Portkey in GoF

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 149681

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, OctobersChild48 at ... wrote:
> ...edited...
> 
> Sandy here:
> 
> How thought provoking this list is. It's wonderful!
> 
> The opinion Geoff expressed makes sense. I admit to having 
> wondered how it was that the Cup took Harry and Cedric's body
> back to Hogwarts. It was my impression that a portkey was a 
> one-way ticket, so to speak. ... Based on that I formed the 
> impression that the portkeys were *programmed* to a certain 
> destination and that once there would have to be re-programmed
> for use again. Otherwise, those collecting the portkeys would
> have been transported back to the portkey's point of origin.
> 
> Sandy
>

bboyminn:

One of the many subject on which I have a /theory/. Like you didn't
already know that.

In the course of the now many books, we see Portkeys used several
different ways. Some are time activated in the sense that they will be
triggered at exactly 12:37pm Tuesday March 28, 2006. Others are time
activated in the sense that they are activated 'now', or more
accurately on the count of three. These are probably more likely
/intent/ activated. Dumbledore intends for the Portkey to take Harry
back to Hogwarts on the count of three. Others seem to be touch
activated; in a sense, these are the true 'now' activated Portkeys.
The time is variable, open ended, and activated by touch. 

Touch activated would be the Tri_Wizards Cup in the Maze and the
return from the graveyard.

Specific time activated would be the Portkey taking everyone to the
World Cup.

Intent activated would be the Portkeys that Dumbledore uses to
transport Harry. 

As to whether fake!Moody added a new stop, or an intermediate stop, or
reprogrammed the Tri-Wizard Cup in the Maze, is a matter of
perspective. I have always viewed it as a LIFO queue or stack. LIFO is
an computer term meaning 'Last In, First Out'. Think of it as a stack
of dinner plates. The last plate you put on the stack is the first one
you take off.

So, Dumbledore put the 'outside the maze' destination and enchantment
on the cup. On top of that Moody added the 'graveyard' destination.
When the Cup was touched, it activated the top most destination. Once
that was used and gone, all that remained on the Cup was the original
destination to the outside of the Maze. 

This would seem a reasonable way to make a multiple destination
Portkey. Let's say you wanted to go to Hogwarts, then to Diagon Alley,
then back home. You would stack the enchantments on the Portkey in
this manner -

3-Hogwarts
2-Diagon Alley
1-Home

Each activation would pull a destination off the top of the stack
thereby making the next destination available for the next transport.

In the past, I have speculated that the resticted use of Portkeys was
because of the complex and precise programming and enchantments needed
to create one. At one point I speculated that it was a combinations of
complex potions and magical enchantments that took a significant
amount of time, and posed a great risk of error, similar to cooking
blow or puffer fish. Of course, since then books have established that
it is a simple 'Portus' spell. Yet, I still imagine a great deal of
room for error in creating them even though the spell-work is straight
forward. There must be some reason why the Ministry resticts them. The
 logical conclusion is that it take an exceptionally skilled wizard to
get all the parameters correct, so that the Portkey can be used
safely. Remember that behind that simple word 'Portus' is a complex
combinations of intent that is creating the activation method and
setting the destination. 

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn