# What's your least favorite plot device/character/section of the Harry Potter books (OPEN SPOILERS) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593 "2009-07-28T20:53:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/201 "2009-08-09T15:16:00Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Would it have been interesting to see the wizard world superimposed on ours–wizards with the internet etc? Sure–but that’s a different story and different world. (I would hope a more talented writer than Rowling would explore the possiblities of that world–I’d like to read about it.) You might want to read Diane Duane’s “Young Wizardry” novels. They’re set in the current day, and one of the main characters has a laptop as her spell book, and a tertiary one uses an iPod. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/202 "2009-08-10T01:16:54Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Yeah, but only because he murdered his father and grandparents - though he could still have second cousins alive. at some point harry and tommy-boy have a common ancestor, and are distantly related. the gaunts are decended from slytherin and peverell. the potters from peverell and possibly gryffindor. from the story of the 3 brothers and the hallows, the only one that we know for sure had a child perhaps children is the third brother. number 1 was killed for the wand and the wand past from him into unrelated hands. number 2 was said to live alone and joined his lost love after the stone raised her. the stone could have gone to brother 3. number 3 lived a very long time and gave his cloak to his son. the stone could have gone to the son or another child on his passing. therefore number 3 is the likely common ancestor, with the ring going down the line to the gaunts, and the cloak to the potters. the was also the idea that slytherin kept the blood in his line pure which would mean some inbreeding. leading to the gaunts keeping to themselves and having a smaller and smaller pool to swim in. it seemed to be infered that they didn’t look outside the family for mates. marvolo’s wife or the mother of his children was out of the picture. morfin wasn’t a really great marriage prospect. i’m sure there may have been a rogue gaunt at some point or 2 that escaped the family, but not close enough to raise tom or even know they were related. if you look at the black family… the ones that were blasted off the tree were not associated with. give it a few generations and unless you had knowledge of the tree you wouldn’t know you were related. ---
**Author:** ![MadPansy64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@MadPansy64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadPansy64)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/203 "2009-08-10T02:24:19Z")
I had a huge long list of my issues with the series typed out, then it occurred to me that the only reasonable explanation for all of our complaints is that we have given the series much more thought than Ms. Rowling did. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/204 "2009-08-10T04:27:12Z")
> [@Darth\_Sensitive](#): > > You might want to read Diane Duane’s “Young Wizardry” novels. They’re set in the current day, and one of the main characters has a laptop as her spell book, and a tertiary one uses an iPod. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/205 "2009-08-10T09:26:37Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I just recently re-read the sixth and seventh book, and here’s one plot device that bugs me a bit: In the sixth book, we see that the Horcruxes that Dumbledore discovered the hiding places of had powerful curses and/or gateways requiring elaborate knowledge of magic to discover. Main example: In book 6, in the cave where Voldemort hid the locket Horcrux, Dumbledore had to offer it blood, propel the boat by magic, drink the potion, and then, for anyone who got to that point, there was a lake full of Inferi to contend with. If Dumbledore hadn’t discovered that one, there’s no way Harry knew enough to get to it. Lucky for Harry, the Horcruxes he had to locate himself in book 7 were merely hidden - there was certainly a degree of security about them, but nothing that required advanced, Dumbledore/Voldemort-level magic. Yeah, but the ones Dumbledore found were out in the open, so to speak; the only protections they had were the ones Voldy gave them. The ones Harry found, on the other hand, were protected just as heavily, just in different ways. It’s supposed to be impossible to break into Gringotts and successfully steal something, after all - Dumbledore certainly wouldn’t have been able to magic his way in. It required the kind of insane, straightforward, and hilariously futile approach only a trio of meddling kids and their [del]dog[/del] goblin could get away with. As for the diadem Voldy assumed that the Room of Requirement was known to him and him alone (why he would assume that baffles me slightly, but he always was a smug bastard). Besides, it looked like just another piece of junk in a room full of junk. It would have made more sense to hide it somewhere in the Chamber of Secrets if you ask me, but then we wouldn’t have that Incredible Escape by Broomstick from the Awesome Sentient Fire of Flaming Doom. The snake, of course, was protected by Voldy himself, and anyway Dumbledore thought she was an afterthought Horcrux, not as well-planned or hidden like the others. I still wish the epilogue had been in the form of Famous Witches and Wizards cards. That would have tied up loose ends, let us know what they all grew up to be, and been much less forced than the epilogue we got. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/206 "2009-08-10T15:50:57Z")
> [@Marlitharn](#): > > still wish the epilogue had been in the form of Famous Witches and Wizards cards. That would have tied up loose ends, let us know what they all grew up to be, and been much less forced than the epilogue we got. That would have been a really cool idea! Make the last 6-10 pages or whatever chock full of random characters and their fates. You could even think of cutesy ones like “Colin Creevey being a photojournalist” or “Crabbe being a bareknuckle boxer” or “Patil twins in hardcore porn”. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/207 "2009-08-10T15:59:17Z")
Agreed. If you have tons of exposition to get out, just admit it, and have an exposition section. That’s one of the best things about _Law and Order_. Nobody has to say, “Good morning, judge, it’s been two days since we last spoke,” because the title card said “Superior District Court, 9:22 AM, July 18.” ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/208 "2009-08-10T17:04:02Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > That sounds like a terrible system to me. The purpose of all this house points stuff is to promote good behavior and discourage bad behavior. But if for instance Professor McGonagall wasn’t allowed to deduct points from any House but Gryffindor, students from other Houses aren’t going to take her classes as seriously. I think you misread the post you’re replying to. It didn’t say deduct points only from their own house, it said, only deduct points from their own house. (The difference is subtle, yet key.) So, a professor would be able to add \*\*or \*\*deduct from opposing houses, but for their own house, they would only be able to deduct and not add. Still open to manipulation (“Fifty billion points from Ravenclaw for eyeballing me, bitch,”), but not as much manipulation as before. Anyway, let this be a lesson to us all: if we ever write a wildly popular children’s series, we should have several friends look it over with a very critical eye first. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/209 "2009-08-10T17:37:12Z")
Marlitharn: > [@](#): > > The ones Harry found, on the other hand, were protected just as heavily, just in different ways. I agree, but it’s awfully convenient that the ones that Harry couldn’t possibly have penetrated were found by Dumbledore. No way Harry would have guessed that the cave needed a blood offering to get through; he couldn’t even tell there was anything extraordinary about it. It was Dumbledore who knew “this place has known magic - the tell-tales signs are there, for one who knows how to look…” ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/210 "2009-08-10T18:36:07Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I agree, but it’s awfully convenient that the ones that Harry couldn’t possibly have penetrated were found by Dumbledore. No way Harry would have guessed that the cave needed a blood offering to get through; he couldn’t even tell there was anything extraordinary about it. It was Dumbledore who knew “this place has known magic - the tell-tales signs are there, for one who knows how to look…” True. On the other hand, the diary, which was four years before Dumbledore died, was just in Malfoy’s possession, apparently to do whatever he liked with it. Another annoying thing was that Harry never spread word throughout the most trusted members of the order that, “here’s the deal: horcruxes. Voldemort’s soul is split; probably in 7 parts. Ya can’t kack him while there’s an undestroyed horcrux about. That’s why he didn’t really die the first time.” ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/211 "2009-08-10T21:41:12Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > I think you misread the post you’re replying to. It didn’t say deduct points only from their own house, it said, only deduct points from their own house. (The difference is subtle, yet key.) So, a professor would be able to add \*\*or \*\*deduct from opposing houses, but for their own house, they would only be able to deduct and not add. No, you misread it. The key line in post #187 was “Maybe a system where one **could only give positive points to other houses** and only negative to their own.” (Emphasis mine.) Under such a system the professor would not be able to deduct points from other houses. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/212 "2009-08-10T23:47:51Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > at some point harry and tommy-boy have a common ancestor, and are distantly related. > > the gaunts are decended from slytherin and peverell. the potters from peverell and possibly gryffindor. > > from the story of the 3 brothers and the hallows, the only one that we know for sure had a child perhaps children is the third brother. > > number 1 was killed for the wand and the wand past from him into unrelated hands. > > number 2 was said to live alone and joined his lost love after the stone raised her. the stone could have gone to brother 3. > > number 3 lived a very long time and gave his cloak to his son. the stone could have gone to the son or another child on his passing. > > therefore number 3 is the likely common ancestor, with the ring going down the line to the gaunts, and the cloak to the potters. > > the was also the idea that slytherin kept the blood in his line pure which would mean some inbreeding. leading to the gaunts keeping to themselves and having a smaller and smaller pool to swim in. it seemed to be infered that they didn’t look outside the family for mates. > > marvolo’s wife or the mother of his children was out of the picture. morfin wasn’t a really great marriage prospect. i’m sure there may have been a rogue gaunt at some point or 2 that escaped the family, but not close enough to raise tom or even know they were related. > > if you look at the black family… the ones that were blasted off the tree were not associated with. give it a few generations and unless you had knowledge of the tree you wouldn’t know you were related. What I said is still true - he could have second cousins alive on the _Riddle_ side of the family (I was talking about the Riddles in that post - they’re the ones he killed). > [@Marlitharn](#): > > I still wish the epilogue had been in the form of Famous Witches and Wizards cards. That would have tied up loose ends, let us know what they all grew up to be, and been much less forced than the epilogue we got. That would have been very cool. It would have given us a lot more information in the same amount of space, too. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/213 "2009-08-11T03:12:52Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > …You could even think of cutesy ones like “Colin Creevey being a photojournalist”… Alas, no. Colin died in the Battle of Hogwarts in _HP and the Deathly Hallows_. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/214 "2009-08-11T05:29:20Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Alas, no. > > Colin died in the Battle of Hogwarts in _HP and the Deathly Hallows_. oh wow…totally forgot about that. oops. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/215 "2009-08-11T13:58:13Z")
Well, it is a universe in which a ghost teaches History of Magic. I don’t think we can rule anything out _completely_. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/216 "2009-08-11T14:56:30Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > No, you misread it. The key line in post #187 was “Maybe a system where one **could only give positive points to other houses** and only negative to their own.” Wow, I totally missed half a sentence. You’re right, that system wouldn’t work at all. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/217 "2009-08-11T15:23:41Z")
Next Book: Harry Potter and The Ghost of Colin Creavey ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/218 "2009-08-11T22:37:58Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > What I said is still true - he could have second cousins alive on the _Riddle_ side of the family (I was talking about the Riddles in that post - they’re the ones he killed). ya know, the muggle side always seems to lose in the wizard world. i didn’t even think of the riddle side. good point. it does seem odd that the orphanage didn’t look for riddle relatives. i guess things were different way back whenever “ykw” was born, or they figured it wasn’t worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![yuliya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f6c823/32.png) [@yuliya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yuliya)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/219 "2009-08-12T05:40:18Z")
> [@Taenia\_spp](#): > > This has **always** bugged me. Look, why the hell should you write on parchment with a quill–a tool that you need to constantly need to replenish (inkpots were mentioned in the series). Hello? A cursory examination of the Muggle world would reveal we have an invention far above and beyond archaic technology: THE BALL-FUCKING-POINT PEN. > > Similarly, why would you want to send letters via owl? Didn’t anyone ever think to use of personal computers, as they would greatly speed communication, as well as provide a great productivity tool Not to mention, in the MoM when wizards need to communicate with each other… they fold up notes into paper airplanes and magically fly them to each other. Why not have the words magically show up on a piece of paper already on the recipient’s desk? Less of a fire hazard. [QUOTE=eleanorigby] My daughter’s varsity field hockey team–ALL the members had to provide their own sticks. Balls and the goalie equipment and the uniforms were provided by the school (as were the buses and the fields and refs etc). It’s a common practice. [/QUOTE] It would be more like if your daughter’s school had a car racing team, and everyone needed to provide their own cars. The broomsticks have a much larger influence on the outcome of the game because, as far as I can tell, they are the only factor that affects the speed at which the rider can travel. > [@Marlitharn](#): > > As for the diadem Voldy assumed that the Room of Requirement was known to him and him alone (why he would assume that baffles me slightly, but he always was a smug bastard). Besides, it looked like just another piece of junk in a room full of junk. It would have made more sense to hide it somewhere in the Chamber of Secrets if you ask me, but then we wouldn’t have that Incredible Escape by Broomstick from the Awesome Sentient Fire of Flaming Doom. I know. How did Voldemort think all that junk got there if he was the only one who knew about the rooom?? It makes no sense. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593/220 "2009-08-12T19:40:14Z")
I thought Voldemort used the Room of Requirement the same way Harry did to hide The Half-blood Prince’s textbook. In a huge pile of junk and random crap, who will notice, nevermind recognize or understand the significance of, one more item? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-least-favorite-plot-device-character-section-of-the-harry-potter-books-open-spoilers/504593.md?page=12)