Harry Potter is set in a world where broomsticks are not some cleaning implement but an honest-to-goodness mode of transportation. Oh, and magical creatures such as dragons and dementors are a thing. And yet, even in such fictional fantasy worlds, we expect a certain level of logic and consistency. Things have to make sense according to the rules set by the the author herself. But from the baffling bureaucracy of the Ministry of Magic to the sheer impracticality of the only sport wizards seem to know of, Quidditch, here are the top things in the Harry Potter book series (or movies) that make absolutely no sense.
It may seem bizarre, even unkind, to poke holes in a nearly universally beloved series that has bewitched millions, and made overnight stars out of its young lead actors but even the most ardent Potterheads (and this scribe definitely counts himself as one) can’t help but scratch their heads at occasional narrative hiccup or peculiarities.
The Harry Potter phenomenon
The Harry Potter phenomenon began in 1997 with Rowling’s debut fantasy novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It quickly climbed best-sellers charts worldwide and in fact, remains one of the most sold books ever to date.
Warner Bros adapted the series into an uber-successful franchise of Harry Potter movies starting in 2001, starring the trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson in lead roles. Spanning seven books in the main series and eight films, the series was once a cultural nonpareil, enchanting millions.
A TV series reboot of the books is in development, so make sure you keep an eye out for that.
Note: I am not including minor inconsistencies and plot holes like how could the boa constrictor wink at Harry during the Durselys’ zoo visit in the first book if snakes do not have eyelids. Perhaps it is a wizarding world perk? Snakes get to rock eyelids!
Magic and mayhem: Most bewildering oddities and headscratchers in the Harry Potter series
Wizarding World’s technological stasis
Hogwarts and we presume the wider Wizarding World appears to be wholly untouched by all the technological advancements taking place in the muggle world. Why are wizards and witches content to live in a bygone era when the rest of the world is hurtling forward with innovations, inventions and discoveries?
At first, this seems not as surprising since for those who know and practise magic in their daily lives, everything they wish can be acquired by a wave of a wand or a whisper of all the numerous spells that make up the magic system of this series.
But surely they could utilise computers and use the internet if only to make young wizards and witches more familiar with the muggle world? Or to help officials at the Ministry of Magic perform calculations too complex for humans. Hogwarts students could also use the internet to learn about subjects they are not taught at their magic school. Which brings us to…
Gaps in Hogwarts’ curriculum
Students at Hogwarts study magic at their educational institution and that’s expected. But could not the people who designed the curriculum at Hogwarts also include basic subjects that muggles study, including language, literature, mathematics, social science, geography and history? We muggles, study these subjects to make sense of the world around us and to understand our place within it. Learning about our world could equip inhabitants of the Wizarding World with a more rounded education. And perhaps, who knows, this could help bridge gaps between the two communities.
Additionally, wizards may not have to use owls to send messages. Email and instant message apps exist.
The Killing Curse
The Killing Curse or Avada Kedavra is one of the three forbidden curses in the fantasy movie series (the other two being the Cruciatus Curse and the Imperius Curse). It causes instant death, leaving the expression frozen forever on the face of the victim. There is no counter-curse against it, and the only way to survive it is by dodging it.
Harry Potter is the only survivor of the Curse in the series when it rebounded on Voldemort, the caster. So why don’t Death Eaters not use it as often when fighting other wizards? They certainly do not have any moral constraints or fear of repercussions. Frequent utterances of the curse would make their pursuit of world domination much easier, wouldn’t it?
Quidditch quandaries
Quidditch was one of the most-requested features in the Hogwarts Legacy open-world video game by Avalanche Software (developer) and Warner Bros. Games (publisher). Potterheads love the sport, as it appears to be the only way for Hogwarts students to get some kind of physical exercise. Oh, wait, it is played on broomsticks.
But the most ridiculous thing about this sport is the existence of the Golden Snitch. The little bugger is not easy to catch, but it awards the Seeker’s (one player from each team assigned to acquire it) team 150 points, which is a disproportionate advantage in a sport where scoring one goal gives a team just 10 points.
Suddenly, Quidditch is not a team sport, as everything depends on the Seeker’s ability to catch the Snitch before the other team’s Seeker.
The paradox of time-turners
Time-turners are devices in the Wizarding World that allow you to — you guessed it — turn back time. They are heavily used in the third book (and the movie), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and are a major plot device in the play titled Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
However, they were not used at all by anyone important, including Albus Dumbledore, to undo what Voldemort had wrought and prevent the deaths of several good people. And yes, the in-world explanation is there, which is the same as many other stories that deal with time travel: making major changes would wreak havoc with the fabric of reality. But it is not as if the Wizarding World was already in a pretty dire state after the rise of Voldemort. This brings us to…
Time-travel inconsistencies
In the original Harry Potter series, we learn that the concept of determinism underpins time travel and events in the Wizarding World. Meaning that events are inevitable, and you cannot go back and change anything.
When a character travels back in time, they follow a predetermined path as seen in Prisoner of Azkaban. But in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, when characters go back in time, they actually not only change major events, but their actions also have huge repercussions in the present.
Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy are unaware of Sorting Hat
Ron and Draco belong to ancient pure-blooded wizarding families who have had generations going back possibly hundreds of years studying in Hogwarts. Didn’t any of their family members share that there is a thing called the Sorting Hat, a sentient that decides whether you will be Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff? Ron already had siblings studying at Hogwarts (Fred and George) and Draco’s father, Lucius would have told his son anything that would give him an advantage over other students. And yet, both were unaware of Sorting Hat’s existence.
The transportation conundrum
Wizards and witches at Hogwarts and elsewhere have Apparition and Portkey methods at their disposal. Apparition allows a person to travel from one location to another. It is instant as it’s just disappearing and appearing.
Portkeys are devices for those who do not have the ability to ‘apparate’. So why do other modes of transportation such as the Hogwarts Express train, broomsticks, horse-drawn carriages or cars (that fly) and so on exist? Maybe travellers want to cling to the idea that journeys are more important than destinations?
How many students are there in Hogwarts, really?
While other inconsistencies in the Harry Potter series can be chalked up to its humongous scale and scope, it is damning that we do not know for certain how many students are there in Hogwarts, the main setting of these books. Rowling regularly talks about hundreds or thousands of students, but that does not comport with the fact that each year one house gets only 10 students.
There is a counter-argument that the number is low at the beginning of the story due to Voldemort’s crimes, there was a reduction in Wizarding World’s population. But that feels like a stopgap solution rather than something thought-through.
The mysteries of the Marauder’s Map
Marauder’s Map is a magical artefact in the Harry Potter series created by James Potter (Harry’s father), Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. It knows the secrets of every single room, hallway and person in Hogwarts. The user can see in real-time the movement and name of the person, which proves to be extremely helpful for Harry, who got it from the Weasley twins. Then why was Peter Pettigrew, who was living as Ron’s pet rat, not noticed by them all the time they possessed the Map?
There is one possible explanation. Maybe the map’s magic was somehow circumvented or masked by Pettigrew’s Animagus form or his prolonged disguise as Scabbers?
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(Hero and Featured image: Courtesy of © 2009 – Warner Bros. All rights reserved/IMDb)
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Kshitij is a journalism graduate who did not initially intend to become a film critic, but such are the vagaries of destiny. Now, Kshitij is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a member of the Film Critics Guild, bringing expertise and experience in evaluating entertainment content with him. Additionally, he serves as a jury member on the Critics' Choice Awards in India. When he's not busy wielding words, catch him nose-deep in books or joyfully lost in the realms of gaming and photography.
