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Prof. Lupin explains to Harry in the Shrieking Shack that he was looking at the map when they went to meet Hagrid before the execution of Buckbeak. Three people went in, but four came out. Why didn't he see Pettigrew's dot (as Scabbers) inside Hagrid's cabin? I do not think Hagrid's hut was unplottable, because even the insides of the castle aren't. Even the Professors' personal study rooms are visible (Harry was relieved to see Prof. Snape back in his study, I don't remember which book, though; maybe Prisoner of Azkaban).

But my main question is, when the Harry/Ron/Hermione come out of Hagrid's hut with Pettigrew, the Harry/Hermione pair from the future were hiding nearby, close enough to be able to see themselves (their past versions) coming out of the cabin. Given the size of Hogwarts and the scale of the map, shouldn't both the past and future versions appear relatively close to each other? Shouldn't someone watching the versions come out of the cabin see the ones hiding near the forest as well?

Incidentally, would the map show Buckbeak too?

user13267
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    Slight quibble - Ron didn't use the Time-Turner, so it would just be 2 sets of Harry and Hermione. – Adam V Jul 24 '13 at 21:54
  • No, I don't think you'd see Buckbeak. Lupin could see Black dragging Ron and Pettigrew into the tunnel but not Crookshanks that was with him. – E.T. Jul 25 '13 at 08:35
  • @E.T. : Please see this: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/38336/what-kind-of-beings-are-shown-by-the-marauders-map – user13267 Jul 25 '13 at 09:09
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    @user13267 It shows Mrs. Norris because it is important for mischief doers to know where she is. Where does it say that Crookshanks was visible on the map? – E.T. Jul 25 '13 at 10:28
  • Wasn't there a tiny passage wherein Dumbledore saw the Map and the double sets of Harry and Hermione, and that's how he knew to give Hermione the idea in the medical wing? Did I make that up? – hairboat Jul 31 '13 at 15:15
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    Dumbledore didn't even know about the map – user13267 Jul 31 '13 at 15:28
  • I say no. If not, why didn’t Harry see two copies of Hermione floating around the castle at some point during the year? As for Lupin, he probably already knows that Hermione has a Time Turner, so two copies of her wouldn’t phase him. He’s probably more distracted by an extra person appearing and/or his supposedly dead best friend suddenly showing up. – alexwlchan Aug 23 '13 at 14:55
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    The Map throws an exception in this case... – user931 Sep 30 '13 at 00:35

3 Answers3

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I think the map would show two sets of Harry/Hemione, because in the Harry Potter universe, time travel means that you end up having two versions of yourself at the same time. Which is why Harry and Hermione are warned not to be seen by anyone. The main point is that the map always shows the truth so it would show two versions of them moving about.

I doubt that the map shows animals because when you think about it lots of people have pets in Hogwarts but they don't show on the map. So Buckbeak, maybe not but only because she's an animal and not to do with the time travel.

Robotnik
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andrewmn
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The only person that knew Harry and Hermione were outside the cabin was Dumbledore and he made sure that they were not seen by distracting Fudge. The scale of the map is exactly that, its a scale not an actual size. The forbidden forest is big enough to hide in.

Also, Lupin does not say he didn't see Peter in Hagrid's hut, he just explains that someone else was with them when they came out.

The map should show Buckbeak, because not even poltergeist is safe not to be seen. Even Harry under is cloak is seen.

Justafan
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  • Do you have source for Peeves appearing on the map? – JohnP Aug 23 '13 at 17:43
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    @JohnP: In Prisoner of Azkaban, Peeves appears on the map while bouncing around the trophy room. Later in Goblet of Fire, Harry checks the map for Peeves before setting off with the Golden Egg. – alexwlchan Aug 23 '13 at 19:16
  • @alexwlchan - Ah, you are right. That does tickle a memory. Thanks! – JohnP Aug 23 '13 at 19:17
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This is wrinkling my brain as well. Surely Hagrids hut would be on the Marauder's Map. He was gamekeeper while James, Sirius, Pettigrew, and Lupin attended Hogwarts, and even so, there probably was a gamekeeper's hut there either way.

Therefore Pettigrew must have been visible within the hut. Granted, the hut is rather small, and with many people inside it at once probably made it hard to seperate the individual names.

So fair enough, I'll let that slide. I do agree however that there are two sets of Harry and Hermione present in the grounds that evening, and they would be in close proximity to each other.

To appease my mind I have decided that the Marauder's Map cannot comprehend multiples, and perhaps imprints only those who are within its current present. It is magic after all that makes it work, and within the HP universe, there are laws that dictate the nature of said magic.

Even better; the time-turner is an extremely powerful magical artefact (and probably shouldn't be authorized to be used by a 13 year old girl in the first place, but that's another discussion), so pehaps it has certain fail-safes integrated to it that prevent the space-time continuum to recognize that there are multiple versions of people to prevent paradoxes. Such as making the persons unplottable. Of course, if you do see your future self you would probably go insane, even magically insane - as a side-effect to protect the spc.

Eh, my head hurts. Thoughts?

Jay
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  • Welcome to Science Fiction and Fantasy SE. Have a look at the tour. We like to see answers with canonical evidence to support any conclusions. Although a good answer, your answer simply bases it on magic and other assumptions. Is there any way you can add sources from the book to improve your answer? – Edlothiad Feb 02 '17 at 23:24
  • The book mentions that wizards who see future versions of themselves usually end up confused and attack themselves and often end up killing either the future or past versions of themselves. – Hoid Jan 02 '19 at 12:45