Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Harry Potter question (spoiler ahead)

O.k., I couldn't figure out a way to ask this SPOILERIFIC question without posting my question on a message board of some sort... The spoiler is in the link in the next paragraph. (I posted the question on a Leaky Cauldron message board.)

I was coming home after working ten hours and had this thought.

I think I'm thinking too much... :)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

SPOILERS
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Ah. The old "get-Harry-to-touch-a portkey" problem. There's also the "why-didn't-Barty Crouch Jr.-just-hand-Harry-a-portkey" problem.

People have been asking that since GoF.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portkey#Portkeys):

It has been noted by some fans that the simplicity with which Portkeys are created in the beginning of the fourth book (as a method for transportation to the Quidditch World Cup) and in the fifth book causes a possible plot hole in the fourth book: Crouch, posing as Moody, could have turned, say, a book, into a Portkey, called Harry into his office, and said, "Here, take this." This would have eliminated the need for Moody's entering Harry in the Triwizard tournament and guiding Harry through it, and the majority of the fourth book."

Most of the responses to that are that the Cup was given special dispensation to be a portkey inside Hogwarts grounds because it was originally intended to transport the winner outside of the maze. Crouch Jr. simply reprogrammed it to go to the graveyard, but it obeyed it's original programming to take Harry back to Hogwarts grounds after the duel.

Other common responses are that portkeys are timed, and so aren't useful as a spontaneous spell (weapon). Also, we don't know how long an object remains a portkey. This may be why Nagini was there as a weapon herself rather than having a portkey to transport Harry. No one knew when Harry would show up.

Anonymous said...

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