Do Moody's Eye and Dumbledore Really See thru Cloaks? (WAS: Invisibility Cloaks)

[erisedstraeh2002 <erisedstraeh2002@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 49033

Susan Atherton asked:

> So do the same old laws of physics that bind the rest of us bind 
> someone wearing a Cloak? If they can be felt and touched, they 
> obviously don't disappear, they are just concealed. So do they cast 
> a shadow? And if, as I suspect, they do, why doesn't anyone notice?!

Now me:

While canon doesn't reference whether or not a shadow is seen, I 
would suspect it's not, since there's no visible body to cast one.  
However, in Ch. 21 of PoA, Harry "watched the grass flatten in 
patches all around the cabin and heard three pairs of feet 
retreating."  So the Cloak doesn't stop the sound or impression of 
your footsteps. So, presumably, if someone was looking closely, they 
might notice such things, but since there's no visual clue that a 
person is there, it's probably very easily overlooked (Karkaroff 
smashes right into Harry while Harry is wearing the Cloak in GoF and 
still doesn't find him).
 
bboy_mn wrote:
 
> As far as Moodies eye, it's possible that Moodies eye picks up
> infrared light spectrum allowing him to see heat, and among other
> things, do a reasonably good job of seeing in the dark. So when he
> sees through Harry cloak, all he may really be seeing is heat 
> patterns.  An alternate, is that the eye enhances Moody's psychic 
> abilities, so that it is in his minds eye, or inner eye, his 
> preception rather than in his visual eye that he sees things.

Now me:

I think it's fairly clear in canon that Moody's eye can not only see 
through solid objects as well as Invisibility Cloaks, but see what 
lies beneath in detail.  After Draco is turned into a ferret in GoF, 
Moody's eye sees out of the back of his head to tell Crabbe not to 
pick him up.  Moody's eye sees through Lavender Brown's desk to tell 
her to put her horoscope away. 

In Ch. 19 of GoF, Moody spots Harry in the Cloak in the Three 
Broomsticks and says "Nice Cloak, Potter."  When Fake!Moody finds 
Harry caught in the trick stair, "Moody's lopsided gash of a moth 
opened in surprise.  For a few seconds, he and Harry stared straight 
into each other's eyes."  These references suggest to me that Moody's 
eye is seeing more than heat patterns - he's seeing exactly what's 
underneath that Cloak.  And I don't think we need to struggle to find 
a rational explanation for this - Moody's eye is magical, so it can 
see through solid objects, out of the back of his head, and through 
Invisibility Cloaks.  

bboy_mn again:

> So, in summary, as with Moody, Dumbledore may not necessarily see
> Harry or see through the cloak, as much as he merely preceives their
> presents and general location. Clues could come from heat, sound,
> slight visual distortion, gravity, foot prints on the floor, there
> could be lots of tiny little clues that are missed by most people.

Me again:

I think we still have a lot to learn about Dumbledore's abilities.  
In Ch. 12 of PS/SS, Dumbledore tells Harry "I don't need a cloak to 
become invisible."  If Dumbledore is able to make himself invisible, 
perhaps he also has the ability to see through Invisibility Cloaks.  
We're definitely given that suggestion in Ch. 14 of CoS, when "For a 
second, Harry was almost sure Dumbledore's eyes flickered towards the 
corner where he and Ron stood hidden" and when Dumbledore gives the 
hint about help being given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it and 
are loyal to him.  

Or it could be as mundane as Dumbledore knowing that Harry has the 
Cloak, and knowing that Harry would probably be visiting Hagrid at 
that time.  But the Dumbledore Can See Through Cloaks theory is much 
more interesting!

~Phyllis