[HPforGrownups] Free Will and Time travel

[Jinx]

No: HPFGUIDX 1322


 I was struck by the fact that there seem to be two approaches to
> time travel:  the "one person can make a difference" approach shown
through
> Early Edition, and Quantum Leap, and then what I call the "Prime Directive
> approach" (i.e. we can't change the past, because it will have all kinds
of
> unwanted repurcussions, and if we do meddle with the past, it should only
be
> to change the damage we have done by meddling with it in the first place.
> This second one seems to be pretty common, though the only example I can
think
> of right away is "Back to the Future".  When I first started thinking
about
> this, I felt that PoA falls into the first camp, because obviously H&H are
> setting out to change the previous course of events.  (thus fitting in
with
> what has been said about free will and our actions defining us).  BUT both
> Hermione and Dumbledore realize the repurcussions of this course of action
and
> try to minimize its effect.  So maybe it's really somewhere in between.

Actually, I think HP falls more into the second category.  Remember
Hermione's insistence that she and Harry can't change time - they can only
do what really did happen in their past reality.  Thus they can steal
Buckbeak and rescue Sirius, because that happened before they travelled
back.  Also Harry can produce that Patronus because his past self had
already seen it happen.  BUT they can't take back the Invisibility Cloak and
stop Snape going to the Shrieking Shack because they've seen him go there
already and preventing it would screw time up.

Are you still with me?

Jinx