Chapter Discussion: Prisoner of Azkaban Ch 16: Professor Trelawney's prediction

[nikkalmati]

No: HPFGUIDX 190277



--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Liz Clark" <liz.treky at ...> wrote:
>
> > Zanooda:
> >> I still think that Buckbeak never lost his head. The kids only thought
> >> he did, because they heard the thud of the executioner's axe and
> >> assumed that Buckbeak was executed. In reality, the disappointed
> >> executioner just swung his axe into the fence (into a pumpkin in the
> >> movie) - Harry and Hermione witnessed it when they went back in time.
> >
> 
> Taya:
> I've been reading for a while, now decided to partiscipate on this time 
> issue!
> Time is linear, that means it only happens once, even if people have a 
> perception of it occuring twice, or more. Therefore, Buckbeak never was 
> beheaded because in the single time stream, Harry and Hermione saved him. 
> The sound of the axe falling wasn't beheading Buckbeak, but when it swung 
> into the fence. The trio assumed Buckbeak was beheaded as from their 
> prospective there was no way of saving him. After Harry and Hermione went 
> back in time, it then became possible for them from their prospective.
> Time travel isn't an easy subject, especially if dealing with non-linear 
> line! But thankfully, in the HP series, it is linear.
>
Nikkalmati

What happened? Oh well, I will just go back in time, I guess.

I agree with June that there are different ways to write time travel and with Taya that JKR writes it as linear - that is-  there is no loop, no double memories, nothing is changed, things only happen once, although one person may see the same events at the same time from different perspectives.  That means Bb never died, and it really was Harry saving Harry at the lake.  Harry never lived through it a first time and came back - he only lived through it from two different perspectives.  
Now we must consider how DD knew Harry and Hermione went back (and that he should suggest it to Hermione).  I can't be sure, but I might suggest that through some form of divination or arathmancy, he knew that Sirius was alive in the future. If DD had his own time-turner, he could go back and observe what happened and then tell HP and HG to do what they had already done.

Query:  What other methods could DD use to know the past?  Even if we could go back, could we ever go forward?  After all, there is no there there, right?   What is so terrible about meeting yourself in the past?  What was it Hermione had been warned about?

Nikkalmati