Portkey problems

[persimmon76]

No: HPFGUIDX 59170

I've read with interest the debates on portkeys and other 
wizarding/witching forms of transportation. The time-activated/touch-
activated summary made sense to me, but it doesn't quite answer the 
problem of the TWT portkey. 

It clearly can't be time-activated, because there would have been no 
way to predict how long it would take Harry to get through the maze. 
So let's rule that out.

It seems to have been touch-activated to transport someone from the 
maze to the graveyard. The cup wasn't pre-programmed/enchanted to 
take *only* Harry - had that been the case, Crouch!Moody wouldn't 
have been so concerned about getting Harry to the cup *first*. 
Whoever touched the cup first would have gone to the graveyard. Harry 
and Cedric, touching the cup simultaneously, were both transported.

For me, the real question is how Harry used the same portkey to get 
back to Hogwarts. I assumed the "shadows" of James & Co. that emerged 
from Voldemort's want as a result of priori incantatem somehow 
contrived to re-activate the portkey for the return trip. After all, 
they detained Voldemort and the Death Eaters after the connection was 
broken. Voldemort's face was "livid with fear" (strange image!), and 
if he perceived the shadows to be a threat, it seems plausible that 
they had powers of some description - say, powers to re-activate the 
portkey.

I reject the "two-way portkey" idea because when Harry is returned to 
the maze, he clings to the cup (and Cedric's wrist) for an 
indeterminate period of time until Dumbledore convinces him to let 
go. If the portkey shuttled people back and forth between Hogwarts 
and the graveyard, Harry would have been sent back to the graveyard 
directly. The portkey is for one-way transportation.

Of course, this is wild speculation. On the first read, I tend to 
cheerfully go along with JKR with a shrug ("Oh, um, okay. You're the 
author."). Subsequent readings are more careful and analytical - but 
JKR is not above making mistakes, leaving loopholes, and 
contradicting herself. I would venture to guess that as a group we 
know more about JKR's books (of course I'm referring to those that 
have already been published, before you jump all over me) than she 
herself does! Speculation and analysis are terrific fun, but until 
the end of Book 7 there's only one person who sees the Big Picture. I 
trust her; I'm happy to hang on for the ride - but it'll always be 
fulfilling to spot the problems and inconsistencies in the 
aftermath. :)

-Persimmon