Plot holes aplenty! Although Harry Potter is filled with many truly delightful mystical objects, the Time-Turner is simply not one of them.
While the wizarding world of Harry Potter is a work of fiction, the majority of magical artifacts and instruments found within it can be explained by a certain logic. Of course, they’re not meant to truly exist according to Muggle science and what not. Yet, they all seem to follow their own set of rules.
Well, most of them do.
The Time-Turner device is one particular magical object that has created a lot more questions over the years than it has answers. And just when you thought you had it all sorted out, an article would drop on wizardingworld.com that would completely destroy your previous theory.
Which is why, in this article, we’ll be discussing the magical instrument known as the Time-Turner, and the problems associated with such a device. Read on to learn more!
5 Questions About the Time-Turner: ANSWERED
1. What is the Time-Turner?
The Time-Turner shows up for the first time in the third instalment of the Harry Potter series: The Prisoner of Azkaban. It is described as a small hour-glass that can be worn around a witch or wizard’s neck. Throughout the majority of third book, Hermione Granger wears one of these devices.
2. Why does Hermione have a Time-Turner?
As the plot of The Prisoner of Azkaban unfolds, we learn that Hermione has been using the device to travel back in time in order to accomplish a what-should-be-impossible course load. Simply put, she uses time travel to attend multiple classes at the same time. Certainly not what I would’ve used it for—but hey!
3. What issue(s) does the Time-Turner present?
The introduction of the Time-Turner brought up many questions—and potential plot holes.
Of course, the greatest issue presented by the existence of a Time-Turner is the idea that the characters in the series could simply go back in time to “fix” their mistakes or save those who had died.
This led to questions like, “Well, then, why doesn’t Dumbledore, The Order of the Phoenix, or Harry and his friends do that with each threat that comes up in the series?” And even more importantly, questions like, “Why can’t they go back and save Harry’s parents and/or defeat Voldemort?”
4. How were these issues with the Time-Turner resolved?
As it turns out, these issues also became apparent to J.K. Rowling. This is presumably why she shared the following with fans on wizardingworld.com:
“I went far too light-heartedly into the subject of time travel in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. While I do not regret it (Prisoner of Azkaban is one of my favourite books in the series), it opened up a vast number of problems for me, because after all, if wizards could go back and undo problems, where were my future plots?
wizardingworld.com
I solved the problem to my own satisfaction in stages. Firstly, I had Dumbledore and Hermione emphasise how dangerous it would be to be seen in the past, to remind the reader that there might be unforeseen and dangerous consequences as well as solutions in time travel. Secondly, I had Hermione give back the only Time-Turner ever to enter Hogwarts. Thirdly, I smashed all remaining Time-Turners during the battle in the Department of Mysteries, removing the possibility of reliving even short periods in the future.”
Rowling also retroactively created restrictions around the use of time travel through the wizardingworld.com’s case of Eloise Mintumble.
According to the site, Eloise was a witch who, in 1899, travelled back to 1402 and became trapped in the past for five days. This case uncovered that a body undergoes dramatic ageing associated with the amount of time travelled, sharing:
“Now we understand that her body had aged five centuries in its return to the present and, irreparably damaged, she died in St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries shortly after we managed to retrieve her.”
wizardingworld.com
The article goes on to say that the Department of Mysteries has stated that the longest amount of time that a traveller can safely go back is about five hours.
5. Did this resolve the issues with the Time-Turner?
Somewhat. Unfortunately, the reason for limiting how far back one can travel actually seems to present a small problem when considering Hermione’s use of the Time-Turner.
For, if one ages the amount of time they travel backwards, wouldn’t that mean that each time Hermione went back an hour or two, she would age those extra hours? This wouldn’t be too noticeable at first. But surely, with how frequently she was using it, she may have been looking a bit older by the end of The Prisoner of Azkaban…
In any case, other than this small stipulation, the other problems with the Time-Turner appear to have been reasonably well addressed.
What do yo think? Does the way the Time-Turner work bother you? Or are there any other magical objects that you think are problematic? Share your thoughts in the comments below!