[HPforGrownups] Re: A Portkey Question ....

[Amanda Lewanski]

No: HPFGUIDX 23145

caliburncy at yahoo.com wrote:

> First off, since you all won't recognize my name, yes, I'm new here
> (typical newbie intro, no doubt)

There's another way to say it?

> --so greetings to all!

Welcome!

> My only issue with the "you can choose whether or not to put it on a
> timer" theory espoused by some of the other repliers to this post is
> that Arthur Weasley in GoF, Chapter 6 says portkeys are "objects that
> are used to transport wizards from one spot to another at a
> prearranged time."  He says this as though it is an INHERENT (is there
> a code to do italics for emphasis here?) property of portkeys not a
> convenient feature to use in some instances but not others.  I realize
> it doesn't specifically gainsay the idea, but it does seem like an
> inconsistency to me.  Thoughts anyone?

Good point. Lesseee...I was going to say that an explanation while
walking swiftly toward a high point might be somewhat incomplete, but
scanning the passage, Arthur Weasley is anything but out of breath or
brief. So here's my theory:

Portkeys are not real common. They can't be, because they are a
tremendous danger--they are a magic object that a Muggle can use.
They're probably controlled. Production of Portkeys is probably only
done on an organized basis, for large events like the World Cup, and
done by MoM wizards. So, it may well be that the only Portkeys that
Arthur Weasley has come into contact with are the ones triggered by
time, not by touch, and he's generalizing based on incomplete knowledge.

It's been established that Crouch Jr. was a pretty potent wizard (or at
least had been taught the necessary potent spells), because he himself
pointed out the level of magic necessary to fool the Cup and enter Harry
in the tournament. So I'm betting that Portkeys are rare, hard to make,
and not many wizards know the spell can have a different trigger than
time, or else the Hogwarts students would have much less of a hassle
getting to and from school than they do.

An alternate, much more mundane but also more likely explanation, is
that if Arthur Weasley had gone into all the details of Portkeys,
explaining different types of trigger, it would be a Very Big Plot
Mistake and JKR chose to have Arthur's knowledge be limited or his
explanation be a thumbnail.

--Amanda, who devoutly hopes to encounter NO portkeys and NO polyjuice
potion in book 5, maybe book 6


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