Harry and Ron’s Alternatives to Stealing a Flying Car
“FLYING FORD ANGLIA MYSTIFIES MUGGLES.” Ah, that headline takes us right back to the events leading up to the start of term. (No points taken here, right, Professor?) Nevertheless, I think we can all agree that Harry and Ron certainly had alternative options that didn’t involve “six or seven Muggles in all” witnessing a flying car – or the considerable damage done to a certain Whomping Willow.
Surely, in Hogwarts’ long history of using a train for student transportation, at least one student has missed the train for one reason or another. I’d even bet the school had some sort of contingency plan in place to round up any missing or late-arriving students. All in all, we can agree that flying the car back to Hogwarts was probably not the best idea and that Harry and Ron had several other options. Let’s go through a few of them, shall we?
Owls
As Professor McGonagall pointed out, Harry and Ron could have simply stayed on the platform, penned a letter to Hogwarts, and sent it with Hedwig, who probably would have been more than happy to oblige – especially after Harry sent her cage bouncing and rolling across the floor.
Simply Wait
Did Harry and Ron really think Mrs. Weasley wouldn’t notice they hadn’t made it through the barrier and onto the train? She was probably just as concerned about getting back through the barrier to check on them as they were about getting through it. Even if the barrier took a while to reopen, waiting would have been a far better option.
Alternatively, as Harry originally suggested, they could have simply waited by the car. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley could have Apparated back to the car if the barrier took too long to open. Upon arriving, they would have seen Harry and Ron not on the train, and they could have worked out a plan.
With the help of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Harry and Ron also could have:
- Taken the Knight Bus
- Traveled by Floo Powder
- Arranged a Portkey
All of these options would have been far better and less rash than stealing and flying the car to Hogwarts. Which option would you have chosen? Do you have any other suggestions?
