Time Travel Paradoces

[annemehr]

No: HPFGUIDX 57828

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Richelle Votaw" <rvotaw at i...> 
wrote:
<snip>
> But what if, say, the Dementor had performed the Dementor's Kiss on 
Harry in
> the first timeline?  Then Harry wouldn't have been able to get to 
the time
> turner to go back in time.  Which means the D's Kiss wasn't 
performed, or
> else he wouldn't have been able to change it.  Were there just 
always two
> timelines?  No, that can't work.  Grr, I give up.  My feeble minded 
brain
> has been around 7 year olds too long.
> 
> Richelle

Annemehr:

It's not so hard, really.  There was always only one timeline.  It's 
just that, from 9:00 p.m. to midnight that day, there were two Harrys 
and two Hermiones running around.  HH1 were with Ron and were 
experiencing the Shrieking Shack, etc., and have no knowledge of HH2. 
 Then there's HH2 who are rescuing Buckbeak and Sirius and are aware 
of everything HH1 are doing because they remember it.

So, there is only one timeline, and in it H2 rescued H1 with a perfect 
patronus.  He is able to because he remembers when he was H1 and saw 
it, so he knew he could.

The hardest part of all this is, how can H1 be rescued by H2 if he 
(H1) hadn't used the time turner yet?

The answer is, "magic": the EFFECT (H2 is around from 9 to midnight) 
COMES BEFORE THE CAUSE (H1 uses the Time Turner with Hermione *at* 
midnight).  If you think about it, this is the very *nature* of time 
travel to the past -- you arrive *before* you begin travelling.

Thus, the effect (H2 is there to rescue H1 the one and only time the 
dementors attack) happens *because* H1 uses the Time Turner at 
midnight.

To rephrase, at the time of the dementor attack, H1 has not yet used 
the Time Turner. HOWEVER, H2 has been around since 9:00 and is 
available to rescue H1 *because* H1 *will use* the TT at midnight 
(effect before cause, see?).

This, at least, is the type of time-travel JKR is using; there are 
other types in other works of fiction.  The best illustration of what 
JKR is thinking of, is the fact that HH1 and HH2 hear "each other" in 
the Entrance Hall just after 9:00:  just before the Trio are about to 
cross the Hall in the Invisibility Cloak (on their way to visit 
Hagrid), they hear a last pair of running feet and a slamming door, 
which (we find out in a later chapter) is HH2 running to hide in the 
closet until the Trio go by.  Later, from HH2's point of view, they 
are hiding in the closet and hear what sounds like three pairs of feet 
crossing the Hall, and Hermione2 realizes it's themselves in the 
Cloak.  So, both pairs of H&H were always in that time, and hear each 
other.  Only HH1 don't know anything about HH2 yet, and HH2 can 
remember everything that happened to HH1.

Hmmm... hope that's halfway clear?

Annemehr
apologizing for not using chapter refs., but book is unavailable...