*MY* confusion about the Time Turner

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 124219


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "M.Clifford" <Aisbelmon at h...> wrote:
 
> > Valky wrote:
> > "Dumbledore was right to tell them to hurry, a teensy tiny window 
> of opportunity was opened and it was not long before it shut tight 
> again, ability to go backwards in time was never going override that 
> fact."

> > Del replies:
> > There's no window of opportunity in Time-Turning. Either you Time-
> Turn or you don't. 
 
> Valky:
> Yes but their was a window of opportunity in which they could safely 
> be missing in the original timeline, and it was the two minutes 
> before DD closed and locked the door.


bboyminn:

I'm pretty sure this is cleared up, but just in case, I'll take a shot
at it anyway.

It's not the window of opportunity to Time Turn that is narrow, it's
the window of opportunity to NOT GET CAUGHT that is limited.

Let's call the point in time when Harry and Hermione use the Time
Turner the EXIT time.

Let's call the point in time when H&H return to the location at which
they Time Turned the RETURN time.

For Harry and Hermione to have plausible deniability of guilt, the
Exit and Return times can't overlap; Exit at 9pm, return at 8pm.
Because under this circumstance both TT!Harry and RT!Harry
(Realtime!Harry) can be see at the same place at the same time. That
would certainly indicate that Harry was up to no good.

If there is a gap between the Exit and Return time (Exit @ 9pm, Return
@ 10pm) then there is an hour during which Harry can not account for
his were-abouts. Again, a strong indicator that Harry is up to no good.

So, the only safe gap of 'plausible deniability' is between the time
when Madame Pomphrey is sent from the room and a minute or so after
Harry and Hermione disappear. 

Returning too soon or too late would cast a great deal of suspiscion
on both Harry and Hermione.

So, tying in Del's theory, as long as the gap between Exit and Return
remains small enough to maintain their alibis, the actual time of Exit
and Return isn't important. 

However, if they time traveled from a later point in time, especially
if it was after Sirius was saved, more story would have to be created
to account for WHY they went back in time. (Del, see the email I sent
to your Yahoo account.)

Remember that no matter when they went back in time, as long as they
arrive at 6pm, they are always there the entire time doing their job
to save Sirius and Buckbeak. Because they (TT!Harry and TT!Hermione)
are always there doing there job, we avoid the ever-so nasty dual
timeline paradox in which Sirius is soul sucked in one and saved in
another. TT!Harry is always there, so Sirius is always saved.

Loving every headaching minute of this.

Steve/bboyminn