A Whisper About Time-Travel

[davewitley]

Talisman wrote:

> So, Rowling is in for a round of debunking, eh? And, it seems 
she's 
> heard a bit of whisper about "time-traveing" characters, but she's 
> willing to put associated theories to rest by assuring us 
that "NONE 
> of the characters in the books has returned from the future."
> 
> Well, does anyone else hear the roar of what she isn't saying?  
Why 
> not just say that none of the characters (excepting the obvious)in 
> the books is a visitor from another time?  Why not rule out 
someone 
> from the past?

Well, it is a puzzle: but the question is, why debunk anything at 
all?  However she replies she is bound to draw attention to ideas 
that are close to the one she is debunking but not *quite* ruled out 
by her remarks.

We have two ways of looking at it, I think.  One is that the 
debunked speculations are close to the mark and she wants to 
misdirect by getting naive fans to go somewhere else entirely.  In 
that case travellers from the past are possibly something she's 
trying ineptly to draw us away from.

The other is that the speculations are so far from anything in the 
books that she (mistakenly IMO) wants to save fans the bother of 
pursuing them.  In that case the admittedly slipshod deduction that 
time travellers are ruled out completely is probably safe.

Similar reasoning applies to the case of Flamel and the putative 
Potions Master vacancy.

In neither case does JKR come very well out of it.  The best way to 
conceal future developments is simply to remain silent about plot 
matters, and if fans enjoy off-the-wall speculations why should she 
feel responsible for shooting them down?

David, glad that Talisman's tattoo won't get all dirty and smelly