Indeed. Or if Harry had half a brain, he would've tried to find out what the Order was planning, and make sure to do something completely different from what they had planned. I mean the absolute polar opposite.
His whole life was fucked up because of a betrayal within the Order in the first place.


I don't know if this is really a plot hole per se, but more like an huge opportunity not taken advantage of: the Taboo. If someone took to time to infuse a word with magic so that the result of saying said name would draw your enemies to you....sounds like a skeet shoot to me. Just substitute calling out "Pull!" with "Voldemort!".

 

I wonder if there was any discussion regarding this:
Sirius and Remus don't stun or petrify Peter at the end of P.O.A...I mean it has to be the sensible thing to do hasn't it, even Hermione used it on Neville in the first book...(we could probably, with some effort, conceive some twisted logic for why Snape did not do it to Remus when he tied him up in chains just a while earlier...)

The only reason I can come up with is that if they did it the story could not go on...

That J.K.R seems to like portraying the hero of the piece as ordinary is something that rankles. I have heard opinions that she wanted to show the kiddies that having a great heart was important, but she need not have praised mediocrity in skill to the skies as she did. We don't need children thinking that as long as one has a great heart skill and knowledge are unnecessary...but I am a fan of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand so I suppose I am biased.

 

Yes. All the obvious errors, the logic traps, and character failures that are there because complex plots and deep backstory "aren't necessary in a book intended for children" - OK, one of my All-Time-Favorite screwups -
Book6, the setup for the Scene on the Tower.
TWO attempted first-degree murders, the Golden Boy jumping up and down yelling, "Malfoy is acting weird, acting suspicious, showing signs of real stress! Someone pay attention to me! Bad Things Are Happening and Malfoy is acting odd! Why aren't you investigating!?!"
And No One Paid Attention. AD and Snape might have set up that suicide-by-Potions-Professor thing, but everyone seems to gloss over that Draco Let Greyback into a School.
It's merest luck that a dozen students weren't savaged or killed. AD's overly complicated and manipulative plot to use his death to cement Snape's position with Voldemort depended on the success of Draco's initiation challenge - and Draco's plots had a history of spectacular failure.

 

@ Mage Ronin: I think one possible explanation for Accio and Evanesco with regards to muggles is that muggles also have magical resistance. If we postulate that magic exists everywhere and in everything and that the difference between a wizard and a muggle is that a wizard has a 'operational' connection to the magic. Thus muggles still have resistance to spells such as Accio and Evanesco.

Many people have brought up the supposed plothole of Voldemort and his overly complicated plan to resurrect himself. It's true that it would have been a trivial undertaking to portkey Harry out once imposter-Moody was inside the school. This assumes an entirely logical and sensible Voldemort. A logical and sensible person doesn't try to take over the world. I think if you view Voldemort as acting in the manner of a seriel killer or the like then it makes more sense. Deranged killers often place great importance on theatrical killings and killing that have symbolical importance. Harry's kidnap is certainly highly theatrical and would have appealed to Voldemort's mindset. The same sort of mindset that made Voldemort create his horcruxes from items relating to the founders rather than simply using ball points pens and random books or a chair.

 

"Overly complicated plan" The Final Battle, when Voldemort casts Avada Kedavera on Harry, because that worked SO WELL last time. Raving nutcase.
If he'd had half the smarts that he'd had as Tom Riddle, Voldemort would have petrified Harry, stepped well back, and ordered all his Death Eaters to cast lethal NON-AK spells at the boy simultaneously. Harry would have been reduced to a small red smear, and the victory would have been assured. Instead V has to make some sort of grand scene.
Reminds me of the worst parts of the James Bond movies.

 

Watch it, Banner, watch it....

Hermione being able to read Beetle Bard's, in Ancient Runes, Runes she only took the equivalent of AP classes in, straight. Not time for translation.

 

Why the hell do wizards celebrate Christmas? They were around before Jesus was born (Ollivanders opened in 382 BC), and are condemned to hell by the religion that created it. Nevermind the fact that they probably know its a stolen holiday (Christmas is stolen from the birthday of an Indian/Persian god in 600 BC) because they had to of acknowledged the conversion of their pagan admirers into the people who based their entire lifestyles around killing them.

 

Excuse for presents!

The majority of the people who celebrate christmas no longer believe in/care about the origins, they just like presents.

 

I can understand muggleborns celebrating christmas, but JKR probably wanted an excuse for Harry to recieve the almighty Deathly Hallow invisibility cloak.

 

I think that she just made up the super cloak part in DH.

EDIT: Woot! 200th post!

 

Wasn't the demiguise hair thing in that little red book she did for comic relief?

 

Indeed, seeing as Moody (well Crouch) could see through it in GOF and Dumbledore could supposedly see through it, although I believe that JKR said he used the spell which reveals peoples presences within a room, I would believe that an artifact from Death himself which can conceal somebody from detection would not be able to be detected with the spell.

Can't remember the spell, sorry.

 

I've rationalized that AD and Moody actually sense Auras - not body heat or scent - instead of simply detecting things that disrupt visible light.

 

i call it one of JKR's Stupid Moments

 

I thought the cloak was an invention of the Peverell brothers along with the other Hallows?

 

I *think* I remember that they stole the set, and each took one.

 

The Hallows weren't stolen. The were each given a Hallow by Death. Dumbledore thinks they were just incredibly gifted wizards who created legendary artifacts.

 

Does it say that in DH? I don't recall that.

 

That is my thought to, but if JKR wants to say that Death gave them to the brothers then what the hell, I ignore most of the last two books anyway.

 

Yeah I'm pretty sure it says that in DH. In fact, here is a wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathly_Hallows_(objects)

I know that Dumbledore did say that the Hallows were the invention of 3 gifted wizards but I have no idea what page it's on.