Harry Potterwas a sprawling story, set over seven books, and the Time-Turners were one of the most confusing parts of it. Beginning in 1997 with J.K. Rowling’sHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,theHarry Potterbookscatapulted the names Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger into the public consciousness.
Played respectively by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, these characters utilized the Time-Turners inHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but not always logically. One could even say they caused more problems than profit overall.
ByHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’sending, it was clear that Time-Turners were at the heart of the story. The plot revolved around them, and the third release in both film and book format is often heralded as the best of the series.
However, including time travel was overly ambitious, and J.K. Rowling herself acknowledged this. While the story it made possible was essential, Rowling knows that she could have implemented it better, because of the sheer number of plot holes it opened up.
Time-Turners Create Plenty Of Plot Holes
Harry Potter’s Time-Turners Open Up A World Of Possibilities
The Time-Turner inHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanwas a brilliant plot device, but it opened numerous plot holes intheHarry Pottermoviesand books. It allowed Hermione to shine more than she ever had before, which was a breath of fresh air. However, its reveal raised more questions than it answered.
Firstly,it wasn’t clear why Albus Dumbledore would give Hermione a Time-Turnerto get better grades in her third year, and save such particular lives. There were other lives he could have saved before that point with the Time-Turner.
The Time-Turner didn’t crop back up after book and movie three, despite its usefulness.
It is true thatHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s StoneandHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secretsdid not really contain the most significant of these deaths. Therefore, many viewers wouldn’t have questioned howDumbledore suddenly decided that the Golden Trio’s third year at Hogwarts was the right point to use the Time-Turner.
But more discerning readers, especially in retrospect, found it odd that one ofHogwarts' famous professorshad no better prior uses for the device, and that these weren’t worth mentioning. Also, the Time-Turner didn’t crop back up after book and movie three, despite its usefulness.
It Makes No Sense To Give A Time-Turner To A Student
The Time-Turners Were Too Advanced For Third-Year Students
Hermione Granger was one ofthe most powerful wizards inHarry Potter, but not even she was equipped to handle the Time-Turner in her third year. This advanced magic was well out of her depth, as evidenced by the occasional mistakes she made using it, including turning up to class late and falling asleep.
Even inHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,it was made clear how dangerous these objects were. Both Dumbledore and Hermione referred to the terrible consequences of misuse of the Time-Turner. For instance, if someone should spot themselves in the past, chaos may ensue.
It doesn’t make sense for one ofthe Hogwarts headmastersto give a Time-Turner to a third-year student, bearing all this in mind. Dumbledore would have been even more acutely aware of its risks than Hermione. Of course,Harry Potterwas a book series originally meant for children, and as with all children’s stories, greater than usual responsibility was placed in the hands of its child heroes.
However,the series became YA as its characters and audience became teens. By the time ofHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione getting the Time-Turner should have been much better explained.
How Are Time-Turners Used For Good In The Wizarding World?
Along withthe Horcruxes inHarry Potter, Time-Turners seemed to be some of the most powerful objects in the world, but they were capable of great good. Unlike Voldemort’s Horcruxes, theTime-Turners sometimes helpedHarry Potter’sheroes achieve their goals.
Of course, inHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione used it with her friends to save Buckbeak and Sirius, plus themselves, when confronted with the werewolf that was Remus Lupin on a full moon. There were also other Time-Turners stored in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic, implying that they had a use.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Childis showing across the U.S. until July 2026.
The Time-Turners were probably studied and protected at the Ministry of Magic in an attempt to keep them out of the wrong hands and apply their principles to other spells or situations. What’s more,J.K. Rowling returned to the concept inHarry Potter and the Cursed Child.
This play made the rules and physics of Time-Turners even more confusing. But it proved that the artifacts could be helpful to kind Wizards. Harry’s son and his best friend, Scorpius Malfoy, managed to use one to thwart the plans of Voldemort’s daughter.
J.K. Rowling Has Tried To Clean Up Time-Turner Lore On Pottermore
J.K. Rowling was obliged to clarify the position of Time-Turners in her world after the confusion they caused. Many fans pointed out the plot holes left inThe Prisoner of Azkabanby the device. Many more pointed out how, what logic the third Potter movie and book did have - which is certainly arguable - was rendered much more difficult to accept byHarry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Via a quote from a character named Saul Croker in an addendum to the story,J.K. Rowling has used Pottermore to clarifythat,
All attempts to travel back further than a few hours have resulted in catastrophic harm to the witch or wizard involved.
This explains why Dumbledore didn’t use Time-Turners with more fervor during his time in the books or before, and it explains why he didn’t use them to save Harry’s parents. It also explains why he didn’t use it to stop Voldemort as a child, teenager, or young Wizard. Rowling also confirmed that all theTime-Turners were destroyed in the Department of Mysteries.
This explains why no one used a Time-Turner during the Battle of Hogwarts, or to save loved ones lost during it. Except forHarry Potter and the Cursed Child, Rowling managed to explain Time-Turners inHarry Potterfairly well.
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a multimedia franchise about an orphaned boy who enrolls at Hogwarts School of Wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family, and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world. Adapted from the novels, Harry Potter is an eight-episode film saga that follows the journey of Harry Potter and his friends, Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley, as they navigate the tricky world of growing up, school life, and magic. Starting from year one and moving to their seventh year, the films chronicle the students' time at Hogwarts while unfurling a sinister plot that centers around the unsuspecting Harry. With the return of the dark wizard, Voldemort, the students and professors at Hogwarts will fight to carry on as the world around them may change forever. Harry Potter has expanded beyond the world of its films and novels with several video games, a spin-off film series titled Fantastic Beasts, and even attractions at Universal Studios.
