The Plothole Map

[spongebending.livejournal.com]

This gave me a laugh, I thought it might be appreciated here. :)

Comments

[vermouth1991.livejournal.com]

Another example is the Pensieve.

What plot holes exist in earlier books that beg for the use of a Pensieve?

~*~

In a sensible year PoA, this would have happened:

"You see Minister, I am in possession of a device that reenacts objectively scenarios based around, but not limited to, a person's memory. Give me five minutes and I'll show you how accurate it can be, it even shows us the parts where the memory's owner's head was turned and couldn't really see..."

"There you have it, Cornelius, a full-scale reenactment of the time you and Lucius Malfoy visited Hagrid in his home, where I was also present. And now, here are the memory accounts from Sirius Black in the Shrieking Shack; and lest you worry that he's making this up, after that we'll cross-examine it with Hermione Granger's account, as she was also in the room..."

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay.

When Rowling waved her hand and the pensieve materialised in book 4 that's certainly a point - why hadn't Dumbledore used it to prove Sirius's innocence, as you say?

But in HBP we're told that memories can be fabricated or altered. Slughorn did a poor/obvious job on his, but may the book 6 altered/new canon still gives a reason why a Pensieve can't be admitted as conclusive evidence?

Overall I still agree with you about the Pensieve being something that Rowling introduced without concern for the continuity with her earlier books. But maybe she tried to plug that particular error later on.

[jana-ch.livejournal.com]

But a Pensieve memory would raise serious doubt about the veracity of everyone’s assumptions and allow (1) Sirius to be held someplace safe while his case was properly investigated, (2) a search to be started for Peter Pettigrew, (3) Snape to be treated for concussion, and (4) the kids to be punished for assaulting him.

Also, it could be made clear to everyone (except certain stubborn Gryffs) that Lupin had to be fired for the valid reason of not taking his Wolfsbane, not because SNAPE IS A MEANIE!!!

[oryx_leucoryx]

She also says the true memory still exists and a talented Legilimens can recover it. Plug. Unplug.

Have Severus be the one that obtains the memories from the kids. Or have him participate in the evaluation of the memories.

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

Plug. Unplug.

Heh.

That whole 'task' with Slughorn was ridiculous anyway.

I was particularly offended (by the slur on her readers' intelligence) when, upon finally being presented with Harry's findings - the real memory - Dumbledore merely spends two seconds patting himself on the back saying "yes, as I thought so".

And the memory is no actual guarantee on the limit of the number of Horcruxes anyway!

Just a pathetic plot. But the characters weren't allowed to think any differently.

Have Severus be the one that obtains the memories from the kids. Or have him participate in the evaluation of the memories.

Ah, gotcha. Yeah, none of that back in book 3; Rowling hadn't worked it out yet.

But the breach of continuity didn't stop here when she needed a one-book wonder later on. :-(