Marauder's Map

[madorganization]

No: HPFGUIDX 131695

I don't know if anyone has posted on this before (don't you get 
tired of reading that sometimes), but I was wondering a little 
something about the Marauder's Map.

In CoS, Arthur has the memorable line, "Don't trust anything that 
can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain."  
When Harry first uses the map, he even remembers this advice.

My question is, will JKR ever show us why the map shouldn't be 
trusted?  It seems like she meant Arthur's advice to be sound, but 
Harry's quick dismissal of it seems like a cop-out (if it was indeed 
meant to set our fears to rest).  It's almost like JKR said, "Oh, 
crap!  I've set this precedent for dealing with magical objects, but 
I really like this one, and I don't want my readers to be suspicious 
of it.  What can I do?  I know, I'll just have Harry remember the 
advice and then decide it's worth the risk.  Then no one will worry."

Am I the only one who's interested in how the map will play into 
future plot lines?

-Alisha: who sincerely hopes we see the map playing a trick on us 
later.