Portkeys: was Dis/Apparating 12 Grimmauld Place

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 130632

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "greenfirespike" <feenyjam at m...>
wrote:
> > 
> > bboyminn said:
> > 
> > ... pondered why no one  apparated into the Bank or into other
> > businesses. If people can apparate, then they could enter and 
> > exit unseen and undetected as steal whatever they wanted.
> > 
> > In light of this, and in light of the fact that most businesses 
> > are staying in business, Charms and Spell to prevent entry by 
> > stealth must be pretty common on all places. 
> > 

> 
> Greenfirespike says:
> 
> Steve, if I remember correctly, you have previously mentioned your 
> fixation with magical transportation.  ... does the existence of 
> Portkeys bother you?  We know from OotP that you can use a Portkey
> to move into/out of Hogwarts, as well as a magically guarded places 
> such as 12 Grimmuald Place.  
> 
> ..., only authorized persons can summon a Portkey.  Which ... opened
> .. several questions....  
> 1) Is DD authorized to generate a Portkey?  
> 2) If not, then is there a way for the Ministry of magic to 
> recognize the illegal creation/use of one?   
> I am going to assume yes because there is Department of Magical 
> Transport, and I  would hope they can identify an 
> illegal/unauthorized Portkey.  
> 3) Why doesn't LV, or any of the DE's use a Porkey (either create 
> one themselves, or control a Department of Magical Transport 
> employee to create one for them) to launch an attack in Hogwarts.  
> 
> At the very least, we know you can create a Portkey into the 
> Headmasters office in Hogwarts.  And I can't think of a better place 
> to launch a surprise attack from inside Hogwarts.  
> 
> Ever wondering and rereading.
> 
> Greenfirespike

bboyminn:

Oh yes, I have many many theories and ideas about Portkeys. My orginal
theory is stated here - (actually re-stated)

Date: Thu Feb 13, 2003  2:54 pm
Subject: Re: Turning Items to Portkeys
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/52127

This post will take you to a list of links to several posts I made on
Portkeys -

Date: Mon Jul 28, 2003  5:40 pm
Subject: Portkeys - Curses foiled again
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/73735

While the details of my original theory were proven wrong, I still
stand behind the underlying concept; Portkeys are difficult and dangerous.

1.) No Dumbledore, while fully capable and competent, is not
authorized to create Portkeys. Notice how Fudge gets angry in the
Atrium of the Ministry of Magic when Dumbledore creates the Portkey to
send Harry back to Hogwarts.

2.) I believe that Ministry of Magic has ways of detecting the
occurance of magic, but I have likened it to whether radar, it's
intent is to detect magical 'storm' that might require intervention by
the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad or the Obliviators. Remember that
the primary goal of the Ministry is to keep the existance of magic
hidden from muggles. That is the primary law enforcement goal. So
while that have the capability of monitoring specific magic, as they
do for Harry at Privet Drive, they simply can't do that for every
square inch of the UK and for every single wizard in existance in the
UK. It's not practical and it's not productive.

So, to answer your question, unless the need for a specific individual
case of monitoring arises, I don't think they are tracking every
occurance of Portkey related magic.

3.) Keep in mind that Dumbledore controls Hogwart, therefore he
controls all the protections around Hogwarts. He can create acceptions
for his own convenience. We have seen both Portkey and Floo Powder
entry into Dumbledore's office; Harry by Portkey, Dumbledore by Floo
Poweder. But note that they both occur in Dumbledore's office. We have
never seen any other wizard or witch enter or exit from Hogwarts by
any magical means, nor have we seen this happen in any other Hogwarts
location except the headmaster's office.

So, again, Dumbledore controls the protections, and therefore, he
controls the exceptions.

General-

While the details of my orignal Portkey theory were proven wrong, the
underlying premise was that the Portkey enchantment is a dangerous and
difficult task to perform. The spell itself is simple; 'Portus'. But
think of what is behind that simple word. Don't think of the
enchanting aspect, but instead of the programming aspect. The casting
wizard's intent sets the many parameters of the Portkey; what triggers
it, when and how does it activate, when and how does it deactivate, to
what location does it go. That's a lot of complex data to hold in you
thoughts, to hold in your magical intent, in that brief second when
the spell is cast. If you get one small aspect of the programming
wrong, I speculate it could be deadly and dangerous. 

We know that Apparation is dangerous. Mr. Weasley gave an example of a
couple who 'splinched' themselves. They made an error in magical
intent and programming calculation in the brief moment before they
Apparated and they payed a dear price for it. The Portkey in my view,
is merely a variation, perhaps a magical precursor or predecessor to
Apparation. The difference is, the magical intent and magical
programming occur in the instant that you create the device, whereas,
in Apparation, they occur at the instant you travel.

So, Apparation is dangerous, because getting the detail parameters
right is difficult, and the results of getting them wrong is deadly
and dangerous. Therefore, Apparation must be licensed to assure that
the people who are doing it are safely capable of the task. Portkey
are a less sophisticated form of magic. But they are still difficult
and dangerous; and given the level of Ministry control, we must assume
this is true in the extreme. So much so that the average person can't
be trusted with it. So, only Ministry Authorized wizard are allowed to
perform the charm. Since wizards have other magical mean of
transportation, the Ministry sees no reason to make this magical
techinology available to the 'common folk'.

That's a quick overveiw. If you follow the other link shown above, you
will find several deep and long discussion on Portkeys and the general
nature of magical transportation.

Random, hardly related notes-
My deep interest in magical transportation comes from a plan I have
for a fanfic in which Harry, in conjuction with some other people,
produces and sells through Weasley Enterprises a magical Port-Pager.
It is a combination Programmable Portkey and Summoning Device (pager).
To write this effectively, I have to know the nature, and more
importantly the limits, of magical transportation. To further
complicate matters, Harry invents the 'Fly-Board', which is a wizards
equivalent of a 'skateboard'; it's a foot board that flys. So, to
resolve all the parameters of these devices, I have been obssessed
with trying to figur out magical transportation.

JKR has said that these means of magical transportation have very
definite limits. I just wish she would say exactly what they are. The
editors of The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet are having a private Q&A
with JKR, and I submitted a question about the limits of magical
transportation. I hope she answers it, it will save me a few sleepless
nights.

Just rambling.

Steve/bboyminn