Five Times a Time-Turner Would Have Been Useful
Hermione used a Time-Turner plenty of times in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. She mostly used it to go back in time so she could attend multiple classes at once. However, the Time-Turner was also useful at the end of the book to save Buckbeak’s and Sirius’s life. Although the Time-Turners were destroyed at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, if a Time-Turner were available, here are five other moments using one would have been useful.
Fred’s Death
Cold air told him that the side of the castle had been blown away, and hot stickiness on his cheek told him that he was bleeding copiously. Then he heard a terrible cry that pulled at his insides, that expressed agony of a kind neither flame nor curse could cause, and he stood up, swaying, more frightened than he had been that day, more frightened, perhaps, than he had been in his life….” (DH 637)
If any of the characters had had access to a Time-Turner, they might have been able to stun or distract the Death Eater that cast the spell that destroyed the castle wall, thereby preventing Fred from dying. I imagine that using the Time-Turner this way would have saved more than just Fred’s life too.
The Locket
‘There was a locket.’
‘What?’ said Harry and Ron together.
‘In the cabinet in the drawing room. Nobody could open it. And we… we…’” (DH 189)
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Hermione realized that the locket they found in Order of the Phoenix was actually the Horcrux they were looking for. If the trio had had access to a Time-Turner, they could have hidden it somewhere in the house, and the entire Ministry mission could have been avoided – and they could have continued using Grimmauld Place as their base.
Saving Sirius
Harry pulled some crumpled robes out of the very bottom of his trunk to make way for folded ones and, as he did so, noticed a badly wrapped package lying in a corner of it.” (OotP 857)
It was only at the end of Order of the Phoenix that Harry discovered that the gift Sirius had given him at Christmas was a two-way mirror that could have been used to speak to him. Perhaps future Harry could have placed it at the top of his trunk or in the nightstand so past Harry would have found it before he decided to use the fireplace in Umbridge’s office. This would have prevented him from listening to Kreacher’s lies and would have stopped the events at the Ministry from unfolding. Of course, this would also have meant that Harry would never have learned about the prophecy and the Ministry would have continued denying Voldemort’s return.
Preventing Voldemort’s Return
He told me he needed to place a faithful servant at Hogwarts. A servant who would guide Harry Potter through the Triwizard Tournament without appearing to do so. A servant who would watch over Harry Potter. Ensure he reached the Triwizard Cup. Turn the Cup into a Portkey, which would take the first person to touch it to my master.” (GoF 688)
It took a lot of planning for Voldemort’s plan to go perfectly, and there were plenty of opportunities for something to mess this plan up. If Harry or his friends had had a Time-Turner, they could have used it to prevent Barty Crouch, Jr. from turning the Triwizard Cup into a Portkey, and Voldemort would never have returned. They could have gone back even further and stopped Barty Crouch, Jr. from kidnapping Mad-Eye Moody and assuming his identity – or interfered in the final task and helped Harry and Cedric before they reached the Cup. Preventing Voldemort’s return would have changed the course of the rest of the series and saved a lot of lives.
The Letter
Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon’s sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and — a letter for Harry.” (SS 34)
Unlike the other items on this list, this entry is not quite as impactful. However, Harry could have used a Time-Turner to put the first letter directly in his cupboard, and then he would have learned the truth so much sooner, saving him from the entire fiasco on the cold island.
What do you think of my list? Are there any other moments you would include? Let us know in the comments!
