*MY* confusion about the Time Turner

[sandra87b]

No: HPFGUIDX 124068


vmonte:
>> <snip>
She was given permission to use it for her 
> classes but it gave her several months of training until she got 
to use it for Dumbledore's intended purpose.<
> 
> Betsy:
> How on earth did Dumbledore know that Hermione would 
need to use the Time Turner by the end of the year?  Wouldn't 
that mean he would also know that Sirius was innocent and that 
Scabbers was Wormtail?  It doesn't make sense to me, and 
frankly, the whole story falls apart if Dumbledore knew what was 
coming.<<


Sandra:
BINGO! An excellent point, Betsy, and I agree entirely. I hadn't 
even considered the "months of training" scenario, and it's rather 
wide of the mark. Dumbledore's role is vague enough 
(especially in OoTP where he witholds info from Harry all the way 
through) without him being elevated to a "He Who Knows All" 
status.



vivian:
> It seems to me that the events of PoA unfolded the way they did 
> because Dumbledore made a conscious choice to send 
Hermione and Harry 
> back to save lives. He planned the event, and then H&H 
followed 
> through with his plan. If he had never told H&H what he wanted 
them 
> to do, they would have never known to TT back.


But how could he have sent them back AFTER Harry and Sirius 
would have been 'done' by the Dementors? There's a total 
conflict of tmelines here, and Harry could never have saved 
himself because he was already deceased (or seriously 
damagaed). I think we fall into the trap of turning Dumbledore 
into a God-like being who knows all and can judge everything. 
This is disproved by his abysmal performance in OoTP where 
his unwillingness to put Harry in the picture leads to death and 
mayhem. I wouldn't get too strung up on the Time Turner - it's a 
goof, a plot hole, a quirk on itself. I was confused by it for a 
while, but now I see it for what it is - a mistake.


Vivian:
> Let's face it --- I hate time travel! Unfortunately, it's definitely 
> coming back.
> 

Sandra:
Time travel is only infuriating when it's handled badly, as it was in PoA. When 
it's done with all the pitfalls and traps sorted out and addressed (The 
Guardian Of Time), it's huge fun. There's been lots of comments about the 
Time Turner, and it all boils down to one major flaw - how could a future 
version of yourself go back in time to save a terminal tragedy happening to 
yourself - all on the same night? It doesn't work, and also raises the point of 
what would have happened if the future-Harry had got lost in the woods, ie for 
whatever reason had not been able to be in the right place at the right time. It simply doesn't work, and I think people are beginning to see that. I'm 
surprised it took so long, because it had been driving me mad (kind of) for a 
while. I thought I was being dim, but having had some really bizarre theories 
suggested, I know it's just a plot-flaw.
Sandra