Marauders Map

[iamvine]

No: HPFGUIDX 109006

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Metylda <bamf505 at y...> wrote:
> 
> > > Potioncat:
> > > I am not convinced the map is not Dark Magic. 
> >
> > Alla:
> > 
> > "Marauders Map" may have Dark Magic, it may not.
> > Judging by JKR 
> > attitude to Dark Arts, I am convinced that it does
> > not, but of course 
> > for now it is just a  metathinking argument.
> 
> bamf here:
> 
> The only problem I have with thinking that the map is
> 'evil' is that JK has Harry compare the map to Tom
> Riddle's Diary (which was evil) and comes to the
> conclucion that it isn't. While we see this from
> Harry's POV, I would still say that the map is not
> evil from that.  From an author's standpoint, why
> would you compare two things, if not to show their
> differences? Riddle's diary over the course of a year
> nearly killed Ginny by taking over her 'life essence'.
>  The worst the Marauder's Map has done is insult
> people.

Eleanor replies:

I got the feeling she might have put that in because her editor said,
"But it's another piece of paper with a mind of its own!  Surely Harry
would compare it to Riddle's diary!"

Spells that make a piece of parchment intelligent are one thing, and
are not necessarily evil.  A map that helps you spy is naughty, but
think of all the really useful and benign things that spell could be
made to do, like giving you directions if you were lost.  I think to
get the diary's ability to possess people, Riddle must have used some
other spell as well, and that's the Dark Magic part.

So then it would have nothing to do with the artifact being able to
think for itself, or where it keeps its brain.  Really, why should it?
 Having said that, I'm not convinced that the map really can think for
itself.  It could well have been programmed.  It can insult people,
but we have no evidence that it can hold a proper conversation.  (If
it could, maybe Harry could use it to talk to Sirius.)  It would be
much less likely to pass a Turing test than the diary.

Eleanor