Posting write-only. EDIT I am no longer write-only
Recall Harry’s transfiguration power:
Last week, when the graduating Ravenclaws were discussing their N.E.W.T. scores, Harry had overheard that upper-year Transfiguration practice involved several ‘shaping exercises’ that relied more on control and precise thinking than raw power; and Harry had promptly set out to learn those, whacking himself hard on the forehead for not trying to read all the later-year textbooks earlier. Professor McGonagall had approved Harry doing a shaping exercise that involved controlling the way in which a Transfiguring object approached its final form—for example, Transfiguring a quill so that the shaft grew out first, then the barbs. Harry was doing an analogous exercise with pencils, growing out the lead first, then surrounding it with wood and finally having the eraser form on top. As Harry had suspected, focusing his attention and magic into a particular part of the pencil’s ongoing transformation had proven similar to the mental discipline used in partial Transfiguration—which could indeed have been used to fake the same effect, by partially Transfiguring only the outer layers of the object. This way was proving relatively easier, though.
With this Harry can:
Partially transfigure his leg into a winding worm. With this leg-worm he could:
Touch his transfigured self to Voldemort’s magic, thereby causing Voldemort to collapse.
Seek out the time-turner . Since the leg is part of his body, twising the time turner would make him go back in time. This is a win, if none of the Death Eaters have cast anti time-turner charms, and Voldemort hasn’t either. The death eaters haven’t had much time and were immediately given orders. It is unclear if Voldemort would cast wards that could interact with Harry.
Transfigure all of himself into the adult form of Voldemort and give counter orders. “That’s Mad-eye Moody, you nitwits!”
Partially transfigure his nose to cover his mouth, then cast non-wordless spells
Dumbledore can cast the Patronus wordlessly (chapter 57). Maybe Harry can too, and
will the Patronus to cover his body (as seen in chapter 100)
will the Patronus to charge Voldemort
will the Patronus to Hug Voldemort, changing his utility function with the unknown power...of love!
Of course, there are lots of solutions if you allow Harry to have done stuff off-camera. “Cedric, if I don’t meet you at 11:59 tonight carrying a mayonnaise-infused gerbil, please use your time turner to cause a paradox”. Harry could turn into his hitherto unseen animagus form ETA which might be a peregrine falcon, the fastest of birds.
And the rest of you, you must fire if Harry Potter tries to run, even if it means striking at your fellow Death Eaters.
Harry’s recently studied on shaped transfiguration made it to his published thought bubbles at the beginning of the final arc—it will be used.
Mr. Grim will probably survive, or have a dying aria, or in some other fashion reveal the story of Peter and Sirius. EDIT I suppose someone could just recognize his dead body.
Snape can’t just die—he doesn’t love Lilly anymore, which means something, and Voldemort returned a favor—he’s got stuff to sort out.
Harry hasn’t used the Foreshadowed Weasley Loot in his pouch. He can use the pouch now, or use it later, but he cannot simply let the pouch fall into Voldemort’s hands. Maybe Hermione could retrieve it?
Unusually, there is not a literary constraint that Harry survive more than to “evade immediate death”. That’s explicit in the author’s challenge, and I think we have a good method of reviving Harry. The explicit lack of constraint is medium evidence Harry’s solution will be fatal.
Beneath the moonlight glints a tiny fragment of silver, a fraction of a line...
(black robes, falling)
...blood spills out in litres, and someone screams a word.
The earlier experiment had measured whether Transfiguring a long diamond rod into a shorter diamond rod would allow it to lift a suspended heavy weight as it contracted, i.e., could you Transfigure against tension, which you in fact could.
Some of these items are expensive even in the Muggle world, and your contact may have to go outside Britain; but one hundred Galleons will be enough to pay for it all
But then I remembered—no handguns in Britain! That was a clue I missed right there!
That happened about 1997 after a famous school massacre, but the story is set in 1992. Guns are still available in the UK(though, obviously not so freely as in the US).
You think he had two guns in his pouch? I mean, it’s not impossible, but it seems unlikely(and if he did, why did he use the lesser gun to shoot at Voldemort?).
Not seriously. I’m just trying to save the beautiful theory (that what the Weasleys’ contact had to leave Britain to get was a gun) from the ugly fact (that guns were available in Britain at the time).
Posting write-only. EDIT I am no longer write-only
Recall Harry’s transfiguration power:
With this Harry can:
Partially transfigure his leg into a winding worm. With this leg-worm he could:
Touch his transfigured self to Voldemort’s magic, thereby causing Voldemort to collapse.
Seek out the time-turner . Since the leg is part of his body, twising the time turner would make him go back in time. This is a win, if none of the Death Eaters have cast anti time-turner charms, and Voldemort hasn’t either. The death eaters haven’t had much time and were immediately given orders. It is unclear if Voldemort would cast wards that could interact with Harry.
Transfigure all of himself into the adult form of Voldemort and give counter orders. “That’s Mad-eye Moody, you nitwits!”
Partially transfigure his nose to cover his mouth, then cast non-wordless spells
Dumbledore can cast the Patronus wordlessly (chapter 57). Maybe Harry can too, and
will the Patronus to cover his body (as seen in chapter 100)
will the Patronus to charge Voldemort
will the Patronus to Hug Voldemort, changing his utility function with the unknown power...of love!
Of course, there are lots of solutions if you allow Harry to have done stuff off-camera. “Cedric, if I don’t meet you at 11:59 tonight carrying a mayonnaise-infused gerbil, please use your time turner to cause a paradox”. Harry could turn into his hitherto unseen animagus form ETA which might be a peregrine falcon, the fastest of birds.
Useful
Evidence we have the Harry doesn’t
Harry’s recently studied on shaped transfiguration made it to his published thought bubbles at the beginning of the final arc—it will be used.
Mr. Grim will probably survive, or have a dying aria, or in some other fashion reveal the story of Peter and Sirius. EDIT I suppose someone could just recognize his dead body.
Snape can’t just die—he doesn’t love Lilly anymore, which means something, and Voldemort returned a favor—he’s got stuff to sort out.
Harry hasn’t used the Foreshadowed Weasley Loot in his pouch. He can use the pouch now, or use it later, but he cannot simply let the pouch fall into Voldemort’s hands. Maybe Hermione could retrieve it?
Unusually, there is not a literary constraint that Harry survive more than to “evade immediate death”. That’s explicit in the author’s challenge, and I think we have a good method of reviving Harry. The explicit lack of constraint is medium evidence Harry’s solution will be fatal.
The Foreshadowed Weasley Loot was invoked—the gun.
I was going to correct you
But then I remembered—no handguns in Britain! That was a clue I missed right there!
That happened about 1997 after a famous school massacre, but the story is set in 1992. Guns are still available in the UK(though, obviously not so freely as in the US).
Right, so what he actually must asked them for is a gun that was already banned in the UK but not in the U.S.. Maybe one of those ‘assault rifles’?
You think he had two guns in his pouch? I mean, it’s not impossible, but it seems unlikely(and if he did, why did he use the lesser gun to shoot at Voldemort?).
Not seriously. I’m just trying to save the beautiful theory (that what the Weasleys’ contact had to leave Britain to get was a gun) from the ugly fact (that guns were available in Britain at the time).