Two Paradoxes that make my head swim...

[dorband at uwp.edu]

No: HPFGUIDX 17667

Hi all,

I'm struggling with two instances that I just can't seem to come to 
grips with...help me:

Paradox #1

In CoS, Tom Marvelo Riddle materializes as a (seemingly) real 
corporeal being, a true physical entity; not just an apparition or a 
spirit or ghost, but real, live (?) being.  Is that the general 
impression?  It is for me; anyway, if Riddle had been successful in 
loosing the basilisk to terrorize Hogwarts and its residents, 
eventually conquering or running off everyone, allowing Riddle - the 
one from the diary - to reign supreme, wouldn't we then have Voldemort 
and Riddle - two separate entities?  

We don't get the impression that Riddle (from the diary) is aware of 
V's exploits, since he had to get briefed by Harry regarding their (V 
and Harry's) encounter; and V isn't aware of Harry's encounter with 
Riddle (that I recall), so they seem to exist independent of one 
another...so I can't get past the notion that if Riddle had 
successfully captured Hogwarts, and V was still in existence, albeit a 
mere shadow of his former self - but hellbent on rejuvenating, 
wouldn't that be the equivalent of 2 Voldemorts in existence 
simultaneously?  Is that OK in the Wizarding world?  Perhaps part of 
Voldmort's dark powers - the ability to incorporate as multiple 
entities?


Paradox #2

The nature and implications of the time-turner has always given me 
fits.  When Harry is about to be kissed by the dementors in PoA, he 
sees who he thinks is his father and is saved by the patronus; of 
course this turns out to be Harry himself after utilizing the 
time-turner with Hermione.  Harry tells Hermione that he knew he could 
cast a patronus because he recognizes that HE was the one who had 
already done it, not his father.  Now as he recognizes this, he is in 
the past via the time-turner; he is effectively remembering an event 
from the future...you see why this is vexing me?  Now we have 
something that is borderline predestiny - present-time Harry was saved 
by time-turned Harry, but only because time-turned Harry recognizes 
that he was capable of casting a patronus since that's what saved 
present-time Harry in the first place, and he must have been the one 
to do it.  So time-turned Harry was predestined to "be there" when 
present-time Harry needed to be saved, even though that had nothing to 
do with the reason they used the time-turner.  Clearly, timed-turned 
Harry's intervention in saving present-time Harry will have future 
implications (after all, Harry was saved from the dementor's kiss, so 
he would surely have been a goner, and the future of every wizard 
would be affected), and doesn't that violate some rule of time travel?


If any of you have made it this far through this confused and 
inarticulate post, I salute you; but can anybody offer me a more 
satisfactory understanding of these two scenes?  Or do we just not 
know enough about the dynamics of time-turning?  Or, hey, this is HP's 
world, and anything can happen (I can live with that, by the way <g>).

Any takers?


Brian