[HPforGrownups] Re: Chapter Discussions - Chapter Two Questions, "A Peck of Owls"

[Wendy St John]

No: HPFGUIDX 72468


> Q2: What ways does the Ministry have of detecting underage magic? 
> House Elves or portraits? This doesn't seem likely, so what could it 
> be?

kiricat2001 wrote:

>I've wondered if this was something put in place as a way to keep
tabs on >Harry because of his unique situation. Certainly it seems
that Fred and George >do not hesitate to use magic, yet we never hear
of any consequences from the >MoM.

To which Corinth added:

"The best explanation I've heard to explain this discrepancy is that
the detection methods are general; they can detect the presence of
specific spells but not who cast them.  I imagine a radar system of
sorts.  In the Weasley household, the Ministry expects to find an
assortment of spells being cast at all times, and is unable to
distinguish between the legal magic and Fred and George's illegal
experimentation.  It also explains why Harry was punished for Dobby's
actions; as far as the Ministry knows, Harry is the only wizard in
that house (or indeed, that area, as we see from Harry's trial)."

Now me (Wendy):

This is something that has bothered me considerably, as there seems to me
to be an inconsistency in canon about it. While at first glance I agree
with Corinth's theory, it doesn't hold up under scrutiny. If the MoM is
just able to detect spells at Privet Drive without being able to identify
who cast them, then why wasn't Harry in trouble for the numerous spells
cast by the Advance Guard in chapter three of OoP? (Moody's disillusionment
charm, Tonks' scourgify, packing spell, and levitation spell, are the ones
I can think of off the top of my head). As quickly as the Ministry
responded to Harry's patronus (and as eager to discredit Harry as we know
Fudge to have been) you would think that if the Minstry was just tracking
magic of any sort at Privet Drive, then Harry would have been in trouble
for all those spells. And yet, he wasn't.

On the other hand, it doesn't seem as though the Ministry is tracking just
the magic used personally by Harry, either - or else why would he have
gotten in trouble for Dobby levitating the pudding in CoS? 

It also doesn't seem to be a question of wand vs. wandless magic - the
Ministry detected both the wandless "blowing up" of Aunt Marge, as well as
the Patronus cast by Harry using his wand. Although, curiously, there was
no mention (IIRC) of the wandless "lumos" that Harry cast in order to
locate his wand after it was knocked away by Dudley. 

So I am at a loss to explain just how and what the Ministry is really
tracking. The only explanation I can think of is that originally the
Ministry had a sort of general magic detection in place (as described by
Corinth), and at some point after the beginning of PoA they "upgraded" to
some sort of system by which they were aware of spells cast by Harry
personally. This still doesn't make much sense. Since they'd already
reprimanded him once for a spell he didn't cast (Dobby's levitation), it
seems they would have jumped on the chance to blame the scourgify,
levitation, and disllusionment spells on Harry. After all, it would have
been difficult for Harry to defend himself against those accusations
without revealing the identities of members of the Order (which doesn't
seem to be a very good idea). 

I think there might be something gained by looking at the other things the
Ministry can and can't track - Portkeys, for example. Lupin states they
didn't use one to get from Privet Drive to Grimmauld Place because it was
"worth more than their lives" to create an unauthorized one. Yet Dumbledore
does just that, and the Ministry apparently has no way of detecting it
until it is actually seen by Fudge after the battle at the Ministry. So why
was Lupin so hesitant to create one (unless he thought there was a good
chance they'd get caught)? I'm also interested in knowing more about how
Floo travel and communication is monitored (I'm assuming that travel and
head-in-the-fireplace are both the result of Floo - don't remember right
now if this is actually stated in OoP). Seeing Umbridge's hand grasping at
Sirius' hair was definitely a shocker!  Can the Ministry track Apparation?
As in who, when, and from where and to where? There are so many things I
recall being touched on in OoP, but after just one reading (and a start on
a second), I don't have all the details firmly set in my mind yet. I'll
definitely be looking out for these things on my next reading of the series.

Anyone else have ideas about this? It's been bothering me rather a lot
lately. <g> 

Cheers!

Wendy St John
hebrideanblack at earthlink.net