The Map

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 88699

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "evepandora84" <evepandora at h...>
wrote:
> I was wondering why Lupin was unable to see that there were two 
> Harrys and two Hermiones on the Marauders Map that night Black 
> escaped? I mean weren't both of them near Hogwarts at the same time? 
> 
> "evepandora84"


bboy_mn:

Stop and think about the physical chatacteristics of the castle and
grounds that are shown on the map. Hogwarts castle is a castle of
mammoth proportion; bigger that any castle ever built in the real world.

True you many find some real castles that are 7 stories high when
measured along side a normal apartment or office building, but I
seriously doubt that you can find me a real castle that has 7 floors.
Example; I've seen 10 story Keep-style castles that only have 3 or 4
floors. Please note that this is something that I have researched.
There are very very few castles that meet the standards of fairytale
castles. 

Typical floor to floor spacing in a normal home is less that 10 feet.
Castles on the other hand typically have 20 to 30 foot or higher
ceilings. That would make the main sections of Howarts castle the
equivalent of a 15 story home ((20ft ceiling X 7 floors)/9 foot
floor-to-floor spacing for a typical house =15.6 stories). Notice I
said house/home; office and newer apartment buildings have higher
ceilings (10 to perhaps 12 ft). You can adjust the ceiling heights for
the castle and a typical building, but you still still get a castle
that is extremely tall. Then you have to factor in the many towers and
turrets of the castle.

Next the castle not only has 7 floors, but also appears to have many
wings, as well as, many towers and turrets. Now add to that the
grounds and you have one extremely crowded piece of parchment paper.
If you've ever seen architectural drawings or floor plans, then you
know the only way to get all that information on one small piece of
parchment is if everything is microscopic in size.

And the book backs this up, everything on the map is refered to as
minute and/or minuscule. It takes a focused concentrated effort to be
able to see what you are consciously trying to see, and therefore,
extremely unlikely that you will accidently see other people and
places that are peripherial to the main 'thing' you are looking at. 

Lupin saw the first Harry and Hermione because the were exactly where
he expected them to be; on their way to Hagrid's. He did not see the
second Harry and Hermione (time traveling) because they were out of
his field of focus. In addition, part of the time TimeTraveling Harry
and Hermione were hiding in the forest. We know from the book that the
map has dead spots and that there are areas it doesn't cover. For
example, Peter/Scabber wasn't seen until Harry/Ron/Hermione exited
from Hagrid's cabin, and the Shrieking Shack in not on the map, you
can't see where the Whomping Willow tunnel comes out.

Conclusion; you don't accidently see things on the map. It takes a
direct conscious forced effort to read it, and anything not central to
your area of focus in not likely to be seen.

Now to address Fred and George, and how they figured out how to use
the map; I don't have any problem seeing Fred and George coming up
with a phrase like 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good'. That seems
the perfect phrase for mischief makers like the twins, and fits
perfectly with the way their minds work.

However, this thread has introduced something I hadn't considered
before, that, much like Snape, the Twins found some intermediate way
to communicate with the map. After trial and error they got the map to
respond to them, although as in Snape's case, at that time, it did not
reveal the map. Over time, the obviously intelligent map gave them
clues that could only lead fellow mischief maker to the proper phrases
to control the map.

While I don't abandon my original belief in the Twin coming across it
by trial and error, I am now willing to consider the possibility that
they first found some limited way to communicate with the map that
lead them by informed trial and error, to discovering the secrets of
the Map.

Just a few thoughts.

bboy_mn