Harry @ Godric's Hollow - (TIME-TRAVEL RELATED)

[vmonte]

No: HPFGUIDX 101867

Lucinda428 wrote:

I completely agree that POA (movie) is making the time theme even 
more clear than it was in the book.  I noted most of the things you 
have in that regard.  I'm sure time is going to be one of the keys, 
because of the room in the Ministry of Magic in OOTP which is 
devoted to some form of time experiment.  It is irrelevant to the 
Book 5 story but quite a lot is made of it. (Maybe a more 
sophisticated device than the time turner awaits us in later 
books.)  I've also just noticed that the first time we meet 
Dumbledore, in Privet Drive, he consults "a very odd watch".

vmonte:

Yes, someone months ago noticed the same thing about DD's watch.  He 
consults it throughout the books.  Perhaps this is his time-traveling 
device. 

Lucinda428:
 
Between your view that Lupin thinks James wasn't really there, and 
Vmonte's view that it was Harry's body, not James's, in the rubble 
(both of which are fascinating ideas) the question arises - where 
WAS James?  (Surely a stray stag would have been noticed in Godric's 
Hollow?)  If Lupin knew the answer, it would suggest it was a full 
moon and James was off minding him, but wasn't it very dark the 
night Harry was deposited on the Dursleys' doorstep?  

vmonte:

It was dark.  It was also 24 hours after the Godric's Hollow attack.


Lucinda428:
 
...the Harry we have always known actually IS James (time-turned). 
But that won't work because (a) Harry has Lily's eyes, and (b) those 
who knew James think Harry is similar but not the same.  Where it 
gets murky (you thought it already HAD?) is that both of them bear an 
almost equally striking resemblance to Tom Riddle.  So if all three 
of those characters were, by some quirk of time, 18 the day Harry 
Lived, they would ALL look similar. Anybody want to run with THAT 
ball?


vmonte:
Page 641 of OOTP, U.S. version

"Excitement exploded in the pit of his stomach: It was as though he
was looking at himself but with deliberate mistakes. James's eyes
were hazel, his nose was slightly longer than Harry's, and there was
no scar on his forehead, but the had the same thin face, same mouth,
same eyebrows. James's hair stuck up at the back exactly as Harry's
did, his hands could have been Harry's, and Harry could tell that
when James stood up, they would be within an inch of each other's
heights."

I really like how JKR describes James appearance here--"deliberate 
mistakes". If Harry is seen running around during GH, he would be 
mistaken for James.  If he is captured by a DE they may realize he is 
not James because of his eyes.  I do have one comment though.  If 
Harry is captured and then taken to GH by the DE's so that the Potter 
family is killed together, it may very well be Lily who recognizes 
him as her son (and no one else).  Voldemort doesn't really pay 
attention to small details does he.  Besides, he doesn't see James on 
a daily basis, unlike Snape does.  Snape, hmmmm now that is 
interesting 

vmonte