Paradox of Time Travel in PoA

[finwitch]

No: HPFGUIDX 132104

> smilingator (now):
> 
> I just want to say that PoA is my favorite book of the series so far
> because of the time travelling element. After reading the recent
> discourse on the boards (and getting a headache from it too... 
hehe),
> I've decided to jump into the conversation.
--- 
> IMO, JKR is operating the Potterverse under Theory 2... in which 
there
> is one time with possibly many perspectives. An important aspect of
> this theory is that events can not be changed during time travel. If
> someone attempted to change the past, they would fail. TTH! and 
TTHr!
> could not have gone back and changed anything because this is
> impossible. What happened the first time from 9-12 on that night is
> exactly the same thing that happened the second time from 9-12. We
> just saw the story from two different perspectives. (By the way, I
> noticed that the kids left at 5 until midnight, yet when they
> travelled back in time 3 hours, "golden sunlight was falling across
> the paved floor". Is the sun still up at 9 p.m. in Britain?)
> 
> Anyway, a couple of comments that Hermione made in PoA (U.S. 
version)
> makes me understand fully where Dave is coming from and why he
> believes that the Potterverse is under Theory 1 (and he may be
> entirely dead on).
> 
> "Nobody's supposed to change time!" (page 398, US) Hermione didn't 
say
> that you CAN'T change time, just that you are not supposed to and 
it's
> against wizarding law to do so. So, how would wizard officials know
> that time was changed? According to Theory 1, only the time traveler
> knows that events were changed. 
> 
> "Professor McGonagall told me what awful things have happened when
> wizards have meddled with time... Loads of them ended up killing 
their
> past or future selves by mistake!" (page 399, US). There have been
> quite a few theories to explain how this could possibly happen. I
> could always understand how a past self could kill a future self. 
But
> I can not grasp how a future self could kill a past self unless a 
new
> alternate universe was created at the moment of death; in one of the
> universes, the future person would still be alive and continue on, 
but
> in the newly created universe, the person would not exist.

Finwitch:

Well, I agree that it's a "Being in several places at the same time" 
rather than a change-the-past time-travel. Because the Timeturned 
Harry saw his past self clearly, and even the pastHarry saw himself 
casting the Patronus...

Still, I'd say that a theoretical possibility exists to change the 
past. As for the 'killing your past/future self' - well... if either 
kills the other 'self' the survivor would continue from there as a 
single person...

About the Sun being up at 9 p.m. I'd say definately... At 55-58 
North, during Summer, particularly near or at 21st June at least 
(Scotland that is). You ever heard of Midnight Sun that can be 
enjoyed during Summer 65 N or further North...

Finwitch