Great list. I definitely haven’t seen the map errors worked out to my satisfaction. From Chapter 25:
“Still on the fritz,” said George.
“Both, or—”
“Intermittent one fixed itself again. Other one’s same as ever.”
I think at least one of these errors is Tom Riddle, although I’m not sure whether it’s the intermittent one or the other one because I’m not sure whether it’s more likely to attach to Quirrell or Harry. I don’t have any good second candidates.
I decided to enumerate all the map errors I could think of.
Name errors: any error in which someone’s name is persistently not what you’d expect.
Quirrell being named Defense Professor.
Anyone (probably Quirrell, maybe Harry) being named Tom Riddle.
Quirrell or Harry being named Heir of Slytherin.
Map errors: any error in which the map itself is drawn incorrectly, or in a way you wouldn’t expect.
The Chamber of Secrets entrance being drawn on the map if/when Quirrell accesses it.
Quirrell being drawn inside a wall if/when Quirrell accesses the Chamber of Secrets.
If Quirrell can become a spirit, Quirrell being drawn inside a wall when he is in fact inside a wall.
Harry being drawn in strange and incorrect places when he’s inside of his trunk.
Name persistence errors: any error in which someone changes names.
Harry changing names while using his “dark side.”
Quirrell switching between Quirinus Quirrell and “Defense Professor,” possibly when Quirrell “rests.”
Quirrell being labeled Salazar Slytherin, particularly when he accesses wards.
Harry being labeled something more commonly associated with Professor Quirrell when he uses his Potterdar.
Multiple dot errors: any error in which one person is in multiple places.
If the Dark Lord can become disembodied (perhaps while Quirrell is “resting”), separate “Quirinus Quirrell” and “Defense Professor” dots in different locations.
Any student with a Time-Turner showing up twice on the map.
As someone suggested earlier, it’s possible that Sirius Black is hiding out as the Weasley owl (the “measured and courteous hoot”). That would fit with Peter Pettigrew being the unfortunate in Azkaban chanting, “I’m not serious.”
It’s also possible that Pettigrew is hiding out somewhere, I suppose, but that doesn’t seem smart.
This also raises the possibility that someone or multiple someones who weren’t ever Marauders using small animagus forms to get around the castle, which could show up funny on the map.
Please note that Dumbledore has used the map, and has commanded it to “find Tom Riddle”. Many of your suggestions would lead Dumbledore to discover something he hasn’t.
This isn’t so. Quirrell was off campus when Dumbledore used the map. The only suggestion that it eliminates, assuming that Quirrell wasn’t using his Potterdar at the time, is the idea that Harry is persistently labeled Tom Riddle.
I don’t think Tom Riddle would show up on the map, as Dumbledore drew a circle around Quirrell and presented him to the Hogwarts Security System as “The Defense Professor”. I’m guessing the map just taps into that system, so that is all they’ll see.
It could be the constant one, as all the others show up by name. but I’m not sure they’d make a fuss about that.
As for the intermittent, I’m guessing it’s Harry when he wears the Cloak—It is explicitly said that it doesn’t just turn you invisible like other cloaks, but hides you completely (except for the eye, apparently).
My other candidate for the intermittent one is Time Turned people, but since several students have Time Turners I’m guessing the twins would figure it out eventually. More likely, it just shows the ‘current’ version of the person.
...Actually, if that were the case, the map could be used to figure out which of the copies isn’t time turned. Not sure what you’d do with that info, though.
My other candidate for the intermittent one is Time Turned people, but since several students have Time Turners I’m guessing the twins would figure it out eventually. More likely, it just shows the ‘current’ version of the person.
Bear in mind that the official explanation is that Time Turners are used to treat “Spontaneous Duplication”. If the map showed multiple copies of a Spontaneous Duplication-sufferer running around, that might be dismissed as a feature, not a bug.
I think “Spontaneous Duplication” is made-up by Minerva or someone as an explaination to wave off anyone who might see mulitple Harrys running around due to the time turner.
Somehow, I am unable to imagine Minerva flat-out lying to a student about an academic fact such as the existence/symptoms of a disease, certainly not without something truly staggering being at stake.
As for the intermittent, I’m guessing it’s Harry when he wears the Cloak
If the Weasley twins noticed Harry appearing and disappearing, they wouldn’t be calling that “[the] intermittent one”, they’d be calling it “Harry” or “Potter” or something. No?
Also, I assume if they saw Tom Riddle or Salazar Slytherin or some other name they consider utterly evil, they’d tell Dumbledore immediately, rather than dismiss it as a bug. Even if they’ve never heard of Pascal’s Mugging, that’s just the sane thing to do.
Do they know who Tom Riddle is/was? I don’t remember why they should and in canon it at least isn’t common knowledge among students (Ginny didn’t recognize the name of the person in the diary).
You are right. I’m updating in favor of “Tom Riddle” showing on the map. Still not convinced because when Dumbledore says “Show me Tom Riddle” the twins don’t go “Hey, that’s the guy that keeps popping up!”. That might have happened off screen, but we don’t see any evidence that it did.
EDIT: I have re-read that part, and Dumbledore waits until he is alone in the room to say “Find Tom Riddle”.
On the other hand, I admire the poetry where having a taboo on the name and story of Voldemort ultimately dooms you, just because you didn’t want to remember and talk about the bad things. Harry even talks about this in one of the early chapters, I believe.
I agree with robryk: they’ve probably never heard of Tom Riddle. And I fear that if they saw SS’s name their reaction would as likely be “hey, cool!” as “OK, let’s go and talk to the headmaster”.
[EDITED to add: hi, downvoter(s). If you’d like to tell me what you think I did wrong, I can probably try to do it less in future.]
And, even if they did, they wouldn’t know that Riddle = Voldemort. At least, in canon I think Dumbledore or someone says in so many words that scarcely anyone ever connected the two.
I don’t think Harry wears the cloak often enough for the Weasleys to notice it. Even then, a missing Harry could be caused by many things other than the Cloak—perhaps the Weasleys just missed him, for instance, or he could be out to lunch with Quirrell. They’d have to watch him as he put the Cloak on for it to be notable.
… Although, hmm… If memory serves, the interaction of Cloak and Map is discussed in canon. Does anyone remember how that worked?
It may have something to do with the fact that the legitimate owner of the Hallow participated in making the map, but the whole map itself is very overpowered for a group of 4 students to create anyway. If it was possible to create such a map, why wouldn’t the Hogwarts authority create it ? It’s much more likely that the map was made by someone much more powerful, and only slightly altered by the marauders. Maybe they just added the fact that’s usually blank and you’ve to swear you’re up to not good to make it work ?
That’s probably why its origin was changed in HPMoR (where, as opposed to in canon, it was originally part of the Hogwarts security system and possibly made by Salazar Slytherin).
Great list. I definitely haven’t seen the map errors worked out to my satisfaction. From Chapter 25:
I think at least one of these errors is Tom Riddle, although I’m not sure whether it’s the intermittent one or the other one because I’m not sure whether it’s more likely to attach to Quirrell or Harry. I don’t have any good second candidates.
I decided to enumerate all the map errors I could think of.
Name errors: any error in which someone’s name is persistently not what you’d expect.
Quirrell being named Defense Professor.
Anyone (probably Quirrell, maybe Harry) being named Tom Riddle.
Quirrell or Harry being named Heir of Slytherin.
Map errors: any error in which the map itself is drawn incorrectly, or in a way you wouldn’t expect.
The Chamber of Secrets entrance being drawn on the map if/when Quirrell accesses it.
Quirrell being drawn inside a wall if/when Quirrell accesses the Chamber of Secrets.
If Quirrell can become a spirit, Quirrell being drawn inside a wall when he is in fact inside a wall.
Harry being drawn in strange and incorrect places when he’s inside of his trunk.
Name persistence errors: any error in which someone changes names.
Harry changing names while using his “dark side.”
Quirrell switching between Quirinus Quirrell and “Defense Professor,” possibly when Quirrell “rests.”
Quirrell being labeled Salazar Slytherin, particularly when he accesses wards.
Harry being labeled something more commonly associated with Professor Quirrell when he uses his Potterdar.
Multiple dot errors: any error in which one person is in multiple places.
If the Dark Lord can become disembodied (perhaps while Quirrell is “resting”), separate “Quirinus Quirrell” and “Defense Professor” dots in different locations.
Any student with a Time-Turner showing up twice on the map.
As someone suggested earlier, it’s possible that Sirius Black is hiding out as the Weasley owl (the “measured and courteous hoot”). That would fit with Peter Pettigrew being the unfortunate in Azkaban chanting, “I’m not serious.”
It’s also possible that Pettigrew is hiding out somewhere, I suppose, but that doesn’t seem smart.
This also raises the possibility that someone or multiple someones who weren’t ever Marauders using small animagus forms to get around the castle, which could show up funny on the map.
We now also potentially have
A hidden troll is marked “Defense Professor”.
Please note that Dumbledore has used the map, and has commanded it to “find Tom Riddle”. Many of your suggestions would lead Dumbledore to discover something he hasn’t.
This isn’t so. Quirrell was off campus when Dumbledore used the map. The only suggestion that it eliminates, assuming that Quirrell wasn’t using his Potterdar at the time, is the idea that Harry is persistently labeled Tom Riddle.
I don’t think Tom Riddle would show up on the map, as Dumbledore drew a circle around Quirrell and presented him to the Hogwarts Security System as “The Defense Professor”. I’m guessing the map just taps into that system, so that is all they’ll see. It could be the constant one, as all the others show up by name. but I’m not sure they’d make a fuss about that.
As for the intermittent, I’m guessing it’s Harry when he wears the Cloak—It is explicitly said that it doesn’t just turn you invisible like other cloaks, but hides you completely (except for the eye, apparently).
My other candidate for the intermittent one is Time Turned people, but since several students have Time Turners I’m guessing the twins would figure it out eventually. More likely, it just shows the ‘current’ version of the person.
...Actually, if that were the case, the map could be used to figure out which of the copies isn’t time turned. Not sure what you’d do with that info, though.
Bear in mind that the official explanation is that Time Turners are used to treat “Spontaneous Duplication”. If the map showed multiple copies of a Spontaneous Duplication-sufferer running around, that might be dismissed as a feature, not a bug.
I think “Spontaneous Duplication” is made-up by Minerva or someone as an explaination to wave off anyone who might see mulitple Harrys running around due to the time turner.
Somehow, I am unable to imagine Minerva flat-out lying to a student about an academic fact such as the existence/symptoms of a disease, certainly not without something truly staggering being at stake.
I think it sounds the way an official lie would sound, and afaik the consequences of botched time travel are truly staggering.
They start with “the Scotland Crater” and go up from there.
If the Weasley twins noticed Harry appearing and disappearing, they wouldn’t be calling that “[the] intermittent one”, they’d be calling it “Harry” or “Potter” or something. No?
True.
Also, I assume if they saw Tom Riddle or Salazar Slytherin or some other name they consider utterly evil, they’d tell Dumbledore immediately, rather than dismiss it as a bug. Even if they’ve never heard of Pascal’s Mugging, that’s just the sane thing to do.
Do they know who Tom Riddle is/was? I don’t remember why they should and in canon it at least isn’t common knowledge among students (Ginny didn’t recognize the name of the person in the diary).
You are right. I’m updating in favor of “Tom Riddle” showing on the map. Still not convinced because when Dumbledore says “Show me Tom Riddle” the twins don’t go “Hey, that’s the guy that keeps popping up!”. That might have happened off screen, but we don’t see any evidence that it did.
EDIT: I have re-read that part, and Dumbledore waits until he is alone in the room to say “Find Tom Riddle”.
On the other hand, I admire the poetry where having a taboo on the name and story of Voldemort ultimately dooms you, just because you didn’t want to remember and talk about the bad things. Harry even talks about this in one of the early chapters, I believe.
I agree with robryk: they’ve probably never heard of Tom Riddle. And I fear that if they saw SS’s name their reaction would as likely be “hey, cool!” as “OK, let’s go and talk to the headmaster”.
[EDITED to add: hi, downvoter(s). If you’d like to tell me what you think I did wrong, I can probably try to do it less in future.]
Wouldn’t Tom Riddle have been at school around the same time as the Weasley twins’ grandparents?
But why would they know the names of people in the school at the same time as their grandparents?
And, even if they did, they wouldn’t know that Riddle = Voldemort. At least, in canon I think Dumbledore or someone says in so many words that scarcely anyone ever connected the two.
I don’t think Harry wears the cloak often enough for the Weasleys to notice it. Even then, a missing Harry could be caused by many things other than the Cloak—perhaps the Weasleys just missed him, for instance, or he could be out to lunch with Quirrell. They’d have to watch him as he put the Cloak on for it to be notable.
… Although, hmm… If memory serves, the interaction of Cloak and Map is discussed in canon. Does anyone remember how that worked?
Harry Potter Wikia says Lupin saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione under the cloak.
That never made sense to me. Four students built an artifact more powerful than a Deathly Hallow through which Death Himself cannot sense his prey?
It may have something to do with the fact that the legitimate owner of the Hallow participated in making the map, but the whole map itself is very overpowered for a group of 4 students to create anyway. If it was possible to create such a map, why wouldn’t the Hogwarts authority create it ? It’s much more likely that the map was made by someone much more powerful, and only slightly altered by the marauders. Maybe they just added the fact that’s usually blank and you’ve to swear you’re up to not good to make it work ?
That’s probably why its origin was changed in HPMoR (where, as opposed to in canon, it was originally part of the Hogwarts security system and possibly made by Salazar Slytherin).
Wizards invent much less than they theoretically could, which makes them very much like muggles.