Things that didn't quite make sense in Harry Potter?

[Kyng]

I did search for answers, and one of them was this Quora post, which claims that "Lily Potter gave her life to protect Harry’s. That sacrifice cast a powerful protection which could only be replicated at the Dursley’s because Petunia was the only other blood relative Harry had". However, that still sounds like a contrived ad hoc rationalisation, rather than a well-founded argument

Actually, the more I think about this, I don't even think it qualifies as a "contrived ad hoc rationalisation"... I think it's just total BS.

In Philosopher's Stone, Quirrell was unable to touch Harry, because his mother's sacrifice protected him. But he wasn't at the Dursleys' house when that happened.

And in Deathly Hallows, when he survived Avada Kedavra in the Forbidden Forest... again, his mother's sacrifice saved him, and he wasn't in the Dursleys' house.

And besides, if Petunia is so important - then can't they just move her to Hogwarts? Even though she's a Muggle, she already knows of the wizarding world, thanks to being Lily's sister. Sure, she'd have to split from Vernon and Dudley - but the Ministry could modify their memories quite easily, to make them forget they ever knew her .

[JHG]

For someone who's supposed to be smart, Snape was dumb enough to think kappas were Mongolian. I don't see a lot of large bodies of water in Mongolia. He DEFINITELY didn't read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

[Kyng]

Here's one that's been bugging me a bit: if getting the correct pronunciation is so important, why aren't students taught the IPA before they learn any actual spells?

Perhaps Ron would have an easier time making feathers float if he understood that it's /ˌlɛviˈoʊsə/, not /ˌlɛvioʊˈsɑ:/ !

[JHG]

For someone supposed to be a good guy, Dumbledore is just messed up. He befriends Gellert Grindlewald, fails to steer Thomas Riddle away from the Dark Side, fails to demand alternative housing development for orphans and/or children from abusive families, does nothing to stop Snape from being bullied, does nothing to make a defense case for Sirius Black to get him out of prison, and…repeated the Elder Swear. How is he Headmaster again?

[Kyng]

For someone supposed to be a good guy, Dumbledore is just messed up. He befriends Gellert Grindlewald, fails to steer Thomas Riddle away from the Dark Side, fails to demand alternative housing development for orphans and/or children from abusive families, does nothing to stop Snape from being bullied, does nothing to make a defense case for Sirius Black to get him out of prison, and…repeated the Elder Swear. How is he Headmaster again?

Okay, so... some thoughts on each of these:

"He befriends Gellert Grindlewald"... yes, but that was: a) when Dumbledore was still an impressionable teenager who didn't know any better, and b) before Grindelwald became truly evil anyway. I'd say he more than made up for this when he defeated Grindelwald.

"fails to steer Thomas Riddle away from the Dark Side"... while this is unfortunate, I'm not sure what he could have done to prevent it. (Let's not forget that he wasn't even Headmaster of Hogwarts at the time - so if anything, this is Professor Dippet's failing)

"fails to demand alternative housing development for orphans and/or children from abusive families"... he's just the headmaster of a school, so he's not really in a position to demand this. (Though, admittedly, we still don't have a convincing answer for why he didn't take Harry in - or at least bewitch the Dursleys to make them less abusive!)

"does nothing to stop Snape from being bullied" - How do we know he didn't? All we're told is that the bullying took place... we're not told about the consequences that James and the Marauders faced, because they just aren't relevant to Harry's story.

"does nothing to make a defense case for Sirius Black to get him out of prison" - Does Dumbledore even know that Sirius is innocent, prior to Harry/Ron/Hermione telling him at the end of The Prisoner of Azkaban? After all, Sirius was originally going to be Secret-Keeper... the Potters only switched to Pettigrew at the last minute (and they couldn't tell Dumbledore after the fact, because they were dead by then!)

---

Granted, Dumbledore was no saint: he definitely did some bad/reckless things (like raising Harry to die, and keeping the school open for Harry's entire second year, even though there was a deadly Basilisk crawling around the place ). But TBH, most of the things listed above are either things we don't know that he did, or things that don't point to him being "messed up".

[Kyng]

Another thing... I never quite understood how the Fidelius charm is supposed to work .

The idea is that a secret is bound to somebody's soul (and that person becomes the "Secret-Keeper"). Then, nobody else is able to find out about the secret, unless the Secret-Keeper tells them (and anyone who gets told about the secret becomes a "secondary Secret-Keeper", i.e. they know the secret but are unable to pass it on to anyone else). When the primary Secret-Keeper dies, the secondary Secret-Keepers all become the new primary Secret-Keepers (or, if the primary Secret-Keeper dies without any secondary Secret-Keepers, then the secret dies with them).

I love the idea, but... I don't think it's really been thought through . What happens to people who already know the 'secret' being hidden? For example, the Fidelius charm was used on Number 12 Grimmauld Place (Sirius Black's house) while it was serving as the Order of the Phoenix's base... and it's suggested that, after the Fidelius charm was cast, nobody was able to find out that the house existed unless Dumbledore (the primary Secret-Keeper) told them. But, what about people who already knew about the house? At the very least, other Black family members (*cough* Bellatrix Lestrange *cough*) would probably have known about it!!!

[Kyng]

Here's another one I just thought of: how the heck can Voldemort say his own name?

It contains an 'm', which is a nasal sound... and yet, he has no nose with which to articulate it .

[JHG]

Here's another one I just thought of: how the heck can Voldemort say his own name?

It contains an 'm', which is a nasal sound... and yet, he has no nose with which to articulate it .

The dark side is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.

[Moonshroom]

So... what's the point of Quidditch if catching the Snitch automatically wins the game? Wouldn't it be a much more interesting game if everyone engaged in finding the thing, beating the tar out of all other players and throwing them off their path, all whilst keeping an eye on its location?

[JHG]

So... what's the point of Quidditch if catching the Snitch automatically wins the game? Wouldn't it be a much more interesting game if everyone engaged in finding the thing, beating the tar out of all other players and throwing them off their path, all whilst keeping an eye on its location?

Actually, catching the Snitch ONLY ends the game and adds 150 points to the Seeker's team. It's not a guaranteed win. The 1994 Summer Quidditch World Cup had the Irish win a narrow victory despite the Bulgarian Seeker Victor Krum catch the Snitch. This got left out of the film.