In his recent post on “The Birthday Misconception,” our Headmaster commented on the seemingly endless efforts we readers do to make the Harry Potter world logically consistent:
What we are doing, then, in hunting for a logic and a system where, as likely as not, there is none is simply paying tribute to the author’s achievement in making us believe her imaginative world is that much like the profane, Muggle existence in which we live.
I believe that one of the first comments I made on this site, back before I was offered the faculty position, was a comment trying to make sense of the Fidelius Charm, so I’ve been in the game a long time A fun, if somewhat pointless exercises
The thoughts on how long it takes to notify Muggleborn parents of the existence of Hogwarts, and persuade them to send their child off to Hogwarts made me think of another means the Ministry might have of monitoring Muggleborns prior to the arrival of their letter This is “The Trace,” one of the more inconsistently applied charms of the series.
Has it ever been explicitly stated that this form of surveillance is started on the first summer home after Hogwarts? Or is it on all magical kids from birth to age 17? We know its use is limited; it does not detect the child doing magic, but only spells cast in the vicinity of underaged wizards; hence Harry being blamed for Dobby’s Hovercharm. Therefore, only Muggleborn and other kids like Harry who are in non-magical homes can be caught and disciplined for underage magic. A good wizarding lawyer ought to be able to win a case-action suit for discrimination. But, this limitation would also make it a convenient tool for monitoring pre-Hogwarts Muggleborns, if employed from birth.
It also apparently does not pick up Apparation and Disapparation, or it would have been easy to tell that someone magical had visited Privet Drive before the spell was cast, and left immediately after.
If all Muggleborn kids are monitored with the Trace from birth, I could see a special ministry division employed to detect displays of accidental magic that might threaten the Statue of Secrecy. Small things like Harry shrinking Dudley’s revolting sweater would not get attention, but what if a tantrumming Muggleborn toddler pulled an Aunt Marge? Surely that would result in the Ministry swooping in to fix the situation and modify memories. This could certainly give the ministry some hint of how powerful the child is, and when that chat with the parents might need to happen a bit sooner.
Additionally, we know the Ministry had other surveillance around Harry, since they knew when he was sleeping in the cupboard, and when he was moved to Dudley’s second bedroom: non-magical acts not subject to the Trace. Which leads to the question, why didn’t someone intervene earlier? If they knew where he slept, surely they also could tell things like when he was locked in the cupboard for days at a time. It’s almost as if a Star Trek style Prime Directive is in place; look, but don’t interfere, at least until it’s time to send the letter.
Is this surveillance also in place for other Muggleborns? If so, why didn’t someone go get poor Tom out of that orphanage; he had no special protection there. Why didn’t his aggressive magic, like the attack in the sea cave, get picked up by the Trace? I guess this would be an argument for the Trace not being employed until the kid starts Hogwarts.
So how many Muggleborns under 10 are going to be blowing up tyrannical parents in the meantime?
Or maybe this is a newer technology, not available when Riddle was a lad?
The Trace was introduced fairly late in the series, so it is perhaps not surprising it creates a few corner-painting moments This is true of a lot of elements we learn about in the last couple of books:
- Horcruxes: If you really want it safe, why not make one from a nondescript pebble and toss it in the ocean?
- The Taboo: If you really want magically concealment charms to stop working, wouldn’t Taboo-ing something like “the” or “and” work better than “Voldemort?”
- And my perennial favorite: the Fidelius Charm: What would actually happen if someone other than the Secret-Keeper tried to disclose protected information? Would the speaker be struck dumb? The hearer struck deaf? Or could someone die, a la the Unbreakable Vow? If Harry wanted to tell Neville where the Order of the Phoenix is headquartered, could he say “It’s not at #10 Grimmauld Place in London; and it’s not at #11. And it is definitely not at #13,” and hope Neville gets the hint?
I think out Headmaster’s last paragraph, above, is the best and most generic explanation of all.
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