(no subject)

[sciencegeek]

"...We use Portkeys. They're objects that are used to transport wizards from one spot to another at a pre-arranged time." (Goblet of Fire, page 66)
Ok, if you haven't read "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" yet, and are planning to and don't want spoilers scroll on.

So...How did Harry get back to Hogwarts after being transported to the graveyard at the end of the book? Come to think of it, how did he get there in the first place? If Portkeys transport at pre-arranged times then how did Crouch!Moody know when his should be activated to take Harry to the graveyard? Or does it activate and wait until someone comes along and touch it? Still, how did Harry get back to Hogwarts?
After using the Portkey to get to the World Cup, Arthur picks up the boot, hands to to another man, who puts it in a box, so I don't think they have an automatic return to the place of origin. The only way I can think of it working would be if Harry did it. In the Philosopher's stone, there was that bit where, before he was accepted to Hogwarts, Harry made his hair grow back, escaped the bullies, etc, by using, for lack of a better term, spontaneous magic. Using that bit of knowledge, I suppose it is possible that Harry, wanting so badly to get back to the school and away from the baddies, he transformed the cup into a Portkey. To me, though, it seems kinda...weak, but at the moment, it's the only thing I could come up with. Unless the weird wand thing had something to do with it (since Lily refers to the cup as "the Portkey") or if it was something other than a Portkey.

I suppose this is what I get for re-reading the Harry Potter books.

[EDIT]Lexicon says that there are different kinds of Portkeys, some activated by touch. I can accept that, but why did the cup bring Harry back to Hogwarts?

Comments

[auliana.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I've often wondered this.

My pet theory is that Snape was one of the Death Eaters in the graveyard, and he set the portkey from afar to allow Harry to return to Hogwarts.

Or perhaps Lily and James somehow set it to go back?

[sciencegeek.livejournal.com]

Or perhaps Lily and James somehow set it to go back?
I was wondering that too, 'cause Lily says "You must get to the Portkey, it will get you back to Hogwarts" (GoF, 579). Though, if she did have something to do with it, how did she do it (you know...being dead and all)?

Mm...Snape. It would make sense though, since he seems to have a thing for saving Harry from certain doom.

here from D_S

[lilito.livejournal.com]

Ah, I would rule Snape out; Voldemort does not name him in the graveyard scene, but most fans have inferred that he was not there. From GoF chapter 33, pg 651 US hardcover ed (bolding mine):
"And here we have six missing Death Eaters...three dead in my service. One, too cowardly to return...he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever...he will be killed, of course...and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already reentered my service."

Logically, the one who is too cowardly to return is Karkaroff, the faithful servant is Crouch jr, and the one who has left forever would be Snape.

As for the portkey, it's something I've always wondered about; if there were certain types of portkeys, and you could have one that went both ways, why on Earth would Moody/Crouch make it that one? He certainly wouldn't want Harry escaping. Mysterious.

Re: here from D_S

[sciencegeek.livejournal.com]

Hm, yes. I kinda forgot about that part. Though, I may have blocked out any hints that he might die, since I like the character.

Re: here from D_S

[hoipolloi-penny.livejournal.com]

"...and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already reentered my service."

I thought that was referring to Wormtail...

Re: here from D_S

[cecine.livejournal.com]

Yes, but of course, Wormtail wasn't missing: He was with Voldemort at the scene. Voldemort was only talking about the Death Eaters who weren't there.

Re: here from D_S

[lilito.livejournal.com]

No, Voldemort is referring to the empty space in the circle when he says it; Wormtail is currently on the ground whimpering about his hand, I believe. Voldemort, in that speech, is listing the missing DE's.

Re: here from D_S

[moonanddogstar.livejournal.com]

I doubt very much that Snape could be the one who'd left forever becuase as Sirius says in OotP about working for Voldmeort It's a lifetime of service or death. If Voldemort had known that Snape had left his service then Snape would not have been alive during OotP.

I don't know whether you'd be interested but there is a discussion about the identities of the three mystery death eaters on the Immeritus website (the Sirius Black Fan Club). http://www.immeritus.org/boards/viewtopic.php?t=774&start=0&sid=8a236003669c91ff121d6a726bbdf0ec
It would be nice to see some more of the LJ crew there :)

Re: here from D_S

[moonanddogstar.livejournal.com]

Oh and I really can spell - honestly! *blushes*

Re: here from D_S

[lilito.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Well, who knows what Rowling's explaination is. Perhaps Snape gave Voldie a good excuse that summer, and somehow convinced him that he was still loyal? He is quite good at occlumancy, so he has the capacity to do something like that.

Oh, I hope we find out in book 6. I'd love to see more of Snape's character revealed.

here via the daily_snitch

[shinywhimsy.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. That's a good question. I hadn't thought about it until now.

OK, so, here's my just-pulled-out-of-my-ass theory. Voldie intended to kill Harry in the graveyard, right? He was gonna play a little with Harry but, ultimately, he wanted to kill Harry. So, once he killed Harry, what would stand in the way of an invasion in Hogwarts? Nothing. No one would be expecting him, he'd be able to work with a surprise factor even. Crouch!Moody was still in Hogwarts, right? As fangirly as he was when it came to Voldie, one thinks he'd want to bring his master to him in all his reborn glory or, er, snakeyness. The Lexicon says there are different kinds of portkeys, so maybe Crouch!Moody could have set the portkey to be a "return portkey" (ie plane ticket), to take Harry to the graveyard and bring back Voldie?

*wonders if that made sense*

That's my guess at it. That is, assuming it's not just another of JK's plot holes *g*

I like the title of your theory

[sciencegeek.livejournal.com]

I'm digging the return Portkey thing. Though, if I were Voldemort, I'd leave Harry and take my deatheaters and wreak havoc on the school. Of course, that would ruin the trap-Harry-and-attack-only-once-per-year thing Voldemort has going on in the series.

I think the best bet is a plothole, until Rowling talks her way out of it clarifies.

And before anyone flails, I like the books, I just sometimes...find Rowling's explanations for things a bit weak.

[(Anonymous)]

The archived version of the Potterverse Faq explains it quite well not to mention why Crouch Jr spent a whole school year there instead of just portkeying the boy with some random object the first opportunity he gets.

http://web.archive.org/web/20041009215855/www.hogwarts-library.net/reference/potterverse_faq_V.html

With respect to Portkeys the evidence is less convincing either way than it is for both Apparating and Floo travelling. On one hand we have Crouch Jr's evidence in Veritaserum[GoF-35] that he turned the Triwizard Cup into a Portkey to take the winner (who was intended to be Harry alone) to the graveyard, and Dumbledore creating the Portkey to take Harry to the Headmaster's office in The Only One He Ever Feared[OotP-36], but on the other hand we have the suggestive evidence offered by Crouch Jr not choosing any old object to turn into a Portkey, and that of the reaction by the portraits of the former Headmasters (Phineas Nigellus) when Harry arrives The Lost Prophecy[OotP-37], "'This office is supposed to be barred to all but the rightful Headmaster. Or has Dumbledore sent you here?" This stronglysuggests that Harry would not have been able to make the journey by Portkey (or otherwise) unless sent by Dumbledore. This again indicates that it is indeed possible to shut a place to Portkeys. As with Floo travel it would not make much sense to block Hogwarts for other kinds of magical teleportation if it isn't blocked for Portkeys. It has been suggested that Crouch Jr chose the Triwizard Cup because it had either been authorised by Dumbledore as a Portkey (intended to take the winner out of the maze to the destination where Harry ends the second time he uses it), or Dumbledore had already cast the intended Portkey spell on the Cup, thereby removing the protections for that item. Whatever the exact mechanism the intention is that Crouch Jr had to use the Triwizard Cup because the (alleged) protection against Portkeys had been removed for that item.

[sciencegeek.livejournal.com]

Ok...but how does Harry get back to Hogwarts? Even if Crouch!Moody set it to go to the graveyard, how does Harry get back, since Portkeys seem to only go one way?

[(Anonymous)]

As explained above, the original intention of the cup by the tournament organizers might have been to bring the champion to the edge of the maze and Crouch Jr just placed an additional portus spell that would bring the champion(Harry) to the graveyard for his master's ritual.

[sciencegeek.livejournal.com]

Still, it seems kinda odd that one could cast a spell to act before another on the same object. Especially since they are both 'touch based'.

[eileenthepeach.livejournal.com]

I prefer blindly accepting things...it makes life SO much easier...

[sciencegeek.livejournal.com]

*snort*
It would, wouldn't it?

[bookworm-2005.livejournal.com]

Maybe, as you said, Harry did it. Perhaps it was intended to be a one-way portkey to the edge of the maze. Crouch changed the destination (hacked it), and when Harry touched it again, he unintentionally "powered it up" with his desperation, but since he didn't know how set a location, the portkey reverted to it's original (and most stable) setting, outside the maze at Hogwarts. Crouch's alteration probably wasn't very stable, like a hacked copy of software, and probably destabilized after it was used.

Bookworm

[cecine.livejournal.com]

[Here via d_s.]

It was one of the ghosts who told him to grab the portkey, wasn't it? (It's been a while since I read the book, sorry if I'm wrong.) Maybe, with the power of Voldie's wand, they made the portkey. (Because they did come out of Voldie's wand.)

That would be my theory, anyway, however unlikely it might seem.

[masterofmystery.livejournal.com]

It makes even less sense that Crouch thought that Harry was supposed to be killed that night, so it's not like he could have it triggered to come back to Hogwarts. The best guess is that someone found out beforehand and acted late, maybe. This makes all signs point to Snape, since Dumbledore seemed too shocked to fathom what had happened. But then Snape was pretty shocked when he saw Barty Crouch in Moody's office before the Veritaserum was used.... Harry was helped that night, but I'm not quite sure by who. Some had to have reactivated the Portkey, since it's just a one-way ticket, not two way.... I might re-read over this just to figure it out.

Oh, and I hope you don't mind me friending you. You seem pretty cool and have good discussions. :)