Time Travel (was Re: OWLS)

[Meredith]

No: HPFGUIDX 97432

"K"
> Harry was shown how to time travel in PoA. Now Sirius is dead 
> and we also know Harry won't spend much time at the Dursley's 
> this summer. Maybe Harry feels he can go back in time and change 
> the past even though Hermione warned him more than once about 
> the consequences. When has Harry listened to anyone? One of the 
> few people he has ever loved is gone. Now all he has to do is 
> go back in time and prevent that from happening. After all, 
> nothing could go wrong...right?



Luckie:

The problem with this is the way JKR has established time travel in 
her books. Unlike the type of time that exists in something 
like "Back to the Future" or "The Butterfly Effect," you can't go 
back in time and change things in HP, you can only fulfill what is 
happening. For more information, read the end of PoA. The first Harry 
and Hermione *believe* they hear Buckbeak being executed. What they 
actually hear is Hagrid's tears of joy and MacNair thumping the axe 
into a tree (I think) out of frustration, because at that point, 
future!Harry and future!Hermione (second!Harry and second!Hermione 
may be more appropriate) have ALREADY rescued Buckbeak, but present!
Harry and present!Hermione don't know that. 

So if Harry ends up going back in time in future books - back to the 
first Voldy war - why hasn't anyone (i.e. Dumbledore) clued him in? I 
don't think we have any canon that can foreshadow or prove that Harry 
will go back in time again. If Harry goes to the future, how would 
present!Snape know what will happen, if we think something with Snape 
*will* happen?

Harry can't go back in time and change anything like Sirius dying. 
JKR has established that past events CANNOT be changed through time 
travel, but present events can be fulfilled.

I hope that makes sense. If not, someone can direct you to many other 
threads discussing time travel, I am sure.


~Luckie, who thinks that plot devices that have already been used, 
such as time travel and evil!animagi, won't be rehashed in future 
books.