Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today we’re going to be discussing PLOT HOLES,
It shouldn’t come as any sort of a surprise that, even within the captivating wizarding
universe, astute readers and viewers have stumbled upon perplexing plot holes.
And these gaps in the narrative, where certain details seem to defy logic or leave unanswered
questions, have sparked lively debates among Harry Potter enthusiasts.
Today we’ll embark on a quest to dissect some of the most intriguing plot holes that
have left fans scratching their heads.
Diving in to these mysteries, examining the inconsistencies and seeking to find plausible
explanations or theories that help to reconcile these discrepancies.
A few of the more common ‘plot holes’ identified by fans actually have simpler explanations
than you may think.
Anyway, I won’t dawdle any longer, let’s dive in to it.
Why Didn't Voldemort Make His Death Eaters Make the Unbreakable Vow?
The Unbreakable Vow is a magical contract made between two parties that utilizes a binding
spell.
It’s a dangerous and powerful spell that carries significant risks.
Essentially, If either party breaks the terms of the vow, they instantly die.
And given how honest the spell keeps everyone, it’s surprisingly underutilized in the Harry
Potter series.
And one use-case in particular that often jumps to the forefront of fan’s minds is…Why
didn’t Voldemort use it on his Death Eaters?
They were his followers, his henchmen, and I can’t think of a way better to keep your
followers loyal than the imminent threat of DEATH.
There are a few possible explanations for this apparent plot hole, but I still think
that the Vow would have been a better course of action.
The first possibility is that Voldemort valued fear over loyalty.
Voldemort was known for instilling fear in his followers, rather than relying on their
genuine loyalty.
He may have believed that the threat of punishment or death was enough to keep his followers
in line, and that the Unbreakable Vow was unnecessary.
He also had an exceedingly large ego which may have caused him to believe that no one
would possibly cross him.
He was also extremely powerful and perhaps OVERLY confident in his magical abilities.
He may have believed that he could control his followers using Legilimency or other similar
means, and therefore felt no need to resort to the Unbreakable Vow.
The Unbreakable Vow would've kept people like Snape from becoming double agents.
Why Did No one Notice Peter Pettigrew on the Maurader’s Map?
One of the biggest plot holes in the Harry Potter franchise revolves around Ron's pet
rat, Scabbers, who is later revealed to be Peter Pettigrew.
Ron slept with Scabbers every night and carried him around, which should have been visible
on the Marauder's Map possessed by Fred and George Weasley.
However, the twins never mentioned to anyone that Ron was sleeping with a man named Peter.
Some argue that Fred and George may not have noticed every name on the map, but given their
mischievous nature and love for pranks,it seems likely that they would have checked
on Ron's location enough times to spot his invisible friend Peter, making this particular
revelation a glaring inconsistency in the story.
Sure, Peter Pettigrew’s name wouldn’t have meant much to Fred and George, but the
constant close proximity with their brother should have set off alarm bells.
Why Even Have Locks?
In the Harry Potter story our protagonists encounter door locks on a few occasions.
And while this may seem like a rather innocuous detail to dive into, I can’t help but think
about how USELESS locks are in the magical world.
The main reason for this being that the ‘Unlocking Charm’ Alohomora is taught to FIRST YEAR
Hogwarts students.
If just about every witch and wizard walking around has the ability to UNLOCK locks, it
makes them seem very pointless.
There also seem to be a variety of door-unlocking / general unlocking charms present in the
Wizarding World, which makes this doubly confusing.
Colin Creevey is using muggle technology at Hogwarts
In "The Goblet of Fire", it is established that muggle technology doesn't function at
Hogwarts, preventing students from using phones or email to communicate with their parents.
However, bearing that piece of information in mind, it seems puzzling that Colin Creevey’s
muggle camera appears to work just fine.
It IS possible that a professor enchanted the camera to make Colin feel more at home
and allow him to capture his wizarding experiences, but I’m a bit skeptical.
How Did Fred and George Get Into the Marauder's Map?
The Marauder's Map was originally created by James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin,
and Peter Pettigrew during their time at Hogwarts.
And since the map’s creation, it has changed hands on a few occasions.
When Fred and George Weasley began attending Hogwarts, they stole the map from Argus Filch.
And after getting ample use of it, they passed it on to Harry Potter.
While handing the map over, they inform him that the password to activate it is "I solemnly
swear that I am up to no good."
By tapping the map with a wand and reciting the password, the map reveals its secrets,
including the layout of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the location of every
person within the castle, and secret passages that can be used to navigate the school grounds
undetected.
The ISSUE here is HOW Fred and George would have figured out the map’s password.
As they stole the map from Filch, presumably no one would have ever told them.
As things stand, there’s no identifiable explanation for how the pair would have revealed
the map’s secrets, or even why it would have stood out as an item of interest.
The Trace is Inconsistent
After first stepping foot in to the world of Magic, Harry was repeatedly cautioned against
using magic outside the premises of the school and before Muggles.
The Wizarding world's concealment depended on this.
The Ministry of Magic attempted to instill discipline in young witches and wizards by
tracking any use of magic in their vicinity using a Trace Charm.
However, throughout the series, this enforcement method was shown to be highly inconsistent.
For instance, when Dobby or Harry performed magic at the Dursleys', the Ministry was quickly
informed.
In contrast, when members of the Order of the Phoenix used magic in the same location,
there appeared to be no reaction from the Trace.
Ultimately, the Trace Charm proved highly ineffective, particularly as it wasn’t able
to properly identify the person responsible for casting the magic in the first place.
Why Didn’t Harry Contact Sirius Instead of Going to the Ministry?
Throughout the Harry Potter series, Harry and his godfather Sirius communicate through
a variety of covert means, but when Harry becomes concerned that Sirius is in danger,
he fails to employ any of them.
In "The Order of the Phoenix," Harry encounters a vision of Sirius being held captive at the
Ministry, and fearing his friend is in danger, he recklessly rushes to his aid.
As a result, Harry falls into the clutches of the Death Eaters, and Sirius ultimately
loses his life.
HOWEVER, I feel like this entire tragedy could have been prevented if Harry had simply used
an alternative (and already established) method of communication.
You see, earlier in the series, Sirius had given Harry a two-way mirror, which he and
Harry's father James utilized during their school days.
While Harry does use a fragment of the mirror to contact Aberforth later in the series,
it would have been more advantageous if he had used it to confirm whether or not Sirius
was in danger before acting upon his fears.
The books DO mention that Harry forgot about the mirror in his haste, but it does seem
quite improbable that no one would have thought to use it at any point.
How Old is McGonagall?
This particular plot hole actually branches over in to the Fantastic Beasts universe.
According to the timelines presented in the books, it was a commonly held belief that
Professor McGonagall was born in the year 1935.
However, her appearance in a scene set at Hogwarts in 1910, depicted in "The Crimes
of Grindelwald", left everyone a little bit confused.
McGonagall's presumed birth year places her in the late 1880s, but her engagement at the
age of 18 to a Muggle who died in the First Wizarding War seems to challenge this estimation.
At present, there is no reasonable explanation for this inconsistency.
Sirius and Polyjuice Potion
Though Sirius Black was able to clear his name in the eyes of those closest to him,
he remained unable to prove his innocence to the wider wizarding world.
Consequently, he was confined to Grimmauld Place- largely unable to join the other wizards
in the Order's battle against Voldemort.
At times, his frustration led him to break the rules of his confinement, transforming
into his dog form to visit Harry and escape the confines of the house.
However, Sirius was cautious since the Ministry was aware of his dog form and he needed to
avoid being sent back to Azkaban.
And while transforming in to his dog form was undoubtedly a sensible precaution, there
is another method that Sirius could have explored which seems..More appropriate- Polyjuice Potion.
Polyjuice potion, which allows you to change your physical form, is seemingly not overly
complex to create (even students with minimal training seem to be able to manage it) and
has the ability to deceive any other wizard.
Quite easily Sirius could have assumed the physical form of another Order member, traveling
around largely unnoticed.
Why Sirius would not have explored this option is a mystery to me.
Harry And The Thestrals
A Thestral is a breed of winged horse with skeletal and reptilian features - resembling
a sort of ‘Evil’ Pegasus.
These ‘horses’ (if you could call them that) pull the carriages at Hogwarts, and
are only visible to those who have witnessed death.
Harry first sees these creatures at the beginning of his fourth year, following the death of
Cedric Diggory.
However, fans have pointed out that Harry should have seen Thestrals earlier.
In "The Goblet of Fire," after the Triwizard Tournament ends and Diggory has already died,
Harry sees the "horseless carriages."
Theoretically, he should have been able to see the Thestrals at that time, but they only
become visible to him in the next book.
J.K.
Rowling herself has addressed this discrepancy, explaining that a person must fully internalize
death in order to see Thestrals.
“Everyone has said to me that Harry saw people die before he could see the Thestrals.
Just to clear this up once and for all, this was not a mistake.
I would be the first to say that I have made mistakes in the books, but this was not a
mistake.
I really thought this one through.
Harry did not see his parents die.
He was one year old and in a cot at the time.
Although you never see that scene, I wrote it and then cut it.
He didn’t see it; he was too young to appreciate it.
When you find out about the Thestrals, you find that you can see them only when you really
understand death in a broader sense, when you really know what it means.
Someone said that Harry saw Quirrell die, but that is not true.
He was unconscious when Quirrell died, in Philosopher’s Stone.
He did not know until he came around that Quirrell had died when Voldemort left his
body.
Then you have Cedric.
With Cedric, fair point.
Harry had just seen Cedric die when he got back into the carriages to go back to Hogsmeade
station.
I thought about that at the end of Goblet, because I have known from the word go what
was drawing the carriages.
From Chamber of Secrets, in which there are carriages drawn by invisible things, I have
known what was there.
I decided that it would be an odd thing to do right at the end of a book.
Anyone who has suffered a bereavement knows that there is the immediate shock but that
it takes a little while to appreciate fully that you will never see that person again.
Until that had happened, I did not think that Harry could see the Thestrals.
That means that when he goes back, he saw these spooky things.
It set the tone for Phoenix, which is a much darker book.”
Neville and Dementors
Another plot hole related to Harry's memories of his past arises when the Dementors appear
on the Hogwarts train.
While most of the children feel cold and miserable in their presence, Harry experiences a more
intense reaction.
He hears someone screaming, collapses, and requires Professor Lupin's assistance to drive
the Dementor away.
It is explained that Harry is profoundly affected because he has witnessed true horrors in his
past, and the screaming he hears is a memory of his mother's death.
This explanation is logical, but it raises the question of why Neville, who also experienced
a tragic event in childhood, did not have a similar reaction on the train.
Neville's parents were tortured into insanity by the Cruciatus Curse when he was just sixteen
months old, which is almost the same age that Harry was when his parents died.
Moreover, Neville even visited his parents at St. Mungo's, witnessing their state and
having knowledge of what happened to them.
One would assume that this level of horror would be enough to affect Neville in the presence
of Dementors as well.
The Portkey Timetable
During the Quidditch World Cup, Harry and the Weasleys use a Portkey (an old boot) to
reach the event.
Across the Wizarding World, numerous Portkeys are set up, implying specific activation times.
However, the Portkey Voldemort uses to transport Harry in the Triwizard Tournament must have
been enchanted to work only within the maze.
As Voldemort couldn't possibly know when Harry would reach the cup, it raises the question
of how the Portkey was timed correctly.
Some Portkeys may have wider timing windows, but the World Cup Portkeys had a small window
to prevent Muggles from using them.
The Triwizard Cup's Portkey likely had a wider window to cover the contestants' time in the
maze.
My point is this: The specifics behind portkeys and their timings remains a bit of a mystery.
Why Didn't The Ministry Use Its Truth Serum?
Veritaserum, capable of compelling truth from the drinker, is one of the most powerful potions
in the Wizarding World.
But for some strange reason, it’s heavily underutilized in the story.
This potion had the potential to greatly benefit the Ministry of Magic in resolving a multitude
of issues more efficiently.
For example, following the first Wizarding War, this truth serum could have been used
during the trials of known Death Eaters.
Some escaped imprisonment by claiming to be under the Imperius Curse, while others, like
Sirius Black, were unjustly convicted.
The use of Veritaserum could have eliminated any doubt.
I won’t go in much further, as I’ve actually already made a much LARGER break-down of why
Veritaserum was used so infrequently.
But if you’re curious, go and check it out.
Why Didn't Sirius Escape Azkaban Sooner?
In "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," Harry learns that a dangerous murderer, Sirius
Black, has escaped from Azkaban prison with the intention of killing him.
Although Sirius' motivations become clearer towards the climax of the film, one thing
remains unclear: why he chose to remain imprisoned for such a long time.
Fans of the movies and books know that Sirius used his Animagus form, a large black dog,
to escape.
He intentionally lost weight, then transformed and squeezed through the bars of the prison.
However, this raises the question of why he didn't do it sooner, as transforming into
his animal form seems relatively simple.
Sirius could have easily lost the weight in a matter of weeks, so why fester in Azkaban
for years?
One argument for WHY Sirius would have remained in Azkaban is that he would have had no way
to prove his innocence.
However, after seeing Pettigrew in the Weasley family’s photo in the newspaper, he would
have seen this as an opportunity to regain his freedom and prove his innocence- prompting
his escape.
Why Was Cho Chang at the Battle of Hogwarts?
In the Goblet of Fire we’re introduced to Cho Chang, a fifth-year student who becomes
involved with Cedric Diggory and later joins Dumbledore's Army.
She also develops a romantic relationship with Harry.
Interestingly, despite graduating from Hogwarts in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,"
Cho is still present at the school during the Battle of Hogwarts.
This raises the question of why she is still there, especially since she is seen wearing
a uniform.
The answer to this Plot Hole sort of boils down to what version of Harry Potter you’re
looking at, book or movie.
In the books Cho returns to Hogwarts after getting a message on the Dumbledore’s Army
coin, subsequently apparating into Hog's Head & entering Hogwarts through Ariana's portrait
to join the fight.
In the MOVIES on the other hand, Cho Chang is represented as being in the same year as
Harry, which is why she would have been present for the battle.
And that’s it for today’s video!
What do you think of these plot holes?
Do you have any you’d like to add?
Please leave a comment down below.
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Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live