Time Traveling Tom Riddle (Was Re: BOOK 6 ANNOUNCEMENT ON JKR WEBSITE)

[Wanda Sherratt]

No: HPFGUIDX 103386

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Debra" <hpsupergeek at y...> 
wrote:
> I went on to list a few of the changes as "pros" and "cons". I 
just 
> realized that that was completely unnecessary. If this time travel 
> thing were to happen, it would be to change something *in the 
past*. 
> Which means that the present we are seeing would have already been 
> affected. Take a look back at that section of PA. The "present" 
trio 
> are hearing the same things as the "future" trio. Even with them 
not 
> having travelled back in time yet, the present was different. 
Think 
> about it.
> 
These time travel stories can get very complicated, I agree.  and 
it's hard to explain how things can be happening and not happening 
at the same time.  But to make it brief: however logically you 
explain it, the characters *in the story* believe that they can 
change what happened in the past.  That's why they used the Time-
Turner in PoA, because they thought that if they *didn't*, Buckbeak 
would be killed and Sirius would be captured.  Being outside a 
story, as a reader, we can see how the whole thing loops round and 
appears to be inevitable; from the inside, it's not clear at all.  
Partly because, as characters, they're never "in the past" at all.  
WE can see that they're in the past, but to them, they've just moved 
into another present.  It's all happening right now to them, even 
if "now" has moved several hours backward.

Anyway, I quite agree that what has happened in the past is not 
going to be changed.  However, that is not what Harry will think.  
He'll see all the "pros" you listed, and figure that the "cons" are 
worth risking. I know quite well that time travel is a dangerous 
undertaking - in fact, so does pretty well everyone else.  I don't 
propose it as because I think it's a GOOD idea - I think it's a 
TERRIBLE idea!  Just the sort of stupid, reckless thing Harry Potter 
would try!  He'll get all sorts of warnings about how dangerous it 
is, from Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, you name it.  But when has he 
ever listened to good advice when heroism calls?  Never!  And now he 
doesn't even trust Dumbledore, so he's pretty much playing a lone 
hand here.  I think Book 6 is going to show us his biggest mistake 
of all, because he's going to feel that he's alone and it's all up 
to him to act without any help at all - he's going to go back in 
time to try to fix things, and he'll end up making everthing much, 
much worse.  Because I think that whatever he does (all with good 
intentions, of course) will in fact set in motion all the disasters 
that follow.  It will turn out that if Harry had NOT gone back in 
time, there never would have been a Voldemort at all (who knows, 
maybe he'll inadvertently save Tom Riddle's life as a baby!).  There 
are lots of possibilities, and I have no idea what particular tack 
JKR is going to take.  But I'm pretty sure Harry is going to come 
out of Book 6 at his lowest ebb, feeling responsible for everything.

Wanda