We all mention plot holes throughout various other threads, and there are many of them. I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread for posting new ones you found and collecting old ones.

 

How about the fact that when Voldemort attacked the Potters they had absolutely no means of magical transportation to leave the house?

Since it was under Fidelius, Anti-apparition wards would be kinda pointless; they also didn't have Floo, and seemingly there wasn't a single broom in the house for them to use, nor did they have emergency portkeys.

The explanation? JK needed them dead, escape was therefore impossible.


Does this count?

 

I always wondered when James told Lily to get Harry and get out, she didnt.

 

One huge plot hole I'm sure everyone has noticed.

James get's killed before Lily yet, during the priori incantatem (sp?) Lily comes out the wand before James.

Also if the Potters were under a fidelius charm, then how did Hagrid find Harry (without being told the secret).

Just two that have really bugged me, I'm sure there are others.

Litha

 

JK recognised the Priori Incantatem as a mistake and changed it in later versions.

 

Well it didn't reach my copy. So depending on the quality of the next book, I might be getting a nice sell on ebay.

What about the fidelius charm, has she talked us out of that one too.

Litha

 

If Crouch jr. wanted to kidnapp Harry so bad, why didn't he simply turn the doorknob of his classroom into a portkey, or shove one in his hands during one of the classes? Why wait for the end of the tournament?


And if Fawkes could find Harry in a matter of minutes down in the Chamber, why didn't he took Dumbledore down there in the first place?


Why couldn't they find a way to immobilize Pettigrew in the third book? The fact that JK hadn't invented stupefy yet is not acceptable, btw.

 

That could be easily explained and it's not a plothole.
First of thing Sirius who knew where the house is took Harry out and then he gave him to Hagrid. Simple.

 

this is a point i made in 'the problems with HPB' thread:

There were some responses to that point as well, as follows:

 

I think the point was to make it look as though Harry died as part of the tournement and keep Voldemort's rebirth quiet as long as possible.

Everything about the Fidelius is a plot hole. It is never consistent.

I think the point was that Harry left the entrance open and had to "call" to him in a way. There is no reason to think Fawkes new where it was before hand or could carry Dumbledore down there. (In CoS, Fawkes flies into the chamber. He doesn't fire flash there)

How about that Dumbledore tells Harry the prophecy after protecting it all year despite the fact he never learned to protect his mind.

The "Vanishing cabinet" turns out to be a two way system despite the fact that it somehow manages to send someone into a toilet in one of the books (and yes I realize it was sort of broken, but that is still a crappy explanation.)

EVerything about the blood wards. They seem to protect him when he isn't at the Dursley's as long as they are charged, but he seems to be attacked an awful lot away from the house. They will expire when he is 17, yet Dumbledore tells him to go there one more time before he turns 17 instead of say, staying at school or under Fidelius.

Dumbledore knew someone was after the stone in book 1 before someone tried to steal it from Gringotts and before anyone knew Quirrell was helping Voldemort.

Dumbledore spends tons of time trying to protect the stone, then simply destroys it in the end.

Hagrids "monster" obviously gets away during the first chamber incident (seeing as it now lives in the Forest) yet simply the fact that Riddle says he saw it and Hagrid is expelled is enough to have the school remain open.

The twins never seemed to notice in all the time they had the map a Peter Pettigrew in Percy's dorm or Ron's dorm.

Snakes don't actually have ears, yet you can talk to them (though this could be explained away through magic)

 

Wasn't there some question as to why at the end of GoF, Harry didn't notice the freakish-looking dead horses pulling the previously imagined horseless carriages?

He saw them at the start of OotP and we later learn about thestrals, but I find it hard that he wouldn't have noticed them on his way back to the train at the end of year 4. You know, after he killed Cedric.

Of course, assuming his eyes were closed or unconscious when Quirrell died, and seeing the green flash of light and his mom didn't count either.

 

JKR said something about having to "internalize" the death or some shit.

As a baby, he couldn't fully grasp the implications of her dying. In SS, he was unconscious and at the end of GoF he hadn't fully accepted the death yet. Of course, I figure she didn't want to bring them up yet, so this was her interview out-of-plothole line.

 

I've never really understood why Dumbledore will clealy defy the ministry one momment and then follow their orders, no matter how reluctantly, or run in fear of them the next. Why does dumbledore allow the dementors to be at hogwarts during POA on ministry orders, and why does he go to azkaban willingly in COS and then run from them in OOTP. Then in GOF, he allows crouch to show the class the unforgivables - directly against the ministry orders - and throughot OOTP and HBP stand up for believing harry that voldemort is back and being completely public in his decision and beliefs, and yet he still allows Umbridge to come and work at the school

 

http://forums.fictionalley.org/park/forumdisplay.php?forumid=49

 

I think that pretty much sums up this thread...

 

Erm...okay, i'll buy that Sirius knew where the Potter house was. He was their friend, and they would have shared the secret with him.

How the fuck would Hagrid know where to go? For all he knew, the Potter house could have been ON Hogwarts property just as much as it could have been in Godric's Hollow. For him to show up at Godric's Hollow is ridiculous...there's now ay he would have known.

Of course, i'm assuming that James and Lily wouldn't have told Hagrid the secret to their house. It makes no sense if they did...he's hardly trustworthy (i know he couldn't tell the secret, but he'd probably get drunk and mention that he knew where James Potter was, or something of the sort.).

 

Dumbledore told him to go there. He could say something like that: "Hagrid go to the house number 76" while the Potter's house was 75. He would see Sirius and take Harry. Simple.

 

It doesn't fit with the story. I'm pretty sure Hagrid says he took Harry from the rubble of the house and that Sirius asked for Harry, but didn't get him. Simply the fact that people are able to say Godric's Hollow to him should be impossible unless Peter is dead, which he isn't. I think we are supposed to assume that, unlike Grimmauld Place, where a house was hidden, that somehow the Potters were hidden, not there house and when they died the charm was broken. Either that or when the house was destroyed the charm was broken. Either way, I stick by my statement that EVERYTHING having to do with the Fidelius charm is a plothole. I honestly think she isn't consistent with how she describes it in cannon.

 

Here what's Hagrid says:
"No, sir -- house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right
before the Muggles started swarmin' around."
As we see the Fidelious is broken when the house is ruined. Maybe a baclash from voldemort's death ruined something in the charm like I don't know.. stones with runes or some other magic stuff?

 

Or maybe the charm is broken once the secret is broken. There was obviously some meaning in switching the Secret Keeper from Sirius to Peter at the last minute. If Sirius is able to see and share the secret with others anyway then the whole double-blind thing with the Secret Keeper being unknown is pointless.