Mysteries We Could Have Solved with a Time-Turner
June 29, 2020—In our most recent episode, Victoria and I discussed the role of Time-Turners in the Harry Potter series. Particularly, we explored the strange fact that they are used in only one book and are conveniently destroyed two books later. While I contended that taking the Time-Turners out of play was good for the narrative, it’s fun to explore what could have been if the series had taken a different turn. So let’s look at some turning points in the series that could have changed everything if the characters had had access to Time-Turners.
Remember, the logic of the Harry Potter Time-Turners (excluding Cursed Child) involves a closed loop. You can’t go back and change the past, because your first lived experience of the timeline will already have accounted for your actions in your second experience. So while time travel to prevent James and Lily’s death or Harry’s kidnapping (dealer’s choice on which) or Ron’s poisoning would certainly be handy, that’s not really how it works.
Who curses Harry’s broom?
When Harry’s broom is cursed, the suspect pool is small. Even Hagrid, with his limited knowledge of magic, knows that an adult must be responsible for such a powerful curse, and the fact that Snape himself is unable to fully counter it says much about the caster’s abilities.
So it would hardly be difficult for a disguised or concealed Snape to return via Time-Turner so that he can find a good vantage point from which to observe all the professors and watch for the culprit. Bonus points if he also brings a pair of Omnioculars so that he can zoom in on sections of the crowd and then replay the scene again later to see what can’t be discerned with his naked eye.
Now, had Quirrell been caught this way, would it have occurred to Snape or Dumbledore to remove his turban in their quest to find answers? Likely not. But Quirrell would almost certainly have been fired either way, and Voldemort would have been removed from Hogwarts and lost access to the Sorcerer’s Stone much earlier and in a much safer way.
What is the monster in the Chamber of Secrets?
This one is a bit trickier, since it’s hard to imagine that passively observing an unknown and powerful monster can be done safely. But if, say, Dumbledore had decided to go back in time to find out the identity of Slytherin’s monster, he could have done so with some confidence. After all, his body (alive or dead) is not found with any of the victims. Following the logic of the Time-Turners, he is not injured or killed in any of the incidents because the effects would already be apparent if it were going to happen.
The keys to all of these Time-Turner uses is (a) knowing the exact location and nearly exact time of an incident, (b) being able to observe the event without being detected, and (c) knowing the significance of the event almost immediately after it takes place. The locations of the victims, the limited time periods during which the attacks could have taken place, the direction in which the victims are facing, and the fact that they all happen in empty corridors mean that these criteria are all met.
Dumbledore could have positioned himself, concealed, a safe distance down in the corridor in the direction that one of the Petrified students was looking in order to get a glimpse of the monster when it appeared. It would have been difficult for him to observe one of his students being attacked and not intervene, so perhaps this would have been a better job for Snape, whose lack of empathy for young students is legendary.
Where is Sirius Black hiding?
This would have been Fred and George’s time to shine. At the time that Sirius attacks the Fat Lady, the twins still have the Marauder’s Map. It would have been all too easy for them to go back to a time shortly before the incident, conceal themselves in some out-of-the-way classroom, and watch the Marauder’s Map to discover where Sirius Black comes from and where he goes after the attack. Either his hiding spot or the access point by which he has been entering Hogwarts grounds would almost certainly have been revealed.
Assuming the twins are then willing to share this information with the professors, perhaps as an anonymous tip, that would likely have led to Sirius’s premature capture. This would have had enormous consequences for the series, negative ones if I had to wager. Sirius might have been executed without ever being able to defend his name.
Who puts Harry’s name in the Goblet?
Here’s another time a combination of the Marauder’s Map and a Time-Turner could have changed everything. Harry and Hermione could have gone a little more than 24 hours into the past after his name came out of the Goblet and hidden out in an empty classroom with snacks and the Invisibility Cloak for bathroom breaks. If they had taken shifts to watch the Entrance Hall on the Map for anyone approaching the Goblet who was not a seventh-year, eventually, they would have seen Bartemius Crouch.
The resulting investigation would probably have uncovered the Imperius Curse on Crouch Sr, more dominos would have fallen, and the entire plot to resurrect Voldemort would have been over before it began.
Are there dementors in Little Whinging?
As a disclaimer, I realize that this is not a mystery to the readers or to Harry, only to the Ministry and the public, and the same information could have been obtained by a Pensieve — the Ministry is notoriously bad at using all the tools at its disposal to get to the truth.
When Dumbledore first goes to argue Harry’s case the night that dementors attack him, two or three honest and prominent Ministry employees (maybe Amelia Bones?) could have gone back a few hours under concealment spells to observe the events that unfolded in Surrey. This might not have led the Ministry to accept that Voldemort was back, but there would have led to an investigation and cast doubt on the Ministry’s integrity. Best case scenario: Umbridge is arrested before she even arrives at Hogwarts, and fewer people in the Ministry and the public swallow down Fudge’s lies.
Who gives the necklace to Katie Bell?
Hermione could easily have hidden herself in the women’s restroom at the Three Broomsticks to see Madam Rosmerta give Katie Bell the opal necklace. Again, the resulting investigation after she reports it would have revealed that Rosmerta was under the Imperius Curse.
Even Dumbledore, no matter how misguided he becomes in his attempts to shield Draco Malfoy from the consequences of his actions, wouldn’t have knowingly left his friend to languish under the Imperius Curse to protect him. Malfoy would have been outed, which may or may not have seen him expelled (given Dumbledore’s aforementioned determination to protect Malfoy), but it would have at least forced the Headmaster to put limits on Malfoy’s movements. Malfoy would have been unlikely to be able to arrange the Death Eaters’ entrance into the school months later.
Who sends the doe?
This is the one scenario that I think could have had real-time consequences. Harry could have taken the Time-Turner and the Cloak and then waited for someone to place the Sword, cast the doe, and hide in the spot that Ron had pointed out. Once Snape sees Ron going to save Harry and turns to leave, I imagine Harry confronting him while his doppleganger and Ron are underwater.
It would have been a quick conversation, as I think Snape would have Apparated away almost immediately after he got over the shock. But Harry’s knowledge of Snape’s assistance could have completely rewritten their relationship over the last several chapters of the series. If nothing else, Harry would have treated Snape with much less vitriol before and during the Battle, and he might have tried to actively save Snape’s life when Voldemort ordered Nagini to kill him.