i asked if anyone noticed the mistake in book five with the thestrals in harry potter... i dont mean because he saw his parents die, i think since he was a baby and doesnt remember, it doesnt really count.
at the end of book four, AFTER he has seen cedric die, there is a comment made about harry seeing the "horseless carriages." at the beginning of the fifth book he can see them, because he had seen cedric die. so WHY cant he see the thestrals at the end of book four, after he had seen cedric die??
2006-12-13 11:10:53 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
OKAY so thank you all for your answers... i agree she probably just didnt want to deal with the thestral stuff until book five. it goes along with that story. it just seems inconsistant to me!
2006-12-13 14:40:44 · update #1
This has been a theory which swept the fandom, and was ultimately addressed by J.K. Rowling on her website:
Q: Why could Harry see the Thestrals 'Order of the Phoenix'? Shouldn't he have been able to see them much earlier, because he saw his parents/Quirrell/Cedric die?
I’ve been asked this a lot. Harry didn’t see his parents die. He was in his cot at the time (he was just over a year old) and, as I say in ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, all he saw was a flash of green light. He didn’t see Quirrell’s death, either. Harry had passed out before Quirrell died and was only told about it by Dumbledore in the last chapter.
A: He did, however, witness the murder of Cedric, and it is this that makes him able to see the Thestrals at last. Why couldn’t he see the Thestrals on his trip back to the train station? Well, I didn’t want to start a new mystery, which would not be resolved for a long time, at the very end of the fourth book. I decided, therefore, that until Harry is over the first shock, and really feels what death means (ie, when he fully appreciates that Cedric is gone forever and that he can never come back, which takes time, whatever age you are) he would not be able to see the Thestrals. After two months away from school during which he has dwelled endlessly on his memories of the murder and had nightmares about it, the Thestrals have taken shape and form and he can see them quite clearly.
2006-12-13 15:07:13 · answer #1 · answered by Demeter 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Mine was already said, and in fact I've asked a question on this. It's the population of Hogwarts. Alex already explained it all but I'll go ahead anyway. It says that in Harry's dorm, there are 5 beds for the boys in his year. Estimate about that much for the girls in Gryffindor, and that's 10 for one house in one year. For four houses, that's 40. For seven years, that's way too small a number for a castle whose corridors are always busy and whose Great Hall needs four long tables to fit the students in. For one year, there would be about 70 students. I know exactly what 100 students looks like, and you'd need about half the size of one of those long tables for 100 students, much less 70. I can't think of any others, and it's been interesting looking at what other plotholes have been caught. I agree, the wand logic doesn't exactly make sense to me. Neither does Ron using Parseltongue. I think Rowling cheated logic a bit in the last book with both of those things and bringing Harry back to life. I mean, I kind of see how it happened- Voldemort killed the horcrux and sort of Harry. I guess. But still, the logic doesn't make much sense. However, with the wand disarming. It's possible that intent has something to do with it. In the DA, they all knew they were disarming for practice. But against Death Eaters, they were disarming for defense and such. I don't know, even that's a bit fuzzy. Still, I love how all of these things don't really detract from the series. I feel like Rowling's such a brilliant writer that she's allowed to make some mistakes, and not all of these are major. So it's okay. Aside from the Hogwarts population. That one bothers me. @Goldfish: I think it's fuzzy logic, which is pretty close to a plot hole for Harry Potter. But I completely agree. I don't think there's any way anyone could explain it to me that would help make sense out of it. It doesn't bother me a whole lot, but still. -Yeah, HP really is the greatest. :D
2016-05-23 21:43:06 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
very good question!
JK rowling herself has written an answer to it in her "frequently asked questions" section on her website.
essentially she says:
1.Harry didn't see his parents die as a baby (he was in his crib)
2. She didn't want to start a whole new mystery at the end of book 4, so she decided to introduce the thestrals in book 5 and account for it by implying that Harry needed some time for the death of Cedric to "sink in" and recover from the shock before he could see the thestrals clearly for what they were.
link below to read it in her own words!
2006-12-13 14:02:30 · answer #3 · answered by lalabee 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Interesting question.
JK Rowling missed on that one.
Or maybe the thestrals only appears in the beginning of the school year to send off the students to the campus.
2006-12-13 14:22:00 · answer #4 · answered by Vampiredoll 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe becaus harry never saw his parents actually die, i mean he was in the same house and he remebers a bright green light and his mother screaming, but he never actually SAW his parents die,and the same for neviles parents.
as to how he didn't see the the thestrals at the end of book 4 has already been answere by mrs.rowling herself. in a interview she said. "You can't see them until the death "sinks in." so there it is.
-a true hpfan
(i got my information in order below.)
2006-12-13 14:31:51 · answer #5 · answered by Orcleus 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Maybe, Harry's parents never did die, and are just hidden by the order of the pheonix, Dumbldore being their secret keeper, and now that Dumbledore died in book 6, Harry will finally meet his parents in book seven.
2006-12-13 11:19:38 · answer #6 · answered by Guisel 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Probably because he was still in shock. When someone is in a state of shock they just don't notice alot of things.
Meglahr re read book four chapter called the closed ward. Neville's mom and dad are very much alive. Death eaters tortured them to insanity because they thought his parents knew some clues of their masters whereabouts.
oops that chapter is in book 5
2006-12-13 11:14:49 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Really? I didn't notice that. Also notice that i the end of the second movie Lucious Malfoy is attacking Harry for freeing Dobby and he begins to perform the killing curse. I checked, nd that isn't in the book. Also in Harry Potter 4 check out evil cockroach on this list of clips http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808404334/trailer Hermione treatens Malfoy with her wand in her right hand and then punches him a second later with her right hand. Notice when it zooms out that her wand mysteriously switched hands.
2006-12-13 11:13:34 · answer #8 · answered by ? 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't know but it raises a good question because couldn't Neville see them? And he was younger then Harry when his parents died... or was it his grandfather he saw die....
let me check JK's web site for info I'll get back to ya.
2006-12-13 11:14:15 · answer #9 · answered by pixi_doll 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The first answer is correct. Neville has always seen them since day one; he says so. He saw his grandfather die.
2006-12-13 11:19:02 · answer #10 · answered by gigglygirl 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋