The point of Time-Turning (was Paradox of Time Travel in PoA)

[davenclaw]

No: HPFGUIDX 132196

<delwynmarch at y...> wrote:
>  As for McGonagall, we don't know whether she
> has any experience with it,and whether she understands its 
principle
> at all. If she doesn't understand it, then maybe all her warnings
> about wizards killing their past or future selves are just "wizard
> legends" (as in urban legends), things she's heard about but that 
are
> not true. Maybe she is just scared of the Time-Turner because she
> doesn't understand it, so she told Hermione the scariest stories 
she'd
> heard of just to make sure Hermione would be *exceptionally* 
careful
> in using it. 

I really doubt that JKR would present all of these warnings with the 
idea that the characters just didn't understand.  If there was no 
risk of changing events by going back, then people would use time-
turners all the time, and it wouldn't require special permission 
from the Ministry, and there simply wouldn't be a reason for her to 
be afraid of the use of the time-turner.  The only risk would be 
that if she's not careful, other students would see her in two 
places at once, and flip out, or demand that everyone get a time 
turner, and then you have dozens of malfoys running around wreaking 
havoc.

No, I think JKR really believed that time can be changed, but didn't 
consider that this isn't consistent with the idea that time-
travelers are only going to see events as they happened without the 
ability to change them from what they've already experienced.

Can you please tell me whether you believe that there is any risk of 
the past-self seeing the TT-self without the TT-self already knowing 
that it happened?


> We do know that McGonagall can go a bit overboard when
> under stress : just remember her (paraphrase) "Potter, I'll help 
you
> become an Auror if that's the last thing I do!". So maybe all those
> rules and stories are just not true, or just overblown versions of
> real warnings.
> 

I doubt Hermione stressed her out with her attempt to overload her 
schedule as much as Umbridge did.

 - davenclaw