Time Turner & Marauder's Map, Lupin, Moody

[Elizabeth Dalton]

No: HPFGUIDX 31578

I've seen at least one question come up this month about whether Snape or Lupin
should have noticed the presence of two Harrys and Hermiones on the Marauder's
Map. Never mind how Lupin could have failed to notice Peter Pettigrew hanging
out at Hagrid's Hut all that time (surely the hut is as close to the castle as
the Whomping Willow), or how the Trio could have missed Rita Skeeter buzzing
about. I have a possible theory to present:

The Marauder's Map, while an amazing achievement (especially for a bunch of
school kids working in secret) is not perfect. It has, in fact, errors in
"programming" similar to that famous surprise element in "Jurassic Park": it can
only track the expected. Specifically, there are two bugs:

1 - It notices new beings coming into the boundaries of its domain, *if they are
human*. It doesn't notice animagi in animal form wandering in (until they
transform). It *may* notice them if they come into contact with a human it is
already tracking. That's how it finally caught Peter. (This is very weak, I
know. But someone should have noticed Sirius creeping about, otherwise, in
addition to Peter, Rita, and who knows who else.)

Flaw: It notices Mrs. Norris. But this may argue for her formerly human
existance. I'm not saying she's an animagus: she could be a permanently
transformed human. (Though it would be more useful to Filch if she's all or part
kneazle, actually.) Or maybe the Marauders specifically included her... Lupin
knew Filch had confiscated the map. How long has Filch been there, and how old
is Mrs. Norris? Older than your average cat, perhaps?

2 - It can only track one of each person. It simply won't track two. Not
designed for it. (This is the "Jurassic Park"-like bug.)

I see no obvious flaw in this one. We'll have to wait for more canon to see if
it's contradicted. And that would require JKR to re-introduce the Time Turner.
Which I sort of hope she doesn't, but she's re-introduced most "gadgets" that
we've seen, with the notable exception of the Put-Outer. She'll have to be very
careful with the Time Turner to keep my respect, though.

Speaking of the Time Turner, why was Hermione allowed to have this thing in the
first place? Sure, she's a top student, and wanted to take all those classes,
but she's still only a kid, and the consequences for botching its use are pretty
bad. Dumbledore stresses this point before he sends Harry and Hermione off to
rescue Buckbeak and Sirius. I have a feeling it's not limited to goofs when you
see yourself. I think there's a possibility to really mess up reality. Not to
mention the fact that a time-manipulating device is generally considered a cheap
trick in SF. Sure, JKR tries to work it into the plot by showing the
consequences of Hermione working herself to death (too many hours in her day,
not enough meals or sleep), and that gives her a good reason to take it away
from the Trio at the end, but the ending of PoA is yet another
Dumbledore-ex-Machina, nonetheless. Why include the Time Turner at all? Is JKR
slipping, or does she have a deeper purpose?  Here's my theory:

Dumbledore thinks they're going to need the Time Turner in the battle against
Voldemort. But it takes someone with a lot of practice to use one well and
(relatively) safely. When Hermione made her request, he approved it, assuming
that she'd use it without getting into too much trouble, that she'd correctly
figure out it was a bad idea to use it regularly, and that she'd hand it back in
by the end of the year. But, he also knew that this experience would train her
in using it correctly, so that in the future, when they have to use it to do
something *really* important (even more important than saving Sirius and
Buckbeak), she'll know just how to do it.

FWIW, I think this is the same reason he sends Harry the invisibility cloak, and
this is also why he lets Harry keep the Marauder's Map. (He *must* know about
that.) Harry and his generation are going to need all the clever tricks they can
get, to beat Voldemort. Dumbledore puts the tools in their hands, and gives them
room to figure out how to use them, against increasingly difficult opponents.
(But I still think Dumbledore was somehow surprised when Harry got yoinked out
of the final Task in GoF. Beats me how Dumbledore missed the prize cup being a
portkey, but he did.)

--

As an appendix to my "all things Lupin" post, I think Lupin probably should have
figured out someone was listening in at the Shrieking Shack, but he was, you
must admit, distracted by a number of other concerns, one of which might easily
have been that he knew darn well that he hadn't had his potion yet, and he was
trying hard to get the rest of that scene wrapped up before the moon rose. (My
theory on the moon thing is that it's exposure to the rays of moonlight, not the
sight of the moon, that cause the change. It doesn't make any "scientific"
sense, but it fits the "facts" in canon as well as anything else I've heard.)

Regarding H/MM: LOL, that's the funniest SHIPPING thread I've ever read.
Absolutely appalling, too. (Poor Hermione, to find out the man she pines for was
really an impostor! Perhaps this is why she eventually falls for Voldemort-- had
her first romance with a Dark wizard, and decides she wants more!) At least it's
new. I guess that's what I dislike about the other SHIP threads.

But on to Moody in canon, or rather, Crouch/Moody. I'm re-reading GoF now, and
marvelling at what a consumate actor Crouch the Younger is. He displays his real
emotions, disguising them as Moody's-- this is, in my mind, how he's able to
fool Dumbledore and the others. He's just finished bouncing Draco around as a
ferret, and snarling at him about his dad. In retrospect, of *course* he hates
Lucius Malfoy. Another Death Eater who Walked, as he remarks later to Harry
about Snape. Speaking of whom, Snape *expects* Moody to loathe him, though he
should probably be a bit more suspicious that Dumbledore lets Moody search his
office. Perhaps Moody should know why Dumbledore trusts Snape, but Crouch
doesn't? Crouch still manages to bluff past Snape on this occasion, though.

I think we're lucky Fudge had the Dementors Kiss Crouch, because he's way more
intelligent (and dangerous) than we've seen Voldemort be so far. I just hope
that was a real Dementor... How easy would it be for a Dark wizard to fake the
Dementor chill and depression? I bet it would be a lot easier for Crouch to
escape from Mungo's than from Azkaban again.

Elizabeth
(Who wonders if Crookshanks is interested in older women-- er, felines-- namely,
Mrs. Norris. Poor Minerva, possibly spurned again....)