Changes: Time-Turner

Revision as of 15:52, 5 April 2014

"I mark the hours, every one, Nor have I yet outrun the Sun. My use and value, unto you, Are gauged by what you have to do."

— Inscription on Hermione Granger's Time-Turner^[1]

The Time-Turner was a device capable of time travel that resembled an hourglass on a necklace. The number of times one turns the hourglass corresponds to the number of hours one travels back in time.

Time-related magic is unstable, and serious breaches in the laws of time result in catastrophic events. Possible scenarios include a wizard or witch killing their past or future selves by mistake, or altering one's life path in such a drastic fashion that it can result in temporal anomalies such as un-births. As such, the Ministry of Magic seeks the strictest guarantees if it permits the use of Time-Turners: Time-Turner possession is hedged around with literally hundreds of laws, and the most stringent laws and penalties are in place to prevent their misuse.

The longest period that can be travelled back in time without serious chance of harm to the traveller or time itself is around five hours. ^[2]

History

"Hermione's immense workload finally seemed to be getting to her. Every night, without fail, Hermione was to be seen in a corner of the common room, several tables spread with books, Arithmancy charts, rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file upon file of extensive notes; she barely spoke to anybody and snapped when she was interrupted."

— Hermione's workload due to her Time-Turner^[src]

Hermione's Secret-Time-Turner — Harry and Hermione use a Time-turner in 1994

Hermione Granger received one from Professor McGonagall in 1993, so that she could attend more classes in her third year than time would allow. Since McGonagall made her swear to not tell anyone about it, she did not mention it to Harry or Ron until the end of the school year, when she and Harry used it to travel back in time and save Sirius Black and Buckbeak from certain death. Special permission from the Ministry of Magic had to be sought to allow Hermione to use one, but her academic record ensured that permission was given.

Hermione found her third year stressful with the extra class load, and therefore decided to drop Divination, which she despised, and Muggle Studies, which she did not find very useful, given that she was a Muggle-born. This allowed her to have a normal schedule once again, and she returned her Time-Turner. Ron was disappointed that Hermione did not tell her friends about it, despite her promise to McGonagall.

"I can't stand another year like this one. That Time-Turner, it was driving me mad. I've handed it in."

— Hermione Granger at the end of her third year^[src]

The entire stock of Time-Turners, located in the Time Room, in the Ministry of Magic was destroyed during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in 1996.^[3]^[4]

Behind the scenes

A Silver Time-Turner — A silver Time-Turner.

In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, while the importance of not being seen while travelling back in time is stressed, Harry and Hermione pass by the Clock Tower Courtyard while following their past selves. However, the executioner was sitting there, sharpening his axe, so he must have seen two pairs of Harries and Hermiones.
In the book, when the Time-Turner is used it takes the person back to the location where they were present at the time they'd gone back to. However, in the film adaptation, when the Time-Turner is used it leaves the person in the same place they were when they turned time back. The GBA video game version has the user appearing at an entirely random place (i.e. Harry and Hermione use it in the Hospital wing and appear at the Forbidden Forest).
The possibility of time travel within the Harry Potter universe may seem to allow many plot holes, but characters appear to use them for trivial tasks that have no effect on existence as a whole. The one notable use of a Time-Turner within canon, the Rescue of Sirius Black and Buckbeak, obeys the Novikov Self-Consistency Principle. This theory of time-travel, stating that "Nothing can be changed because anything a traveler does merely produces the circumstances they had noted before travelling," is incidentally reminiscent of J. K. Rowling's employment of self-fulfilling prophecy. However, references to catastrophes that can take place when time travelling (a reference to a wizard travelling to the past and being killed by his past self in Prisoner of Azkaban, or Eloise Mintumble's time-travelling mishap in Pottermore in which several people end up un-born in the present) seem to go against Novikov Principle, indeed creating paradoxes.
It is unknown what the effect of excessive Time-Turner use might produce. The user might still age while within an hour produced by the Time-Turner, and if so, then for wizards or witches such as Hermione, constant use might age them faster, adding days, weeks, or even months onto their internal chronological clock. It is also unknown how this applies to later on in life. If Hermione was perhaps a month older by using the Time-Turner during her third year^[5], then biologically her seventeenth birthday might arrive a month earlier than her calendar birthdate might indicate, which might cause the Trace to have been lifted earlier as well.
In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, there are grandfather clocks throughout Hogwarts which allow Hermione to use her Time-Turner to transport herself and her teammates back in time to complete certain objectives. One of these includes a mission where Harry and Hagrid hatch Norberta's egg.
The Time-Turner is one of the many collectables offered by the Noble Collection.
Hermione Granger's Time-Turner is David Heyman's favourite prop from the films.^[6]

Appearances

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (First appearance)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only)
LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
J. K. Rowling's Official Site
Pottermore

Notes and references

↑ This quote comes from the "Harry Potter Sticker Kit", containing a plastic replica of the Time-Turner used on the film.
↑ Pottermore
↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
↑ Blue Peter (CBBC) interview with JK Rowling, confirming that all the MoM time-turners were destroyed.
↑ Assuming an average usage of 3 hours per day, 5 days per week, for a period of 9 months, this would add up to approximately 24 extra days.
↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3FP-nmkFL0&feature=relmfu

[1] This quote comes from the "Harry Potter Sticker Kit", containing a plastic replica of the Time-Turner used on the film.

[2] Pottermore

[3] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

[accio_quote-4] Blue Peter (CBBC) interview with JK Rowling, confirming that all the MoM time-turners were destroyed.

[5] Assuming an average usage of 3 hours per day, 5 days per week, for a period of 9 months, this would add up to approximately 24 extra days.

[6] ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3FP-nmkFL0&feature=relmfu

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Pottermoreold}}
 {{Object infobox
 |name=Time-Turner
-|image=[[File:Time-Turner 05.jpg|250px]]
+|image=[[File:TimeTurner.PNG|250px]]
 |caption=A Time-Turner
-|manufacturer=
+|manufacturer=[[Department of Mysteries]]
 |made=
-|usage=Time travel
+|usage=[[Time|Time travel]]
-|owners=*[[Hermione Granger]]
+|owners=*[[Hermione Granger]] (formerly)
-*[[Minerva McGonagall]]
 *[[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]] (destroyed)
-|first=''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]''
-|latest=
-|last=''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'' {{Mention}}
 }}
-{{Quote| I mark the hours every one nor have I yet outrun the sun. My use and value unto you are gauged by what you have to do.  |Inscription on [[Hermione Granger]]'s Time-Turner<ref>This quote comes from the "''Harry Potter Sticker Kit''", containing a plastic replica of the Time-Turner used on the film.</ref>}}
+{{Quote|I mark the hours, every one, Nor have I yet outrun the Sun. My use and value, unto you, Are gauged by what you have to do.|Inscription on [[Hermione Granger]]'s Time-Turner<ref>This quote comes from the "''Harry Potter Sticker Kit''", containing a plastic replica of the Time-Turner used on the film.</ref>}}
-The '''Time-Turner''' was a device capable of time travel. The Time-Turner resembled an hourglass on a necklace. The number of times one turns the hourglass corresponds to the number of hours one travels back in time. It is extremely important that the user of a Time-Turner not be seen by past or future versions of themselves unless, of course, said versions are aware of their usage of a Time-Turner. A possible scenario is a wizard or witch killing their past or future selves by mistake.
+The '''Time-Turner''' was a device capable of [[Time|time travel]] that resembled an hourglass on a necklace. The number of times one turns the hourglass corresponds to the number of hours one travels back in time.
+Time-related magic is unstable, and serious breaches in the laws of time result in catastrophic events. Possible scenarios include a wizard or witch killing their past or future selves by mistake, or altering one's [[life path]] in such a drastic fashion that it can result in temporal anomalies such as [[un-born|un-births]]. As such, the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]] seeks the strictest guarantees if it permits the use of Time-Turners: Time-Turner possession is hedged around with literally hundreds of laws, and the most stringent laws and penalties are in place to prevent their misuse.
+The longest period that can be travelled back in time without serious chance of harm to the traveller or time itself is around five hours. <ref>[http://www.pottermore.com/en/book3/chapter21/moment1/time-turner Pottermore]</ref>
 ==History==
-{{Quote|Hermione’s immense workload finally seemed to be getting to her. Every night, without fail, Hermione was to be seen in a corner of the common room, several tables spread with books, [[Arithmancy (class)|Arithmancy]] charts, rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file upon file of extensive notes; she barely spoke to anybody and snapped when she was interrupted.|Hermione's workload due to her Time-Turner|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban}}
+{{Quote|Hermione's immense workload finally seemed to be getting to her. Every night, without fail, Hermione was to be seen in a corner of the common room, several tables spread with books, [[Arithmancy (class)|Arithmancy]] charts, rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file upon file of extensive notes; she barely spoke to anybody and snapped when she was interrupted.|Hermione's workload due to her Time-Turner|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban}}
-[[File:Time-TurnerHarryHermione.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Hermione Granger]] and [[Harry Potter]] used a Time-Turner in [[1994]].]]
+[[File:Hermione's_Secret-Time-Turner.png|thumb|left|232px|[[Harry]] and [[Hermione]] use a Time-turner in [[1994]]]]
-[[Hermione Granger]] received one from [[Minerva McGonagall|Professor McGonagall]] in [[1993]]. so she could attend more classes in her third year than time would allow. Since McGonagall made her swear to not tell anyone about it, she did not mention it to [[Harry Potter|Harry]] or [[Ronald Weasley|Ron]] until the end of the school year, when she and Harry used it to travel back in time and save [[Sirius Black]] and [[Buckbeak]] from certain death. Special permission from the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]] had to be sought to allow Hermione to use one, but her academic record ensured that permission was given.
+[[Hermione Granger]] received one from [[Minerva McGonagall|Professor McGonagall]] in [[1993]], so that she could attend more classes in her third year than time would allow. Since McGonagall made her swear to not tell anyone about it, she did not mention it to [[Harry Potter|Harry]] or [[Ronald Weasley|Ron]] until the end of the school year, when she and Harry used it to travel back in time and save [[Sirius Black]] and [[Buckbeak]] from certain death. Special permission from the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]] had to be sought to allow Hermione to use one, but her academic record ensured that permission was given.
 [[File:Time_turner.jpg|thumb|Time turner-close up]]
@@ Line 31: / Line 32: @@
 ==Behind the scenes==
-[[File:A_Silver_Time-Turner.JPG|thumb|150px|A silver Time-Turner.]]
+[[File:A_Silver_Time-Turner.JPG|thumb|left|150px|A silver Time-Turner.]]
-*It is possible that [[Bartemius Crouch Jr.|Barty Crouch Jr.]], [[Percy Weasley]], and [[William Weasley|Bill Weasley]] used Time-Turners, as they were each known to have achieved twelve [[Ordinary Wizarding Level|O.W.L.s]].
+*In the [[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)|film adaptation]] of ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'', while the importance of not being seen while travelling back in time is stressed, Harry and Hermione pass by the [[Clock Tower Courtyard]] while following their past selves. However, the [[Walden Macnair|executioner]] was sitting there, sharpening his [[axe]], so he must have seen two pairs of Harries and Hermiones.
-*During the [[Battle of the Department of Mysteries]] in [[1996]], the Ministry's entire Time-Turner supply was smashed. It is unknown when or if the Ministry replaced them, or if it is even possible to recreate or replace a Time-Turner.
-*In the [[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)|film version]] of ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'', Harry and Hermione were seen by the [[Walden Macnair|executioner]] twice, having walked past him scowling, then ran past him again while "retracing their steps."
+*In the [[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban|book]], when the Time-Turner is used it takes the person back to the location where they were present at the time they'd gone back to. However, in the [[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)|film adaptation]], when the Time-Turner is used it leaves the person in the same place they were when they turned time back. The [[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)|GBA video game version]] has the user appearing at an entirely random place (i.e. Harry and Hermione use it in the [[Hospital wing]] and appear at the [[Forbidden Forest]]).
+*The possibility of time travel within the [[Harry Potter series|''Harry Potter'' universe]] may seem to allow many plot holes, but characters appear to use them for trivial tasks that have no effect on existence as a whole. The one notable use of a Time-Turner within canon, the [[Rescue of Sirius Black and Buckbeak]], obeys the [[Wikipedia:Novikov_self-consistency_principle|Novikov Self-Consistency Principle]]. This theory of time-travel, stating that "Nothing can be changed because anything a traveler does merely produces the circumstances they had noted before travelling," is incidentally reminiscent of [[J. K. Rowling]]'s employment of self-fulfilling prophecy. However, references to catastrophes that can take place when time travelling (a reference to a wizard travelling to the past and being killed by his past self in ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban|Prisoner of Azkaban]]'', or [[Eloise Mintumble]]'s time-travelling mishap in ''[[Pottermore]]'' in which several people end up [[un-born]] in the present) seem to go against Novikov Principle, indeed creating paradoxes.
-*In the [[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban|book]], when the Time-Turner is used it takes the person back to the location where they were present at the time they'd gone back to. However, in the [[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)|film version]], when the Time-Turner is used it leaves the person in the same place they were when they turned time back. The [[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)|video game version]] has the user appearing at an entirely random place (i.e. Harry and Hermione use it in the [[Hospital wing]] and appear at the [[Forbidden Forest]]).
-*The possibility of time travel within the [[Harry Potter series|''Harry Potter'' universe]] may seem to allow many plot holes, but characters appear to use them for trivial tasks that have no effect on existence as a whole. The one notable use of a Time-Turner within canon, the [[Rescue of Sirius Black and Buckbeak]], obeys the [[Wikipedia:Novikov_self-consistency_principle|Novikov Self-Consistency Principle]]. This theory of time-travel, stating that "Nothing can be changed because anything a traveler does merely produces the circumstances they had noted before travelling," is incidentally reminiscent of [[J. K. Rowling]]'s employment of self fulfilling prophecy, but while prophecies within canon are relevant only to the degree that characters place relevance on them, as the books state [[Harry Potter]] and [[Tom Riddle]] could walk away and void the [[Prophecy#Known Prophecies by Sybill Trelawney|prophecy]] if they chose to, the same cannot be said for the series if any major events within the books or the [[Harry Potter universe]] as a whole have been related to the Time-Turner's misuse.
-*This does not, however, refute the idea that people can change the past through the use of an object like the Time-Turner.
 *It is unknown what the effect of excessive Time-Turner use might produce. The user might still age while within an hour produced by the Time-Turner, and if so, then for wizards or witches such as Hermione, constant use might age them faster, adding days, weeks, or even months onto their internal chronological clock. It is also unknown how this applies to later on in life. If Hermione was perhaps a month older by using the Time-Turner during her third year<ref>Assuming an average usage of 3 hours per day, 5 days per week, for a period of 9 months, this would add up to approximately 24 extra days.</ref>, then biologically her seventeenth birthday might arrive a month earlier than her calendar birthdate might indicate, which might cause the [[Trace]] to have been lifted earlier as well.
 *In ''[[LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4]]'', there are grandfather clocks throughout Hogwarts which allow Hermione to use her Time-Turner to transport herself and her teammates back in time to complete certain objectives. One of these includes a mission where Harry and Hagrid hatch [[Norberta]]'s egg.
 *The Time-Turner is one of the many collectables offered by the [[Noble Collection]].
-*Part of the inscription on Hermione's Time-Turner - "''nor have I yet outrun the Sun''" - seems to suggest that Time-Turners can only travel backwards in time, not to the future.
 *Hermione Granger's Time-Turner is David Heyman's favourite prop from the films.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3FP-nmkFL0&feature=relmfu</ref>
@@ Line 54: / Line 52: @@
 *''[[The Wizarding World of Harry Potter]] ''
 *''[[J. K. Rowling's Official Site]]''
+*''[[Pottermore]]''
 ==Notes and references==
-{{reflist}}
+{{Reflist}}
 [[es:Giratiempo]]
@@ Line 67: / Line 65: @@
 [[Category:Hermione Granger's possessions]]
 [[Category:Necklaces]]
+[[Category:Time travel]]