After all, everyone can see thestrals if they see someone die. Harry saw Cedric die in the fourth book but when he boarded the 'horseless' carriages back to the Hogwarts express, he didn't see them. Is it because it takes some time before one can see thestrals?
2006-12-25 12:12:43 · 12 answers · asked by space it out 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
From her web site.... www.jkrowling.com
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.
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.
2006-12-25 21:38:12 · answer #1 · answered by Gemma. 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Ah, you're a little mixed-up. The horseless carriages brought them to Hogwarts in the third book, when Harry couldn't see the thestrals. The reason he did a double take in the beginning of the fifth book is because he saw the thestrals, and he saw Cedric die the year before. Though technically suddenly being able to see them doesn't really hold up anyway, because Harry saw his parents die. They didn't really go into this in the movies, but I distinctly recall in the first book Harry having dreams about a flash of green light, though he didn't understand it. That was the Avada Kedavra Voldemort cast on the Potters. So obviously Harry did see his parents die, and he does remember some of it. But surely the magical contract surrounding thestrals doesn't dissolve if you don't *remember* seeing it. You've still seen it.
2006-12-25 12:53:31 · answer #2 · answered by Teresa 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
THIS IS NOT A MISTAKE IN THE BOOK!!!
Harry didn't see the thestrals in the 4th book or any book before the 5th book because although he witnessed his mother dying, death had not "sunk in" according to J.K. Rowling.
Take a look at the source
2006-12-26 13:29:35 · answer #3 · answered by XD 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jo (J.K.) has said that Harry was in his crib and did not actually see his mother die. She has also said if he saw his mother die at such a young age, he still wouldn't have seen the thestrals, because he wouldn't have understood or comprehended the death.
for book 7 theories and info on the books and movies visit my personal HP site
http://rpccstudent.tripod.com/
2006-12-26 11:52:56 · answer #4 · answered by kellyrv_bsa 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There is actually an explanation of this in Order of the Phoenix. I attempted to look up the chapter and post the passage but unfortunately, I could not pin point the exact location of the paragraph.
I'll try not to muck this up.
I believe the basic explanation Harry was given was that Cedric's death had not sunk in yet. Basically. The shock had not worn off. But after a summer of dealing and grieving, Harry's brain finally catches up.
I wish I could find the exact location of the explanation but Phoenix is so big and scary. I'd have to re-read the entire thing to pinpoint. :)
2006-12-25 15:15:47 · answer #5 · answered by Jessica H 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
What I want to know is why he couldn't see them from the beginning. He saw his parents die. Why wouldn't he see the thestrals from the day he set foot on Hogwarts campus? I guess in the first book, he didn't ride in the carriages, he took the lake boats. In the second, he took the flying car. So from the third on, he should have been able to see them.
2006-12-25 12:21:22 · answer #6 · answered by Jessie P 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
i dont believe the students rode in the carriages on the way to the train (like on the way home)...the book only mentions the 'horseless' carriages taking the students to school
2006-12-25 13:05:21 · answer #7 · answered by Anna 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It is a small imperfection of the book. I had the same question too, but then I checked out "The Unofficial Guide to Harry Potter the Fifth" and they address it in there.
2006-12-25 12:34:38 · answer #8 · answered by Audrey Z 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Basically he didn't care one way or the other to him still at that point those carriages were always horseless and that is how he saw them.
2006-12-25 12:23:42 · answer #9 · answered by Laela (Layla) 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
He never actually saw his parents being killed. Don´t forget he was just a baby and his mother was protecting him. He only saw the flash of green light.
2006-12-25 12:59:03 · answer #10 · answered by Martha P 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋