[HPforGrownups] Marauder's Map: Getting Your Name in Print

[Whirdy at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 31618

In a message dated 12/14/01 11:03:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
Elizabeth.Dalton at EAST.SUN.COM writes:

<< 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.)
  >>

However, in PoA, when FG give the map to Harry and swore they were up to no 
good, Harry noticed the tiny ink dots, each labeled with a name in miniscule 
writing.  Later H pulled out the map again and saw, to his astonishment, that 
a new ink figure had appeared upon it, labeled Harry Potter.

Where was he before?  And the even bigger question is: is the Marauder's Map 
a time device, for H could see what he was going to do (or just what he 
"should" do) in the future.  Now is that the immediate future or is there 
some internal restriction like the number of turns given the Time Turner.

Talk about existentialism - here H does not exist in the present, he has no 
past, but only the future.

whirdy