Last modified on 7th June 2002
With all too regular frequency there appear theories put forward on alt.fan.harrypotter that are basically rubbish. Usually a cursory reading of the books or a search on the archives of the group would present the evidence to show this to be the case. Presented here are some of the more commonly proposed theories and the evidence from the books as necessary to show that they are entirely bogus.
The following theories are currently debunked here.
It should be noted that if you put a particular interpretation on the books and find a contradiction to this elsewhere in the books you have not discovered a plot hole. What you have discovered is that your interpretation/theory is wrong. Only if after considering all the possible interpretations and concluding that none of them will fit all the evidence in the books have you discovered a plot hole. Your primary assumption must be that what is written in the books is correct until proven otherwise. Failure to follow this principle is the cause of many a silly theory being proposed.
In addition before proposing any theory you should read all the books, and this includes the two charity books Quidditch Through the Ages/Fantastic Beast and Where To Find Them. Many incorrect theories that are proposed can be easily seen to be, if all the available material is read.
The first thing to say here is that immediately after such a tragic failure of the Fidelius Charm to protect Harrys parents, do you honestly think Dumbledore would use the same method to try and protect Harry?
Lets us examine what we know of the Fidelus Charm. Fortunately Professor Flitwick provides a comprehensive description in Prisoner of Azkaban/The Marauder's Map.
`An immensely complex spell,' he said squeakily, `involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find -- unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting-room window!'
So if Harry is protected by a Fidelius Charm then it would be impossible for anyone to find him when he was at the Dursleys. The problem is that at least Ron, George, Fred, and Arthur Weasley, all know exactly where Harry lives have been to the Dursleys house and seen him there. It is also the case that Dobby could find Harry Potter at the Dursleys and that is not to mention a whole crowd of Muggles that have seen Harry at the Dursleys.
Clearly the magic protecting Harry while he is at the Dursleys is not a Fidelius Charm. Any suggestion that it is, is a simply due to a lack of reading comprehension.
Quite a fanciful theory this one. The reality is that Crookshanks is a cat, though not quite an ordinary cat. It would appear that Crookshanks is in fact part Kneazle. This was confirmed in a BBC Newsround interview (URL anyone). For those who have not read Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them (call yourself a Harry Potter fan, pah.) I have included the entry for a Kneazle below. It is really rather obvious once you have read this.
KNEAZLE
M.O.M. Classification XXX
The Kneazle was originally bred in Britain, though it is now exported worldwide. A small cat-like creature with flecked, speckled or spotted fur, outsize ears and a tail like a lion's, the Kneazle is intelligent, independent and occasionally agressive, though if it takes a liking to a witch or wizard, it makes an excellent pet. The Kneazle has an uncanny ability to detect unsavoury or suspicious characters and can be relied upon to guide its owner safely home if they are lost. Kneazles have up to eight kittens in a litter and can interbreed with cats. Licences are required for ownership as (like Crups and Fwoopers) Kneazles are sufficiently unsual in apperance to attract Muggle interest.
In addition to this is should be noted that Crookshanks is a male cat and Mrs. Figg is a woman. On this alone it would appear impossible for Crookshanks to be Mrs. Figg in her transformed form.
That said a connect between Crookshanks and Mrs. Figg is not impossible. A much more plausable proposition is that Mrs. Figg interbreeds Kneazles and Cats to make wizarding pets that don't need a license. Crookshanks could then be the cat she tripped over and broke her leg right back at the beginning of Philosophers Stone.
First off Great Britain does not equal England. This is an extremely important fact, and if you are visiting the United Kingdom (full name is United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) it would be very unwise to make such a suggestion, especially when in Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland. Further note that Northern Ireland is not even part of Great Britain. It would be considered extremely offensive to make such a suggestion and in the wrong place at the wrong time could easily land you in hospital.
Bearing this in mind there is no excuse whatsoever to suggest that Hogwarts is in England. Without further evidence from the books the best you can say is that it is in Great Britain.
The best evidence for the location of Hogwarts comes from one of the charity books. In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the section on Acromantula is the following paragraph.
Rumours that a colony of Acromantula has been established in Scotland are unconfirmed
The word unconfirmed is crossed out and a hand written note has been added
Confirmed by Harry Potter and Ron Weasley
This confirmed colony is obviously Aragog and his children and clearly locates Hogwarts in Scotland.
Additional evidence can be found in Chamber of Secrets. In the section from the Evening Prophet that Snape reads to Harry and Ron, it is clearly stated that a flying car was seen by Muggles over the town of Peebles. Only two places in the whole of Great Britain are called Peebles and both of them are located in Scotland.
There are many theories that spring from an ignorance of what a national team is. To most of the worlds population this is almost unbelievable, but Americans in particular seem to have trouble with the concept. This is probably due to a lack of participation in world team sports, but even still it is rather shocking.
The basics are that to play for a national team you must meet one of several criteria listed below. The rules are similar for soccer, rugby, cricket, in fact all team sports played at an international level.
It should further be noted that national sides are not All Star teams of any description. You must have one of the ties listed above with the country that you wish to represent.
It should also be noted that therefore Krum is almost certainly Bulgarian. This is further backed up by the remark in Goblet of Fire that he is seen talking in Bulgarian to his parents. However it does not follow that Durmstrang is in Bulgaria, and this is almost certainly not the case.
In Chamber of Secrets/Dobby's Reward Dumbledore is talking to Harry after he has killed the monster in the chamber and saved Ginny. He has this to say:
`You can speak Parseltongue, Harry,' said Dumbledore calmly, `because Lord Voldemort -- who is the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin -- can speak Parseltongue. Unless I'm much mistaken he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I'm sure ...'
It is impossible therefore for Voldermorts mother to have had any other children. The opening chapter of Goblet of Fire also makes it pretty clear that Tom Riddle Snr. did not remarry and was an only child.
It would appear that it is unlikely that Harry is closely related to Voldemort. However if we consider second cousins 10 times removed then they probably are related, but so would many other witches and wizards.
The old glint in the eye theory. The most likely explination is that now Voldemort has a mortal body he can be killed. Voldemort has just made a critical mistake and Dumbledore knows it. Dumbledore can now see a way clear to finishing Voldemort off for good and is quite please with himself.
However he also quickly realizes that this means one of the protections surrounding Harry; that left by his mother as she died is gone. This is of course a worry to Dumbledore and the glint in his eyes quickly fades.
`I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now.'
If the Dursleys are the only family that Harry has he cannot be related to Dumbledore.