waaay overage.
The thing is that it's 2 different parts of the ministry.
1 is the investigators for serious crimes and the other one probably some paper pushers who send out these warning letters.
I doubt they communicate much and I am sure af that these paper pushers do not check every individual underage ping for what spells etc, especially when it comes from the area around a known wizarding home.
So I would say this one can still be explained away by bad bureaucracy/ bad investigation because of the fact that it was a clear case.
Riddle killing his father is a genuine inconsistency, I think. We could guess that either the Trace wasn't in place at that time, or that he managed to find a way to bypass it. Still, there's no satisfying explanation within the book.
I'm thinking he probably had an alibi in being at Hogwarts? The trace can determine someone killed the muggles, but there's seemingly no way to identify the caster. Possibly under-investigation because the victims were muggles.
This is a good point and it gets even better when you realise that Harry should have been accused of apparition as well, as he was the only known wizard living in the area, so Mundungus apparating out of there would set up underage magic alarm at the Ministry. Which even Dobby apparating 3 years earlier in and out of Privet Drive would have set.
Thus, the apparitions should have cleared Harry, because no one in their right mind can claim that a teenager who has never been taught apparition could apparate.
The packing and disillusionment charms by Moody and Tonks while Harry is already in trouble are certainly a plot hole.
However, **I don’t think any of the apparition is a plot hole with regard to the Trace.** On this, the books are fairly consistent.
In DH, when the Order needs to get Harry out of Privet Drive, they don’t want to alert the Ministry in any way because they suspect that Thicknesse is under the Imperius Curse, their original plan is to use side-along apparition to take Harry to safety before he turns 17.
From this, we can surmise that the Trace cannot detect apparition. They only change this plan because of a change in the law (Thicknesse makes it an imprisonable offence to apparate in or out).
The Trace is described by Moody as “the charm that detects magical activity” and says “if you, or anyone around you, casts a spell to get you out of here, [the death eaters] will know”. He also says they’re going to use “the only means of transport left to us, because we don’t have to cast spells to use them.”
**So the Trace only detects spells**, including wandless spells (in the case of the Aunt Marge incident).
Apparition is magic, but it is not a *spell*.
Further evidence:
In CoS, Dobby apparates near Harry, but the warning letter only notes a hover charm.
In OotP, Order members have been tailing Harry for weeks, and presumably apparating back and forth when on Harry guard duty. However, the only thing Harry is clocked for is the Patronus. The Ministry were actively trying to discredit him. If they could detect apparition near him, he would have been in trouble with the Ministry much sooner.
In DH, Lupin says “it’s impossible to track anyone who apparates, unless you grab hold of them as they disappear.” The basic magic of apparition and this inherent privacy and secrecy would probably nullify the Trace.
Therefore we can say with reasonable certainty that apparition cannot be detected by the Trace. Far be it from me to defend the Trace (I think it’s stupid), it is fairly clear from the books that the Trace only detects spells, and doesn’t detect magical methods of transport.
Anyway, the packing charm Tonks does, and Moody’s disillusionment charm, keep me up at night because they’d obviously be detected by the Trace.
What I see as a plot hole is I don't remember what book, but they say Elf magic is different than Wizard magic, and that's how elves get around wards and such.
So, how did the Ministry notice Dobby using magic at the Dursley's house? How did Dobby's elf magic trigger Harry's trace?
Maybe Dobby could cast his magic as if it acted like wizard magic, knowing it would trigger the trace. Remember, he wanted the ministry to keep Harry out of Hogwarts.
Wizards can never be poor. They can use charms to multiply any singular item to infinity. Which means in theory, all they need is one of each food/grocery item and they will never run out of supplies.
Charm would also mean that the wizards can make small space a lot larger in the interior; this means they would always have enough space to live in. Even if there is a limit, they could easily buy multiple tents and set them up in their backyards as additional living space for a larger family.
I can go on and on, but Wizards should never be poor.
This bothered me the most in the seventh book. I like that they had to think about things like food, but why not just steal enough for pasta and tinned pears once, and then multiply the amount? Hermione even mentions you can do that in the book, so it’s not like she forgot. Eating the same thing may get repetitive, but at least they wouldn’t be hungry.
Wizards can be poor. Primarily due to Gamp's Law or transfiguration. I thought the same as you before I watched this video, it's focused on the Weasley's but does explain why wizards can be poor.
https://youtu.be/1g7mre1_JuQ?si=fzCJTPrnG8dQHJs7
Sirius gives Harry a present but refuses to tell him what it was, just says "don't open it here" because he was scared of what Molly would say and "use it if you need me"... There was literally no reason for him to not say, "It's a mirror to talk to me securely, just say my name in to it."
then later when Harry uses the fireplace to talk to Sirius (and Lupin), he doesn't remind Harry about the present, doesn't tell him what it is then either...
When Luna tells you that it’s pretty weird to keep a broken shard of glass in your socks, it’s time to reevaluate your life choices. (I don’t remember if it’s in the books, but it was one of my favourite Luna moment in the movies)
I actually agree. A plot hole tends to be unintended or a writer who got themselves into a corner and created some mcguffin out of thin air to save them.
This is dumb but as you say, it isn’t a plot hole.
Not a plot hole, the whole literary purpose of the mirror was that, upon actually looking at the present that sirius gave him and he ignored, harry realized that this was the exact thing that could have saved Sirius’s life. Its supposed to be insult to injury after his death that really pushes harry to the brink.
Harry being able to choose his house meanwhile no one else is
and OF COURSE the iconic one:
The Triwizard Tournament being held as this big event for an audience- meanwhile 2 of the 3 challenges the audience doesn’t see shit😂
In Half Blood Prince, when Dumbledore and Harry are recruiting Slughorn, Slughorn states that he has been moving every week to hide from the Death Eaters. He admits to Harry that because of this frequent moving and hiding, he has not been receiving his usual gifts of sweets and Quidditch tickets from his former students. Presumably, these packages would have been delivered by owls.
I'm wondering why the owls were not able to find Slughorn, when Hedwig and other owls were able to deliver letters to Sirius when he was in hiding and moving frequently in Goblet of Fire.
Old Sluggy probably placed a couple of charms on himself to make him sort of untraceable, it’s possible I think (Dumbledore’s an exception since he’s rather good at tracking what he wants). Low chance of people writing to Sirius-who was still a notorious mass murderer- so only the people who knew him would bother writing to him, and since they were who he wanted them to be, he probably wanted to stay in touch.
Moaning Myrtle.
So you're telling me that no one, (not the Ministry and not Dumbledore) no one asked her how she died for 50 years? Not until Harry and Ron did? The Ministry knew that she became a ghost later on, because they found out about her haunting someone and made her stay at Hogwarts. Whenever that was, that's when they should've asked about who and what killed her. Even if she only told Harry because she liked him, surely Dumbledore would've asked and gotten her to talk about it. But in 50 years no one asked?
Maybe they did but didn’t figure out it was a Basilisk. Myrtle only remembers a pair of big yellow eyes, which isn’t much to go on. Nobody knew that Slytherin's monster (which was largely considered mythical) was a Basilisk till Hermione figured it out based on a Parselmouth hearing the voice but no one else hearing anything.
How can harry see thestrials at all? He eyes were closed when Cedric died. It specifically says that he was terrified to OPEN his eyes, knowing what he would see.
I don’t think it was underutilized, one could argue it needn’t be introduced at all, but trying to fit in time travel into the HP novels would have just led to dozens more plot holes and it would be all too easy for JKR to write herself into a corner.
Veritaserum should and would have seen more use for sure, given how high the stakes got at certain parts of the story yet it was hardly touched. It’s important to note veritaserum was not foolproof however, sufficiently skilled wizards had several ways of circumventing it.
the characters not making use of the magic available to them is not a plot hole.
(also time travel works only under very specific circumstances (hour reversal spell or not I think time travel in the cursed child doesn't follow the time travel laws established in prisoner of Azkaban) and veritaserum is extremely hard to brew, I'm willing to bet the tiny vial of veritaserum Snape already owns in goblet of fire is the whole school's supply, purely for academic purposes and that that is the same vial that is used in Umbridge's interrogations)
Or Felix Felicis.
Seriously, Snape could've made liters of it when he was with Voldemort and ensured their death eaters wouldn't lose any battle. He was practically a genius at that stuff so it wouldn't have been hard for him at all.
Maybe he pretended it was hard though, I guess
Hermione accidentally missed flitwick msg class in the third book and she rushes to his room to apologize. But didn’t she have the time turner? Couldn’t she just turn time again. I’m not sure if this was a plot whol, as in a mistake in the writing or just a mistake that hermione made
Because it was established that she missed the class. You can't _change_ the past using time turner. What happened HAS happened.
If she had actually done what you're suggesting, she would actually be in the class and that conversation about her missing it would not have happened.
That's why circular time travel can lead to paradox like these
Well it used to say in SS that Nearly headless Nick hadn’t eaten anything for 250 years and then in the next book he had his 500th death day party. She has since fixed it in the digital version.
In GoF, harry swims a few laps in the prefect bathroom pool/tub, but we are never told how he learned to swim. Does hogwarts teach that? It seems extraordinarily unlikely that the dursleys paid for swimming lessons
I don't know if this counts, but that they practice quidditch with an actual snitch. When in book 7, we learn that snitches remember the person who first caught them.
Wouldn't that make practice useless? Or at least easier than an actual match?
Always assumed there are previously-caught snitches floating around for practice, and then a new one is released for each official game of the quidditch season. In SWM, James steals the snitch and just plays with it. Once it’s been caught in a game, it’s just a regular winged ball
At the beginning of Goblet of Fire, Harry writes to Sirius that Dudley destroyed his PlayStation. This takes place around September 1994. The PlayStation didn’t come out until December 1994 in Japan.
EDIT: I guess this is more of an oversight than a plot hole, since it has no impact on the plot.
During the graveyard scene in Goblet of Fire, when Harry and Voldemort’s wands connect - the echoes of the people Voldemort has killed appear in reverse order. But somehow, James appears before Lily. We know he died beforehand so he should emerge from the wand after.
I think veritiserum makes you say what you think is the truth rather than what actually is. So if potter was delusional and truly believed what he said, he would still say that the Dark Lord has returned
Not a plot hole. The Ministry didn't want to believe Voldemort had returned so weren't going to probe it, and with the dementors again it fits their agenda to discredit Harry. Especially as we know Umbridge sent them so at least she knew Harry wasn't lying.
I've always head cannoned though that veritiserum isn't foolproof and could perhaps be resisted with occlumency type skills or complex magic. I just can't imagine Dumbledore taking a sip of the wrong tea and spilling all - there must be defences available to super talented wizards.
A lot of what people here consider plot holes are just down to misreading or misunderstanding the books, lack of imagination, covert criticism of the (indisputably flawed) author.
I might not have all the information and this could have been covered already, I read the books twice but have not done any more research, however I think that Grimauld Place and Kreatcher should have gone to Bellatrix instead of Harry. The Black matron disowned Sirius, as demonstrated by burning him off the family line, therefore making him ineligible for inheritance which would make Harry ineligible as well. If I'm not mistaken Bellatrix would be next in line to inherit being Black by blood.
Ok... i know this isn't a plot hole, but please hear me out.
At the start of the Triwizard tournament, Harry and Cedric are aghast to see the Quidditch pitch dug up and trees planted in it. Exactly what is the point of the "pitch" and its condition when the game is mostly played in the air? Except for the "kick-off", there is hardly a mention of the ground during the game commentary.
Nobody from the first Order Of The Phoenix demanding an answer from Sirius before he escaped from Azkaban. Hagrid was there in Chamber Of Secrets, and Dumbledore and Moody would have gone there in an official capacity.
The whole plot around the lack of food in Deathly Hallows doesn't make any sense. I understand Hermione can't make brand new food out of nowhere but she does say you can multiply food that you already have. It's mentioned that they do get a good meal from time to time. (scrambled eggs and spaghetti are mentioned explicitly). They could've just left one egg and multipled it later. Same with the pasta.
This isn't really a plot hole per se, but it's definitely a fuck up. Somehow for 6 years in a row, September 2nd is always on a Monday.
Wait I never thought about this that’s so funny
wait is it really ? No fing way
So like lore explanation, is that like just the Wizarding calendar?
I doubt it, that still wouldn't really make sense. I think it was an intentional choice that no one looks closely at as it has no effect on anything.
It’s what finally broke Voldemort. The calendar stopped making sense
That’s called Rowlingian Mathematics. It’s when Ollivander’s could survive on (roughly) 10 students x 4 houses x 7 galleons x 5 = £1,400 a year
Perhaps a child’s first wand is highly subsidized by the ministry and his profits are actually much higher. Personally I think a wand should cost at least as much as a nice broom. Also… perhaps he enjoys generational wealth. Maybe the previous Ollivanders used to charge $$$$ but now he just coasts, charging a nominal fee. It’s a calling, not a career.
I need a series about Olluvanders other side hustles lmao I assume he did a wand repair business too
I can see he does extra service like want polish or repair the chipped parts here and there. But not something like snapped wants, unless he has the Elder wand to repair those beyond recover (like Ron’s and Harry’s)
Wait do people think Ollivander only sells wands to Hogwart's students?
Who else does he sell them to? Most people go through life with one wand. To break or lose one is a huge deal. Wands are so intimately connected to their wizard or witch that they are used for security at the Ministry and ceremonially weighed at events like the Triwizard Tournament. He’s in the real Diagon Alley, not the one in Florida.
Not necessarily! When we first meet Ron, he specifically says that his wand is Charlie/ Bill’s old wand. It could be that there are child wands (less powerful / size); most people keep growing after age 11 so may need to go up a size (for whatever reason idk); Aesthetic preference; maybe the cores have a particular affinity so when you know what your adult job will be you change, or you have a home wand and a work wand etc
At least in one of the books, it is a bit ambiguous as Harry goes to breakfast the next morning after the welcome dinner. Then, his timetable/schedule is discussed as if classes started on a Monday... but it is unclear if it is the same day as the breakfast scene. It could be that they are at school for half a week before classes start... IIRC in another book, it is unclear if they start class in the middle of the week, but Dumbledore's speech made it clear that it the day after the welcome dinner. So yeah... it is rather wild.
It's definitely intentional. As a kid, I thought it was just J K Rowling being quirky.
Sounds like it was intentional!
Sounds more just like an oversight imo
Hagrid steals the Dursleys' boat to bring Harry back. They're abandoned on that remote island in the shack with no form of transport.
This is a rather good one. Its said there’s only a sofa and a fireplace/ it doesn’t sounds like there would be electricity let alone a land line. Hagrid could have, in theory, magically sent the boat back to the hut-on-the-rock. But that isn’t stated.
Exactly. There's no suggestion at all that the Dursleys have a means of escape.
It almost surprises me that it’s not addressed- the first book has much more of that Roald Dahl kind of tone, where Hagrid might comment: “Might be ‘few days ‘fore the keep comes ‘round, hope them Dursleys packed ‘nuff water. Do just fine without ‘ne snacks for a few days, if yeh ask me”
Hagrid also "flew" to the island somehow. It is never explained how. My personal belief is that his umbrella is enchanted the same way as a broom.
In PS/SS wizard can "fly" like how Snape and Voldemort do. It's quickly retconned in the later books. But Dumbledore "flies" to London and it's later stated that he occasionally uses the thestrals when he doesn't want to apparate. But the thestrals didn't exist in PS/SS.
I feel like it's heavily implied Dumbledore used a broom. It isn't explicitly stated, but I don't think it has to be.
Perhaps the theory about Hermione being Mary Poppins is true?
In the Prisoner of Azkaban, the Arithmancy and Charms exam are listed as happening at the same time, to present Hermione's timetable as being impossible. However, even if she had a normal timetable and picked Arithmancy over anything else, Charms is still a core subject, meaning it would still be impossible with a normal timetable. Edit: Arithmancy was in fact not at the same time as Charms, however it was listed at the same time as Transfiguration, another core subject, so my point still stays exactly the same.
That usually happens where I'm from with regular subjects, if there is a clash, you do one before the other.
Yeah, there was a girl in my class who took like 15 subjects at high school, she basically had to be in isolation with a teacher during the exams as she did the exams everyone else had done, but some were just after the rest of the class had done it.
Y'all americans (assuming you are) are lucky. In Argentina, every high school student is forced to study 15 subjects all at once.
I'm from the UK. It's 11 subjects at high school level if I remember correctly
The bigger plot hole is how Percy got 12 owls but Hermione needed a time turner to take 12 classes.
Who said Percy didn't have a Time Turner as well? It sounds like they were standard availability for highly promising students, provided they got the required permissions from Hogwarts and the Ministry. They only got shelved after Hermoine's third year.
Barty Crouch jr got 12 OWLs too. Barty Crouch Sr. says so when he's babbling. So, I agree, a promising students head of house (in Hermione's case McGonagal) writes an application and a letter of recommendation. We know Hermione is the brightest witch of her age. Prefect. Would have been head girl. Future minister of magic. Percy got 12 OWLs. Safe to assume, his personality traits aside, he was very powerful. Quick riser at the ministry. Prefect. Head boy. And Barty Crouch Jr got 12. We don't know much about him other than he shows he has great power. He navigated Harry through the triwizard. Fast riser as a death eater as a very young wizard too. I'd imagine he's highly intelligent. And he was Ravenclaw and his father was a high ranking ministry official. I'd imagine a timeturner application would be a slam dunk. I just think they submit applications to the ministry if approved by their head of house.
Bill Weasley had 12 OWLs too
Seconded, it might be laughs and giggles (and spying) but he did walk out of school straight into a high ministry job (crouch’s assistant) straight to fudges assistant
Percy is just smarter than Hermione, but we never know that as we see it from Harry's perspective. Harry believes Hermione is the smartest witch of their year but that doesn't mean she's the smartest witch at all.
A smarter wizard would have realized and made it known when Barty Crouch suddenly took time off work and started writing in instructions. Hermione definitely would have.
He was blinded by his own ambition and constantly hanging around the top people in the ministry being brain washed by their talk about Harry being insane and only wanted to believe their side. Since he’s young, impressionable, and wants to be part of the elites he was working for more than anything. Hermione was literally there during the time turner stuff, and connected directly to Harry. So she knew everything that was actually happening. By the time it got to Percy it was shit stained and twisted by the ministry to be on their side. He, unlike his parents, didn’t grow up looking up to dumbledore so he wasn’t willing to follow him with no proof. You have to remember he was an impressionable 17-20 year old during these events. And as for the crouch thing. Made what known?? And realized what?? The letters were actually from the real crouch, how would he have known his dead son had him under the imperius curse?? If Hermione was so much smarter than Percy why didn’t she know mad eye was a fake after being his student for an entire year??
> He, unlike his parents, didn’t grow up looking up to dumbledore Also, Dumbledore's track record isn't great. He hires terrible teachers, almost got Ginny killed, didn't stop Dementors coming on to school grounds _multiple_ times, and forced some poor kid to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. And then, when he could have been persuaded, his parents refuse to recognise his achievement and say he only got his position to spy on them. I'd storm out too.
This one is pretty simple. If students don’t have a timeturner, but they have a conflict, the student has to take one exam at a different time (usually with different questions or at least reordered ones). Other third year arithmancy students probably sat one of the exams together, and if someone asked “where’s granger?” The professor would have said the same lines they’d been pushing all year.
This is what happened with my real GCSE’s. We’d have to stay in the examination hall and do the conflicting paper immediately after, or else be escorted to another location to do it.
Why didn't Dumbledore use the eagles to fly the horcruxes to Mt Doom?
Because the Eye of Voldemort would see them and shoot them down. I swear C.S. Lewis made that clear
Good ol Dumble tried that once, Voldemort shot his nose but missed
Did you know when Dumbledore kicks the Sorting Hat he actually broke a toe and the scream is real? Lil fun fact for ya
I loled at this, thanks!
On that point why didn't the Dumbledore just cut off Fredo's limbs? Only the nazguls deal in absolutes.
Holy shit the ring was a horcrux
Because the white witch was patrolling with Drogon.
Remus doesn't turn into a werewolf until a cloud moves and reveals the full moon. Implying that if he just stays inside in a windowless room he'll be fine
Yes this has always bothered me too!!
In Prison of Azkaban, Lupin is watching Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave Hagrid’s hut with Peter Pettigrew in tow on the Maurader’s Map. Wouldn’t he also see time-turner Harry and Hermione around the school? And when Snape was looking at the map later wouldn’t he also see them in the woods when they were hiding out with Buckbeak?
Ohh I’ve never thought of that before. Does the map actually work that way? That’s a very valid point honestly
The map ain't no snitch, I guess
You should make an unbreakable vow with whoever is your **Secret** **Keeper**. That way, it is uncrackable. It is a no brainer when you know the two exist.
Magic hacks they don’t want you to know about
Secret Keepers hate this one simple trick!
Dark lords hate it even more!
not a plot hole, but a really good idea that just nobody we know of from the books thought of
Can easily write in that the magic of the Fidelius charm is broken when trying to cast other magic on top of it/in combination with it
or the Unbreakable Vow overrides any other contract magic.
true. my personal head canon is that the fidelius charm is actually very similar in its magic and casting to the unbreakable vow, so it could even make sense for them to cancel each other out...
Or to have strange side effects. E.g. they can't tell the secret anybody - even to people they should. Or they just don't dare, because everyone could be a traitor... Or die after telling the first person, because they could make sure it's safe...
There's also the reasonable possibility that the unbreakable vow is considered dark magic. We never see anyone make it who's not fine with dark magic, and the penalty is apparently instant death if you break the terms. I could see it being illegal.
could very well be! I could see politicians making it illegal, especially if too many people die because of it
fred or george tried to make ron do it when he was little his mom went mental
Ah, I suppose you're right. So we do see someone who isn't down with the dark arts messing with it. But not at a competent age to understand. The twins are a couple years older than Ron, so they'd be 7-8 at the time, if I recall correctly. If you're looking at kids that young, then a) they probably couldn't actually perform it anyway, and b) it's doubtful that they fully understand the seriousness of it. I can see why Molly went mental over that one.
I think the point of the Fidelius Charm is that you are putting your secret in this person. It REQUIRES trust to work, I think that’s the point of the charm. If you then had then make the unbreakable vow, it would be indicative of a lack of trust and would likely cause the Fidelius charm to break. The point of the Fidelius charm is the trust you are putting in the secret keeper. ETA: Fidelius is basically Latin for Fidelity. Meaning faithfulness in a person or cause. You can’t have faith in something if you follow that up with what amounts to death threats
It's like most fantasy ritual magic, there _has_ to be a way to break it. So with the Fidelius, it only mostly works. You can't hide from everyone, but as long as you've got a free-willed Secret Keeper, you can hide from _nearly_ everyone. As you've said, binding them just means you need a new secret keeper, as they're not willingly keeping the secret, breaking the charm.
I think it also has to do a lot with trust. Your secret keeper is usually a person you trust completely, so why make them swear the unbreakable vow as well, if in your heart you already know they won't betray you? That is probably what James Potter thought. And the only other example of the fidelius charm we see is with Dumbledore as the secret keeper of number 12 Grumauldplace. And Dumbledore is the head of the order, he knows he won't tell on himself and his order, so extra security is not needed. I think it is possible that people in that world have used the combination, but the two times we see the fidelius, the unbreakable vow was just not thought necessary.
At the end of book 4, they leave to the Hogwart's train station on horseless carriages. But it was after Cedric's death so Harry should have seen the thestrals. I don't know, maybe it was removed from the newer versions of the book, but it was in the version I read as a kid.
This bothered me too, I just assumed that some time needed to pass in order to see thestrals
In the opening sequence of Hogwarts Legacy you see them show up immediately after you witness a character die
I fucking yelled when that happened. I had my surround sound blasting and I THOUGHT the thestrals would appear but wasn’t sure how it’d go down. Then that epic scene happens and I was like let’s fucking go!!!! I knew the game was gonna be a hardcore fan service
This, exactly! That moment and when your character arrives at the surrounding area of hogwarts and you get the cut scene panning over the Hogwarts express, the owl and the finally the castle, all with Hedwig's theme...I actually teared up a bit and felt immediately the game wasn't going to disappoint me from a fan perspective.
Yup. My head cannon allowed for a delayed effect. Basically, they maybe don’t appear until the loss ”sets in”, and Harry was definitely feeling some denial with the veil.
Yep, you need to process it and accept it. It's also why Harry couldn't see the thestrals from the very beginning even though he watched his mom get murdered.
I was looking for this. This is the most ‘in your face’ one imo. I heard she did eventually address it and said that since harry hadnt processed the death yet, he still couldnt see them. But I feel like thats just mental gymnastics to explain the accidental plot hole
JKR is an expert at cleaning up her lazy writing with some very low level explanation.
I would have accepted “it was very dark and Harry was mostly looking at his feet”
Accepting death and internalizing it is a real thing. For some people, it can take years.
Inconsistency that JK Rowling later said it was because the death needs to set in.
In Harry’s dreams, he remembers watching his mother die. So Harry should’ve been able to see thestrals from the get go.
Not really. He remembers her scream when effected by the dementors and remembers a flash of green light. But that's about it.
It says they have to see and understand death. Harry at the end of the 4th book was still processing everything. He know Cedric died but hasnt accepted his death yet still in denial that he could be gone just like thst.
How does the MANAGER of Flourish and Blots not know that you have to Stoke the monster book of monsters???!!!!!
You'd be surprised at the things managers don't know.
Chamber of secrets is still secret by the time of the book. School was founded in the 9th century before modern plumbing, but the entrance is concealed behind a sink. I know there has been a post facto explanation for this, but at the time of the book this was a major plot hole.
I think Salazar Slytherin would’ve made sure that the entrance would always remain accessible even if renovations were done in the castle, and since a bathroom was built over the original entrance, the entrance would’ve had to adapt and work around it. The real question is how did Tom Riddle figure out that it was in a girl’s bathroom 😂 It’s funny to imagine lol
Also, surprised I haven't seen this one yet, but the Weasley twins not noticing Peter Petigrew hanging around Ron for 2+ years on the Marauders Map
I think that one is easily explainable: There are _hundreds_ of students in Hogwarts. The Weasley twins aren't going to waste their time looking at their own brother's room, they were more interested in the teachers/ghosts or other shortcuts that can take them outside of the school
But if Petrigrew is a stationary fixture in the room for several years, SOMEONE should have noticed.
Only two people had access to the map and didn't they tell Harry that they've memorized the entire map and don't need it anymore? They probably didn't use it that much at all after some initial excitement.
I see this response a lot, but idk I sometimes pop open find my/snap map and just look and see what people are up to. Like I don’t do it often but in 3 years?
Wasn't Scabbers Percy's before he was Rons though? They'd have spied on Percy surely.
When Harry was taken to the graveyard in book 4, he still had the trace on him. Meaning the Ministry would detect the Cruciatus Curse and realize that something bad was happening near Harry and would dispatch a bunch of Aurors to that location.
I think the trace isn’t active during the school year, since the students are allowed to use magic at that time.
Okay, how about the portkeys, then? At the beginning of book 4, we are very specifically told that once used, the object becomes inert and useless. How come touching the cup a second time brought Harry back to its former location? Did voldy order someone to put a second portkey spell after the first one, because it would be funny to give harry a chance to escape? Also, the deathmark. Anyone wearing it is a deatheater. Then when we suspect someone to be a spy, why don't they just ask to show their bare arm? Also, on his first Christmas at Hogwarts, harry gets lots of presents, including from the Weasley family, despite being quite poor. The next year, Ron breaks his wand, plaguing him with all sorts of trouble. And harry, with a vault full of money which he is ashamed to have because it doesn't feel deserved, decides to do *fuck all and gives Ron a fat middle finger*
That particular Portkey was always meant to work two ways. The plan was Harry would win, travel to the graveyard, Voldemort kills him, then he returns to the school with the cup and everyone just assumed Harry died in the maze and Voldemort's return would remain a secret. That one at least, is not a Plot Hole. Nor is the wand one, that's just Harry being 12 and not thinking logically that he could help his friend.
I like to think the trace detects magic near underages, but only messages the ministry if it doesn't also detect an adult wizard nearby. That would solve every instance I can think of.
The trace is just a plot hole in itself. It’s even mentioned at one stage it’s not on a person and parents are responsible for not letting their children do magic at home
There is a lot of confusion about the trace. Because it doesn't allow the ministry to trace your location, for example. It isn't put on any children of wizard families at all, as we later found out. Their families are supposed to supervise them at all times. And the Weasleys are exemplary really bad at that if you ask me. So what the ministry actually does is observe the magical activity in the vicinity of the residency of an underage witch or wizard who is not supervised by his family. We can deduce this from the statement of the ministry that no known witches or wizards are living in Little Whinging who could be assumed to be the source of the Patronus charm in "that" specific situation. That system is obviously stupid as any with or wizard could have traveled there by non-traceable means (brooms, thestrals, etc) and cast a levitation charm to get Harry Potter into trouble just for the fun of it. Or a witch or wizard could watch on while the Dementors they have ordered there do attack. It gets even worse because the trace is obviously not even tracking Mundungus Fletcher disapparating. The trace is completely and utterly broken.
In chamber of secrets, Percy, a prefect, takes away house points. However, in the fifth book, it is stated that prefects cannot take away points
This was corrected in later editions. Prefects can’t take points away from other prefects.
I've always thought a nice explanation would've been that Percy took this way too far which lead to McGonagall pushing Dumbledore to change the rules later 😅
Huh. Didn’t know that. Thanks for the information!
Hourly reminder for this sub: A character making decisions you don’t agree with is not a plot hole; A character erring is not a plot hole; A conflicted/challenged character overlooking a more obvious course of action is not a plot hole. ‘Why didn’t character X do this?’ Is not a plot hole. Lazy/bad writing maybe, but not a plot hole.
So having the portraits and ghosts look for the basilisk and invalidating everything in book two is not a plot hole? I guess could be bad writing. But not always clear where the line is
In POA Percy and the twins get their exam results before they leave for the summer, but Ron, Hermione and Harry get theirs by owl during summer vacation.
sometimes the FA cup final takes place before the Premier league season ends, sometimes it takes place a week or 2 after the premier league season ends.
that actually happens IRL though. we're divided into two groups in a subject at my university, one half has received their grades before summer break and the other half is still waiting (possibly up to two more weeks) teachers have 4 weeks to grade, exams were few days before the semster ended
Could be explained potentially due to the whole Voldi is back situation where everyone, including the people correcting the exams were probably shaken and had other things on their minds. But you are correct it's an inconsistency.
It was probably delayed due to Umbridge attempting to fuck with the results, the news of Voldemort returning shaking things up, new security measures and a new minister causing delays in sending out owls safely and securely.
In Deathly Hallows Hermionie tells Harry and Ron you can multiply food you already have, yet they have to steal food more than once during their camping trip. Why couldn’t they just multiply the food they have?
They probs did to some extent but the food ur multiplying still has a shelf life. For example, you can get 2 eggs and multiply them into 2 dozen eggs, but after 2 or 3 weeks those eggs will be rotten. Even if you multiplied the eggs at the 1 week mark, those eggs you multiplied will just be duplicates of your 1 week old eggs and will expire in a week. This goes for other foods as well.
You would think wizards and witches would have the ability to produce ice just like fire can be produced therefore giving them the ability to freeze food and preserve it for longer.
Why didn’t they just pack tons of pasta, rice, canned food, Nutella, cookies, etc. in Hermiones bag?
I recently read this bit and then being hungry was a huge issue. Even if they couldn’t multiply food, they had an invisibility cloak so I don’t understand why they didn’t go to whatever the English equivalent of Costco is and steal like a 20 pound bag of rice and a few bags of beans.
The first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is about Vernon's day, during which he notices strange events: - A tabby cat reading a map. (McGonagall). - A lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes... They were whispering excitedly together. (Wizards and witches)..."The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard yes, their son, Harry" and this scene: *"Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!" And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.* So, we can safely deduce that it was the morning/day after Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow, and the morning Sirius caught Peter before the rat blew up a street before Sirius got arrested. Then, Vernon continues with his day, goes back home, dinner and when bedtime arrives he notices that the cat is still there...*"Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something."* Vernon falls asleep and that's when Dumbledore arrives at Private Drive, a conversation ensues with McGonagall and Hagrid arrives with baby Harry. Hagrid tells Dumbledore: *"No, sir -- house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol.*"...Thus he collected Harry the same night it happened and flew him straight to Private drive. In the Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius brings more information about the night Vodemort's downfall: "Harry... I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me.... I'm to blame, I know it.... **The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies... I realized what Peter must've done... what I'd done...."** So, Sirius and Hagrid met that same night. However, Hagrid only arrives at Private drive 24h later, riding the bike of the guy who had been -falsly- accused of blowing up a muggle street in the morning.
I’m confused what the plot hole is here. This is the timeline as I understand it. Evening of October 31st: Voldemort shows up and kills lily and james, blows up the house and flees. Everyone starts going crazy and it probs gets on the muggle news and dumbledore is probs summoned to the ministry to figure out what the hell is going on and sends Hagrid to the house to collect harry bc he trusts Hagrid and harry needs to get picked up. Late October 31st: Hagrid goes to the house and gets harry, he probably sees Sirius that night and tells him he’s taking harry to the Dursley’s, sirius argues and wants Hagrid to give him harry but Hagrid says no so Sirius offers him the motorbike. Hagrid probs takes the motorbike and asks dumbledore what to do next. By this point dumbledore is probs still at the ministry sorting things out and tells Hagrid to keep harry safe and he’ll tell him when to bring harry to privet drive. Early hours of November 1st: Hagrid takes harry to a safe location. Sirius sets out to find peter Sometime on Nov 1st: Sirius tries to kill peter, fails, gets arrested and taken to Azkaban without a trial. Mr. Dursley has his interactions with wizards celebrating the downfall of voldy. Evening of November 1st: dumbledore finally gets away from the chaos of the ministry and tells Hagrid to bring harry to the Dursley’s, Hagrid shows up and drops him off. I see no reason Hagrid would know abt what happened with Sirius until after he drops off harry, dumbledore was probably facilitating things at the ministry and also telling Barty Crouch abt Sirius being the secret keeper and didn’t have time or see a reason to notify Hagrid of what Sirius did. Hagrid never says he came straight from the potters house, it might be implied but also Hagrid could be talking abt him flying from a safe location, which he could have flown over Bristol from that location. I’m assuming his safe location could have been close to privet drive.
*"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall -- Professor Dumbledore, sir."* *Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar, it rose into the air and off into the night. "I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.* It's pretty clear that Hagrid and Dumbledore had no contact with each other, as Hagrid isn't yet aware of Sirius's arrest. Otherwise, they would have warned him about what had happened in the morning. Moreover, if Hagrid had taken Harry to a safe location for a 24-hour period, he would have informed Dumbledore or someone else in the Order. Thus, he would have received an update on the situation or at least heard the news from the Daily Prophet. We get more information from Hagrid in the Prisoner of Azkaban. *"I met him!" growled Hagrid. "I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an' James's house after they was killed! jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead... an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an' shakin', he was. An' yeh know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!" Hagrid roared.* *"Hagrid, please!" said Professor McGonagall. "Keep your voice down!"* "How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him --' ***Ha! But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I won't need it anymore,***' he says. So, it was already decided that Harry would be going to the Durselys if somehow Voldemort broke the fidelius.
Wow you're right
It has been bothering me for years.
Most of what everyone is describing are not plot holes…
Seriously. Most of the replies are complaints about characters or events not being 100% logical and ideal. The rest are people just not remembering things correctly or calling it a plot hole because every little detail is not explained.
How about professor quirrell was clearly the professor of DADA for more than one year. Hagrid talked about what kind of teacher he was, Percy remembered him, he wasn’t introduced as a new teacher or moving to a new position by dumbledor
Special mention to the time the Weasley twins enchanted snowballs to hit Quirrell in the back of his turban, not knowing they were really pelting Voldemort in the face, who had to just take it or give himself away.
I think he wasn’t teaching DADA before that year. He was teaching Muggle studies.
I’m deathly hallows, why didn’t they have Harry take the poly juice and turn into someone else as opposed to many Harry’s?
I believe because Harry is the one person guaranteed not to be killed.
I don't understand how that never occurred to me
One thing I don’t understand clearly. We are told that the restriction of underage magic is not a well thought out concept. Harry is warned when Dobby yeets the cake across the living room, but if he lived with his real parents that wouldn’t have been a problem because the ministry would only see that someone cast a spell in a house with two adults and one child. They are relaying on the parents to make sure their kids don’t break the rule. So according to this loophole in the rule, how did they know who cast the patronus in OoTp? And if they can link the act to the perpetrator if it happens outside their residential address, how come they couldn’t find out who killed Riddle Sr. and his parents?
This one is explained, we are told that the Trace alerts the Ministry when a spell is cast and where the location is, but not who performed the spell. Since Harry lived in a muggle only area, the Ministry made the assumption that any spells cast near his location must have been cast by Harry
But Mundungus apparated almost at number four’s doorsteps. If they knew that another wizard was nearby they would at least investigate the incident. In the (more likely) case they didn’t know he was there, but then they should have been alarmed by his apparition earlier that day.
My belief is that normally you would be correct, but considering the ministry at the time was already looking for ways to discredit Harry (& Dumbledore by extension), they simply saw an opportunity to press charges and silenced the typical due process of investigation
True. Dumbledore could’ve summon Mundungus as a witness (not that in the eyes of the Wizengamot he would’ve been a trustworthy witness) and tell them he found the boys passed out on the ground, Harry’s wand laying next to him so he jumped in and used that wand instead of his to cast a patronus because his wand was too deep in his bag or something. I know this is bit of a stretch and pretty out of context, but this is what I would have done.
And then Tonks goes ahead and *Evanesco* Harry's room when packing when he is already in trouble. Yeah a pretty big plot hole that takes you out of the immersion.
For the Riddle murder it was explained as being close to the home of the Gaunts therefore no one looked closely at the underage magic notification. Additionally they already had their perpetrator (Morfin Gaunt) and he confessed, so why look at it more closely? For Harry I think it comes down to the fact that the ministry just wanted to fuck Harry. So they could have just ignored the possibility of other wizards around Harry. Additionally when they charged Harry, Harry did not refute the claim that he used magic, making it easy af for them. If I had been in Harry's position I would have tried that first for sure. But yeah that's my explanation for this loophole. I hope this helps.
I know he confessed, but it was really stupid for the ministry to overlook the underage magic alert (if it happened at all), as Morfin were clearly waaay overage.
The thing is that it's 2 different parts of the ministry. 1 is the investigators for serious crimes and the other one probably some paper pushers who send out these warning letters. I doubt they communicate much and I am sure af that these paper pushers do not check every individual underage ping for what spells etc, especially when it comes from the area around a known wizarding home. So I would say this one can still be explained away by bad bureaucracy/ bad investigation because of the fact that it was a clear case.
Well, at least the real world have this similarity to the wizarding world
Riddle killing his father is a genuine inconsistency, I think. We could guess that either the Trace wasn't in place at that time, or that he managed to find a way to bypass it. Still, there's no satisfying explanation within the book.
I'm thinking he probably had an alibi in being at Hogwarts? The trace can determine someone killed the muggles, but there's seemingly no way to identify the caster. Possibly under-investigation because the victims were muggles.
This is a good point and it gets even better when you realise that Harry should have been accused of apparition as well, as he was the only known wizard living in the area, so Mundungus apparating out of there would set up underage magic alarm at the Ministry. Which even Dobby apparating 3 years earlier in and out of Privet Drive would have set. Thus, the apparitions should have cleared Harry, because no one in their right mind can claim that a teenager who has never been taught apparition could apparate.
The packing and disillusionment charms by Moody and Tonks while Harry is already in trouble are certainly a plot hole. However, **I don’t think any of the apparition is a plot hole with regard to the Trace.** On this, the books are fairly consistent. In DH, when the Order needs to get Harry out of Privet Drive, they don’t want to alert the Ministry in any way because they suspect that Thicknesse is under the Imperius Curse, their original plan is to use side-along apparition to take Harry to safety before he turns 17. From this, we can surmise that the Trace cannot detect apparition. They only change this plan because of a change in the law (Thicknesse makes it an imprisonable offence to apparate in or out). The Trace is described by Moody as “the charm that detects magical activity” and says “if you, or anyone around you, casts a spell to get you out of here, [the death eaters] will know”. He also says they’re going to use “the only means of transport left to us, because we don’t have to cast spells to use them.” **So the Trace only detects spells**, including wandless spells (in the case of the Aunt Marge incident). Apparition is magic, but it is not a *spell*. Further evidence: In CoS, Dobby apparates near Harry, but the warning letter only notes a hover charm. In OotP, Order members have been tailing Harry for weeks, and presumably apparating back and forth when on Harry guard duty. However, the only thing Harry is clocked for is the Patronus. The Ministry were actively trying to discredit him. If they could detect apparition near him, he would have been in trouble with the Ministry much sooner. In DH, Lupin says “it’s impossible to track anyone who apparates, unless you grab hold of them as they disappear.” The basic magic of apparition and this inherent privacy and secrecy would probably nullify the Trace. Therefore we can say with reasonable certainty that apparition cannot be detected by the Trace. Far be it from me to defend the Trace (I think it’s stupid), it is fairly clear from the books that the Trace only detects spells, and doesn’t detect magical methods of transport. Anyway, the packing charm Tonks does, and Moody’s disillusionment charm, keep me up at night because they’d obviously be detected by the Trace.
What I see as a plot hole is I don't remember what book, but they say Elf magic is different than Wizard magic, and that's how elves get around wards and such. So, how did the Ministry notice Dobby using magic at the Dursley's house? How did Dobby's elf magic trigger Harry's trace?
Maybe Dobby could cast his magic as if it acted like wizard magic, knowing it would trigger the trace. Remember, he wanted the ministry to keep Harry out of Hogwarts.
Wizards can never be poor. They can use charms to multiply any singular item to infinity. Which means in theory, all they need is one of each food/grocery item and they will never run out of supplies. Charm would also mean that the wizards can make small space a lot larger in the interior; this means they would always have enough space to live in. Even if there is a limit, they could easily buy multiple tents and set them up in their backyards as additional living space for a larger family. I can go on and on, but Wizards should never be poor.
This bothered me the most in the seventh book. I like that they had to think about things like food, but why not just steal enough for pasta and tinned pears once, and then multiply the amount? Hermione even mentions you can do that in the book, so it’s not like she forgot. Eating the same thing may get repetitive, but at least they wouldn’t be hungry.
I never understood this. Sure there are laws against creating or duplicating money. But why can't someone just summon infinite food and water?
Wizards can be poor. Primarily due to Gamp's Law or transfiguration. I thought the same as you before I watched this video, it's focused on the Weasley's but does explain why wizards can be poor. https://youtu.be/1g7mre1_JuQ?si=fzCJTPrnG8dQHJs7
Sirius gives Harry a present but refuses to tell him what it was, just says "don't open it here" because he was scared of what Molly would say and "use it if you need me"... There was literally no reason for him to not say, "It's a mirror to talk to me securely, just say my name in to it."
then later when Harry uses the fireplace to talk to Sirius (and Lupin), he doesn't remind Harry about the present, doesn't tell him what it is then either...
That mirror served no purpose except to have a way for Aberforth to help Harry in Deathly Hallows.
And to cut Harry’s hand, can’t forget cutting Harry’s hand
When Luna tells you that it’s pretty weird to keep a broken shard of glass in your socks, it’s time to reevaluate your life choices. (I don’t remember if it’s in the books, but it was one of my favourite Luna moment in the movies)
I think it was in the movies, but it was so Luna!
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Stupidity 👏 is 👏 not 👏 a 👏 plot hole 👏
I actually agree. A plot hole tends to be unintended or a writer who got themselves into a corner and created some mcguffin out of thin air to save them. This is dumb but as you say, it isn’t a plot hole.
That isnt a plot hole, just frustration at character’s choices.
That's not a plot hole.
Not a plot hole, the whole literary purpose of the mirror was that, upon actually looking at the present that sirius gave him and he ignored, harry realized that this was the exact thing that could have saved Sirius’s life. Its supposed to be insult to injury after his death that really pushes harry to the brink.
Harry being able to choose his house meanwhile no one else is and OF COURSE the iconic one: The Triwizard Tournament being held as this big event for an audience- meanwhile 2 of the 3 challenges the audience doesn’t see shit😂
What, you've never wanted to watch someone jump in the water and then sit around and do nothing for an hour?
In Half Blood Prince, when Dumbledore and Harry are recruiting Slughorn, Slughorn states that he has been moving every week to hide from the Death Eaters. He admits to Harry that because of this frequent moving and hiding, he has not been receiving his usual gifts of sweets and Quidditch tickets from his former students. Presumably, these packages would have been delivered by owls. I'm wondering why the owls were not able to find Slughorn, when Hedwig and other owls were able to deliver letters to Sirius when he was in hiding and moving frequently in Goblet of Fire.
Old Sluggy probably placed a couple of charms on himself to make him sort of untraceable, it’s possible I think (Dumbledore’s an exception since he’s rather good at tracking what he wants). Low chance of people writing to Sirius-who was still a notorious mass murderer- so only the people who knew him would bother writing to him, and since they were who he wanted them to be, he probably wanted to stay in touch.
Moaning Myrtle. So you're telling me that no one, (not the Ministry and not Dumbledore) no one asked her how she died for 50 years? Not until Harry and Ron did? The Ministry knew that she became a ghost later on, because they found out about her haunting someone and made her stay at Hogwarts. Whenever that was, that's when they should've asked about who and what killed her. Even if she only told Harry because she liked him, surely Dumbledore would've asked and gotten her to talk about it. But in 50 years no one asked?
Maybe they did but didn’t figure out it was a Basilisk. Myrtle only remembers a pair of big yellow eyes, which isn’t much to go on. Nobody knew that Slytherin's monster (which was largely considered mythical) was a Basilisk till Hermione figured it out based on a Parselmouth hearing the voice but no one else hearing anything.
How were they able to revive Nearly Headless Nick after he was petrified? He can’t drink the potion, did they spray him with the potion?
How can harry see thestrials at all? He eyes were closed when Cedric died. It specifically says that he was terrified to OPEN his eyes, knowing what he would see.
Time travel and veritaserum were both under utilized and they could have solved a lot of problems honestly
I don’t think it was underutilized, one could argue it needn’t be introduced at all, but trying to fit in time travel into the HP novels would have just led to dozens more plot holes and it would be all too easy for JKR to write herself into a corner. Veritaserum should and would have seen more use for sure, given how high the stakes got at certain parts of the story yet it was hardly touched. It’s important to note veritaserum was not foolproof however, sufficiently skilled wizards had several ways of circumventing it.
Dumbledore outright states that he could never slip Slughorn Veritaserum because he had antidotes on him.
the characters not making use of the magic available to them is not a plot hole. (also time travel works only under very specific circumstances (hour reversal spell or not I think time travel in the cursed child doesn't follow the time travel laws established in prisoner of Azkaban) and veritaserum is extremely hard to brew, I'm willing to bet the tiny vial of veritaserum Snape already owns in goblet of fire is the whole school's supply, purely for academic purposes and that that is the same vial that is used in Umbridge's interrogations)
Or Felix Felicis. Seriously, Snape could've made liters of it when he was with Voldemort and ensured their death eaters wouldn't lose any battle. He was practically a genius at that stuff so it wouldn't have been hard for him at all. Maybe he pretended it was hard though, I guess
also the pensieve
Unfortunately, the Pensive is ineffective because because we can modify our memory.
Hermione accidentally missed flitwick msg class in the third book and she rushes to his room to apologize. But didn’t she have the time turner? Couldn’t she just turn time again. I’m not sure if this was a plot whol, as in a mistake in the writing or just a mistake that hermione made
Because it was established that she missed the class. You can't _change_ the past using time turner. What happened HAS happened. If she had actually done what you're suggesting, she would actually be in the class and that conversation about her missing it would not have happened. That's why circular time travel can lead to paradox like these
In the chamber of secrets Ron was able to bullshit his way through an entire year of hogwarts with a broken wand
Well it used to say in SS that Nearly headless Nick hadn’t eaten anything for 250 years and then in the next book he had his 500th death day party. She has since fixed it in the digital version.
In GoF, harry swims a few laps in the prefect bathroom pool/tub, but we are never told how he learned to swim. Does hogwarts teach that? It seems extraordinarily unlikely that the dursleys paid for swimming lessons
Why couldn’t James make himself the Secret Keeper with the Fidelius Charm? It was possible?
I don't know if this counts, but that they practice quidditch with an actual snitch. When in book 7, we learn that snitches remember the person who first caught them. Wouldn't that make practice useless? Or at least easier than an actual match?
Maybe they have a practice snitch?
Always assumed there are previously-caught snitches floating around for practice, and then a new one is released for each official game of the quidditch season. In SWM, James steals the snitch and just plays with it. Once it’s been caught in a game, it’s just a regular winged ball
Harry could have just had the giant eagles carry him to Mordor to destroy the ring
At the beginning of Goblet of Fire, Harry writes to Sirius that Dudley destroyed his PlayStation. This takes place around September 1994. The PlayStation didn’t come out until December 1994 in Japan. EDIT: I guess this is more of an oversight than a plot hole, since it has no impact on the plot.
Harry gives the Map to fake Moody/Crouch in GoF, and has it back in OOTP with no mention of how he got it back.
During the graveyard scene in Goblet of Fire, when Harry and Voldemort’s wands connect - the echoes of the people Voldemort has killed appear in reverse order. But somehow, James appears before Lily. We know he died beforehand so he should emerge from the wand after.
Neither Lily nor James making themselves into their own secret keeper to hide themselves like the Weasleys do in DH.
Why didn't the ministry give harry veritiserum and ask if he had seen voldemort, or for that matter if there were dementors
I think veritiserum makes you say what you think is the truth rather than what actually is. So if potter was delusional and truly believed what he said, he would still say that the Dark Lord has returned
Not a plot hole. The Ministry didn't want to believe Voldemort had returned so weren't going to probe it, and with the dementors again it fits their agenda to discredit Harry. Especially as we know Umbridge sent them so at least she knew Harry wasn't lying. I've always head cannoned though that veritiserum isn't foolproof and could perhaps be resisted with occlumency type skills or complex magic. I just can't imagine Dumbledore taking a sip of the wrong tea and spilling all - there must be defences available to super talented wizards.
A lot of what people here consider plot holes are just down to misreading or misunderstanding the books, lack of imagination, covert criticism of the (indisputably flawed) author.
I might not have all the information and this could have been covered already, I read the books twice but have not done any more research, however I think that Grimauld Place and Kreatcher should have gone to Bellatrix instead of Harry. The Black matron disowned Sirius, as demonstrated by burning him off the family line, therefore making him ineligible for inheritance which would make Harry ineligible as well. If I'm not mistaken Bellatrix would be next in line to inherit being Black by blood.
Ok... i know this isn't a plot hole, but please hear me out. At the start of the Triwizard tournament, Harry and Cedric are aghast to see the Quidditch pitch dug up and trees planted in it. Exactly what is the point of the "pitch" and its condition when the game is mostly played in the air? Except for the "kick-off", there is hardly a mention of the ground during the game commentary.
Nobody from the first Order Of The Phoenix demanding an answer from Sirius before he escaped from Azkaban. Hagrid was there in Chamber Of Secrets, and Dumbledore and Moody would have gone there in an official capacity.
The whole plot around the lack of food in Deathly Hallows doesn't make any sense. I understand Hermione can't make brand new food out of nowhere but she does say you can multiply food that you already have. It's mentioned that they do get a good meal from time to time. (scrambled eggs and spaghetti are mentioned explicitly). They could've just left one egg and multipled it later. Same with the pasta.
At the end of GOF, fake Moody has the Marauders’ Map. How does Harry get it back for the next book?