Paradox of Time Travel in PoA - Before & After

[meltowne]

No: HPFGUIDX 136712

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Sandra Collins" 
<sandra87b at y...> wrote:
>... If Harry was saving someone else's life, ie if only Sirius 
> was there being attacked and Harry saves him with a Patronus, 
> then I think it's okay (for that particular section). I don't 
> understand why so many people can't see this very simple, but 
> very large, plot hole. You can't save yourself from being killed, 
if 
> the only reason you survive is because a 'post-death' you went 
> back! It makes my head spin that not only was it not dealt with by 
> an editor, but it also made it onto film!

I don't block it out, but it is fixed by a matter of perspective.  
The books are written as a recollection of what happened when Harry 
was school aged.  They are written as though being told by someone 
who was told about the events after the fact by Harry.  Most of the 
events are influenced by Harry's percention of what happens, with few 
exceptions (roughly one chapter per book).

They are not really written as though we are there watching events 
unfold.  Thus, the storry teller is telling us what Harry remembers 
of those events.  Even if they happened differently the first time 
around, Harry's memory of them will always be influenced by what he 
knows of the resolution.  Maybe someone else did save him the first 
time around (or maybe something else entirely happened), but due to 
his own influence on the past, He and Sirius were saved.  And it is 
important that someone saved Sirius as well, because otherwise there 
would STILL be no reason to go back to save Sirius from the tower, 
because he wouldn't have been there, but dead beside the lake!

Maybe H&H did or didn't change events of the past, but but whatever 
happened, Harry's recollection of what happened the first time must 
be a memory of the result.  Any changes occur to his memory of the 
event as well as to the event itself.