Editor-in-Chief
“Harry Potter” is a beloved fantasy book series that has become known as a modern classic among children’s literature. However, regardless of the popularity surrounding the series, specific aspects of the story fall through the cracks and leave the series with significant plot holes. In this article, I will be covering three plot holes that I feel are very prominent in their effect on the plot as a whole. For those who have not yet read or watched “Harry Potter,” stop now because there will be spoilers ahead.
The first plot hole that will be discussed comes in the form of a clear, colorless syrup called veritaserum. In the series, veritaserum is the wizarding world’s version of a truth serum. When one drinks this potion, they are inclined to answer any and all questions asked of them truthfully. The potion itself is not the problem, the problem is the existence of the potion in relation to the plot.
In “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” Sirius Black was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment in the wizarding prison, Azkaban, despite being innocent of the crimes he was accused of. The excuse for how Sirius could have been sent to Azkaban as an innocent man was because the first wizarding war was so chaotic, so there was no time to hold a formal trial. However, the existence of veritaserum easily discounts this point.
Veritaserum was used for the most miniscule issues throughout the series. For example, in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” Professor Umbridge used the veritaserum on students to get them to confess to breaking the rules. Multiple times throughout the earlier books, Professor Snape threatens to slip veritaserum in students’ drinks when he believes they are misbehaving. These references to veritaserum and its uses easily demonstrate that veritaserum is a basic potion to make and can even be assumed that it would be likely for veritaserum to be on hand when needed. That would be especially true if the Ministry of Magic was involved, which they were in the case of Sirius Black’s imprisonment.
Overall, the existence of veritaserum makes the entirety of Sirius Black’s plotline unrealistic. With the existence of veritaserum, a potion that is easily accessible. It is unlikely that Sirius Black would have been sent to Azkaban for life without being told to quickly take a sip of veritaserum and answer if he had committed those crimes.
The second plot hole is the Fidelius Charm. This charm was used on Lily and James Potter’s house the night Voldemort came after them and their newborn son, Harry. This charm rendered their house untraceable, unplottable on a map, and protected from all magic charms, curses, or hexes by placing one person, the secret keeper, in charge of knowing their location and protecting them. When placing this charm, Lily and James made Peter Pettigrew their secret keeper. However, Peter betrayed them and gave away their secret to Voldemort, which ultimately led to their deaths.
In the seventh book, “The Deathly Hallows,” it is revealed that Bill Weasley is the secret keeper of his own house, Shell Cottage. This revelation makes us wonder why Lily and James weren’t the secret keeper of their own house. When Lily, James and their newborn son were in mortal danger, they put someone else in charge of their secret instead of themselves?
In “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” it is explained that it was required that Lily and James had to pick someone outside of their home to be the secret keeper. However, when Bill is made the secret keeper of his own house in the seventh book, that whole plot point is contradicted.
Finally, the last plot hole takes form in an incredibly powerful piece of jewelry: a time turner. In the series, a time turner is a necklace that when used in a specific way, can bring people backwards or forwards in time. When time travel is given substantial rules that must be followed in a series, the concept can work out fairly well in accordance with the plot. However, the only rule given with time turners in “Harry Potter” is that one who goes back in time must not be seen.
Due to the lack of rules regarding time travel, the use of the time turner leaves the whole plot of Voldemort’s reign and the progression of the second wizarding war during Harry’s time at Hogwarts unrealistic.
In “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azbakan,” Hermione is given a time turner so she can attend more classes during the school day, a feat she would be unable to do without traveling through time. However, the fact that the school gave a 13 year old girl a time turner demonstrates how the regulations for a time turner are not very strict, and implies that time turners are not rare items.
So, if time turners can go back to any place in time, are not very regulated and are easy to come by, why hasn’t anyone, at any point, gone back in time to stop Voldemort from coming to power in the first place? Why didn’t anybody go back in time and stop Lily and James Potter before they made Peter Pettigrew their secret keeper, or better yet, go back and stop Peter from joining the Death Eaters in the first place? Why didn’t anybody go back in time and get Sirius a trial or give him veritaserum?
The existence and use of the time turner in the series leaves the plot barren with holes, and leaves many to wonder why any of the events even happened if wizards had the ability to prevent it all in the first place.
Although these plot holes are fun to think about, this is not to say that “Harry Potter” is a bad book and you shouldn’t read it. Finding plot holes and discussing issues within a series doesn’t make anyone less of a fan or make any work less enjoyable. Happy Reading!