Harry Potter Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Register
Harry Potter Wiki
Harry Potter Wiki
20,678
pages
in: Albus Dumbledore's possessions, Foundables, Hermione Granger's possessions,
and 6 more
English

Changes: Time-Turner

Back to page
Sign in to edit
No edit summary
 
(161 intermediate revisions by 79 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
  +
{{Spoiler|HM|PAS|MA}}
 
{{Object infobox
  
{{Object infobox
−
|name=Time-Turner
 +
|name = Time-Turner
−
|image=[[File:TimeTurner.PNG|250px]]
 +
|image = Time Turner.png
  +
|location =
−
|caption=A Time-Turner
  
  +
|manufacturer = [[Department of Mysteries]]<ref name="PM"/><ref name="OOTP35"/>
−
|manufacturer=
  
−
|made=
 +
|made =
−
|usage=Time travel
 +
|usage = [[Time]] travel<ref name="PM"/><ref name="POA21">{{POA|B|21}}</ref>
−
|owners=*[[Hermione Granger]]
 +
|owners = *[[Hermione Granger]] (formerly)<ref name="POA21">{{POA|B|21}}</ref>
  +
*[[Albus Dumbledore]]<ref name="LEGOY1"/>
⚫
*[[Minerva McGonagall]]
  
  +
*[[Minerva McGonagall]]<ref name="LEGOY1">{{LEGO|Y1}}</ref>
−
*[[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]] (destroyed)
  
  +
*[[British Ministry of Magic]]<ref name="PM"/> (destroyed)<ref name="OOTP35">{{OOTP|B|35}}</ref>
−
|first=''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]''
  
  +
*[[Malfoy family]]<ref name="CC">{{CC}}</ref>
−
|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 borrowed 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>}}
  +
A '''Time-Turner''' was a [[magic]]al device used for [[time]] travel. It was a special timepiece which resembled an hourglass on a necklace.<ref name="PM"/><ref name="POA21">{{POA|B|21}}</ref>
   
−
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. 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. It is unknown if there is a limit to how far into the past a Time-Turner can travel.
 +
The [[British Ministry of Magic]] encased an [[Hour-Reversal Charm]] in the time turners they created, for additional stability. The number of times one turned the hourglass corresponded to the number of hours one travelled back in time. However, they could only stay in the past for five hours at a time, without the possibility of serious harm to the traveller or to time itself.<ref name="PM">{{WW|time-turner}}</ref>
  +
  +
However, by [[2020]], two other "true" kind of time-turners were created. The prototype only let the time traveller stay in the past for five minutes, while the improved model let them to stay in the past for as long as they wanted, and return to the future when they wanted.<ref name="CC"/>
   
 
==History==
  
==History==
  +
===1993-1994===
−
{{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 Ministry Time-Turner|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban}}[[File:Hermione's Secret-Time-Turner.png|240x240px|thumb|left|[[Harry Potter]] and Hermione Granger use a Time-turner]]
  ⚫
[[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]] or [[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]] 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.<ref name="POA21">{{POA|B|21}}</ref>
   
  ⚫
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.<ref name="POA22">{{POA|B|22}}</ref>
−
[[File:Time-TurnerHarryHermione.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Hermione Granger]] and [[Harry Potter]] used a Time-Turner in [[1994]].]]
  
⚫
[[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.
  
   
  +
===1996===
−
[[File:Time_turner.jpg|thumb|Time turner-close up]]
  
  ⚫
The entire stock of Time-Turners, located in the [[Time Room]], in the Ministry of Magic were rendered useless during the [[Battle of the Department of Mysteries]] in 1996. While not "destroyed" per se, due to the way one of them fell when their counter was knocked over, the entire stock was trapped in an endless loop of falling over, un-falling, and then re-falling, in an endless cycle for all eternity, and was thus unable to be used.<ref name="OOTP35">{{OOTP|B|35}}</ref><ref name="accio quote">[http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2007/0720-bluepeter.html Blue Peter (CBBC) interview with JK Rowling, confirming that all the MoM time-turners were destroyed.]</ref> However, it is possible that other countries around the world would be willing to lend their own Time-Turners to the British government if asked.
⚫
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.
  
   
  +
===2020===
−
{{Quote|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|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban}}
  
  +
{{Quote|And there is a giant whoosh of light. A smash of noise. And time stops. And then it turns over, thinks a bit, and begins spooling backwards, slow at first ... And then it speeds up.|The workings of a time turner|Harry Potter and the Cursed Child}}
  +
By August [[2020]], [[Theodore Nott]], while working for [[Lucius Malfoy]], created a prototype of a time-turner, presumably in the hope of saving Voldemort from his fate. The prototype only let the time-traveller stay in the past for five minutes, although they could travel as far back as they wanted.<ref name="CC">{{CC}}</ref>
   
  +
Nott eventually created a better and improved model, which let the time-traveller stay in the past for as long as they wanted. They could also use the device to return to the future when needed. While Malfoy kept the improved model, which was eventually passed down to his son, Nott kept the prototype. Even though they both owned something which could be used to save Voldemort, neither of them tried.<ref name="CC"/>
⚫
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]].<ref>''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]''</ref><ref name="accio quote">[http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2007/0720-bluepeter.html Blue Peter (CBBC) interview with JK Rowling, confirming that all the MoM time-turners were destroyed.]</ref>
  
  +
  +
In August 2020, Harry Potter, in his capacity as the head of the [[Department of Magical Law Enforcement]], retrieved the previously unknown Time-Turner at the home of Nott. Being a "true" Time-Turner, it had the potential to cause catastrophic effects on time, and Nott was arrested for creating such a dangerous device.<ref name="CC"/>
  +
  +
Although it was hidden in the office of [[Minister for Magic]] [[Hermione Granger]], it was later stolen by [[Albus Potter]] and [[Scorpius Malfoy]], who intended to use it in order to save [[Cedric Diggory]] and return him to [[Amos Diggory|his father]]. They created a disastrous sequence of events and [[Alternate reality|alternate realities]], finding that they could only stay in the past for five minutes. They managed to correct events and set time right with the help of the alternate Hermione, [[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]] and [[Severus Snape]].<ref name="CC"/>
  +
  +
When they were were abducted by [[Delphini]], she used the time-turner to travel back to October 1981 to save [[Tom Riddle|her father]]. She then destroyed it to ensure she would not be forced to return to the present via the five minute restriction.<ref name="CC"/>
  +
  +
However, in the present, [[Draco Malfoy]] revealed he had the improved Time-Turner from [[Lucius Malfoy|his father]], that would allow him to stay in the past for as long as he wanted; he had always had to resist the urge to use it to see his [[Astoria Malfoy|deceased wife]] one more time. Along with Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione, they travelled back in time with help from a message sent by Albus in the past. They stopped Delphini by the combined might of both generations, and then returned to the future.<ref name="CC4-4">{{CC|B|4|4}}</ref>
  +
  +
==Types==
  +
===Typical Time-Turners===
  ⚫
[[File:TimeTurnerWU.png|thumb|A common Time-Turner]]
  +
Time-Turners that were issued by the Ministry of Magic have an [[Hour-Reversal Charm]] placed onto them. They had a limit of travelling back a maximum of five-hours, which is the determined safety limit to the person and the fabrics of time. The Charm placed on them was unstable on its own and benefited from a container.<ref name="PM"/>
  +
  +
[[File:TimeTurner_WB_F3_TimeTurner_V1_Illust_100615_Port.jpg|thumb|Many different types of Time-Turners]]
  +
The Ministry had a limited quantity which were not easily replaceable.<ref name="PM"/> During the [[Battle of the Department of Mysteries]], the Ministry's entire stockpile were destroyed and they were not repaired nor replaced.<ref name="OOTP35">{{OOTP|B|35}}</ref> [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry|Hogwarts]] students can apply for such a Time-Turner in order to take more classes, but they must undergo a large amount of screening process and must follow the most stringent set of rules, such as not abusing its powers nor let any outsiders know about it.<ref name="POA21"/>
  +
  +
===Theodore Nott's Time-Turners===
  +
A pair of Time-Turners were created by [[Theodore Nott]] while he was working for [[Lucius Malfoy]]. There were two in total, and they were not restricted by an Hour-Reversal Charm, allowing one to travel back years or even decades. The prototype was kept by Nott until the Ministry found it following his arrest by Harry Potter. It was made of inexpensive metal and was not the finalised version; although still far more powerful than any Time Turner that had preceded it, the user could only stay in the past for five minutes before being sent back to the present.<ref name="CC"/>
  +
  +
However, Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy retrieved it and proved (albeit unintentionally), that a person could create enough damage with catastrophic results in such a small window. When Delphi took it, she destroyed it while still in the past, and proved that the device would then allow the users to stay in the past indefinitely.<ref name="CC"/>
  +
  +
Nott was arrested when he was found to have created and being in possession of such a dangerous device. When Albus and Scorpius were found using this device, they were very close to being expelled by [[Headmaster|Headmistress]] [[Minerva McGonagall]], had she not been understanding enough from her experience with their parents. Nevertheless, she barred them from all future visits to [[Hogsmeade]], cancelled all their [[Christmas holidays|Christmas]] and [[Easter|Easter holidays]], and gave them a multitude of detentions, while their parents gave them a severe scolding. Delphi was later arrested for using the device in an attempt to alter the timeline illegally, along with the cold-blooded murder of [[Craig Bowker Junior|Craig Bowker Jnr]] with the [[Killing Curse]].<ref name="CC"/>
  +
  +
Lucius kept the second "true" Time-Turner as he enjoyed collecting powerful artefacts. The finalised device gleamed like gold, and was not restrained by a five-minutes duration. By his son [[Draco Malfoy]]'s belief, Lucius originally commissioned the creation of the Time-Turner to save [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]] from [[Voldemort's Last Stand|his fate]], but ultimately decided not to. He passed the Time-Turner down to Draco, who used it to save Albus and Scorpius by travelling to the past. The device allowed them to return to the future by their own choice, instead of waiting for five minutes. [[Harry Potter]] told him that had the Ministry found Draco with the dangerous device, he would be sent to Azkaban for it.<ref name="CC"/>
  +
  +
==Nature==
  +
{{Quote|As our investigations currently stand, the longest period that may be relived without the possibility of serious harm to the traveller or to time itself is around five hours. We have been able to encase single Hour-Reversal Charms, which are unstable and benefit from containment, in small, enchanted hour-glasses that may be worn around a witch or wizard’s neck and revolved according to the number of hours the user wishes to relive.|Professor [[Saul Croaker]]|Pottermore}}
  +
[[File:Turning_time.gif|frame|A Time-Turner while in use (Harry and Hermione in [[1994]])]]
  +
Time-related magic is unstable, and serious breaches in the laws of time result in catastrophic events.<ref name="PM"/> According to Professor [[Saul Croaker]]: 'Just as the human mind cannot comprehend time, so it cannot comprehend the damage that will ensue if we presume to tamper with its laws'. Possible scenarios include a wizard or witch killing their past or future selves by mistake,<ref name="POA21"/> or altering one's [[life path]] in such a drastic fashion that it can result in temporal anomalies such as [[un-born|un-births]],<ref name="CC"/> making it imperative for users to practise discretion and operate in secret lest they encounter their past selves and do irreparable harm.<ref name="POA21"/> While not as potentially dangerous as skipping five centuries, even the re-use of a single hour could still have dramatic consequences and the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]] enforced the strictest guarantees if it permitted the use of these rare and powerful objects. Time-Turner possession was hedged around with literally hundreds of laws, and the most stringent laws and penalties were in place to prevent their misuse. It would have surprised most of the magical community to know that Time-Turners were generally only used to solve the most trivial problems of time management and never for greater or more important purposes.<ref name="PM"/><ref name="CC"/>
  +
  +
The consequences of meddling with time could be as severe as creating an alternate timeline, such as one in which [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]] was never defeated and still ruled. In this case, however, the person who had used the Time-Turner, if they still existed and weren't [[Un-born]], would still have memory of the events of the original, un-corrupted timeline, but would have to learn second-hand the nature of the changes which had been made.<ref name="CC"/> The alternate timeline apparently disappeared when the changes were "fixed". Another consequence of traveling long distances through time was that time itself could have been disturbed by such a serious breach of its laws. Such was the case after [[Eloise Mintumble]] returned from her five century trip. Tuesday following her reappearance lasted two and a half full days, whereas Thursday shot by in the space of four hours. The Ministry of Magic had a great deal of trouble in covering this up.<ref name="PM"/>
  +
  +
According to [[Professor Croaker's law]], the longest period that could be travelled back in time without serious chance of harm to the traveller or time itself is around five hours.<ref name="PM"/><ref name=CC2-16>{{CC|B|2|16}}</ref>
   
 
==Behind the scenes==
  
==Behind the scenes==
  +
*In {{POA|FA}}, 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]]. As such, he could have seen two pairs of Harrys and Hermiones. It may have been that he was too focused on sharpening his axe that he did not notice the second Harry and Hermione coming through. In addition, there is a scene played wherein Ron sees future Harry and Hermione enter the room at the same moment that their past selves disappear to travel back in time.
⚫
[[File:A_Silver_Time-Turner.JPG|thumb|150px|A silver Time-Turner.]]
  
  ⚫
*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]]).
−
*It is possible that [[Bartemius Crouch Jr.|Barty Crouch Jr.]], [[Percy Weasley]], and [[William Weasley|Bill Weasley]] used Time-Turners, as they were all each known to have achieved twelve [[Ordinary Wizarding Level|O.W.L.s]].
  
  ⚫
*The possibility of time travel within the [[Harry Potter series|''Harry Potter'' universe]] could have caused significant problems, 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 the book [[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 traveller 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 {{PM}} in which several people end up [[un-born]] in the present) seem to go against Novikov Principle, indeed creating paradoxes. {{CC}} also shows that reckless use of a Time-Turner can result in the creation of an [[alternate reality|alternate timeline]].
−
*It is unknown when or if the Ministry of Magic replaced the Time-Turners that were broken during the battle in 1996, or if it is even possible to recreate or replace a Time-Turner.
  
  +
*Knowing that time-related magic is unstable, there might be different ways to experience time through magic. This would explain catastrophic events as with [[Eloise Mintumble]], paradoxes as result of poorly performed time-related spells, and/or apparent differences between the experience of time travel through authorised Time-Turners in ''Prisoner of Azkaban'' and that through unauthorised Time-Turners in ''Cursed Child''.
−
*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."
  
  +
*When [[Eloise Mintumble]] time-travelled and changed things, it was noticed by other [[Wizardkind|witches]] and [[Wizardkind|wizards]] from the original timeline who went to retrieve her. When [[Albus Potter]] and [[Scorpius Malfoy]] time-travelled and changed things, the people from the original timeline did not believe they could retrieve the students. Harry Potter remarks that the Time-Turner cannot help them, because they do not know to what time the students went.
⚫
*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.
  
  +
[[File:McGonagall’s possible Time-Turner.jpeg|thumb|What could possibly be a time turner worn by McGonagall in {{COG}}]]
−
*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 possible that Minerva McGonagall was wearing a Time-Turner in a deleted scene from {{COG}}.
 
*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.
  
*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.
 +
*In {{LEGO|Y1}}, 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.
−
*It is also a possibility that it is impossible to change the past, leaving a Time-Turner to only let users see what actually happens at another place. Examples that can explain this is that in the actual time, Harry was also hit by a [[Snail|snail]] shell, and Hermione still heard the crack of a branch. Which was what happened in ''the past''.
  
 
*The Time-Turner is one of the many collectables offered by the [[Noble Collection]].
  
*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.<ref name="YouTube">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3FP-nmkFL0&feature=relmfu/ See this video]</ref>
−
*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.
  
  +
*You can hear quiet ticking as a background sound during part of the Time-Turner episode of {{POA|FA}}.
⚫
*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>
  
  +
*In {{HM}}, after botching his first date [[Barnaby Lee]], repeatedly commented he wished he had a Time-Turner to redo the evening.
  +
*Injuries acquired during time travel age up in a different manner than the time-traveller. When [[Albus Potter]] was injured after travelling twenty years in the past, his injury aged twenty years (according to Madam Pomfrey) even though Albus himself remained the same age. Similarly, [[Eloise Mintumble]] may have been injured when she was retrieved by her colleagues, ageing her up hundreds of years.
   
 
==Appearances==
  
==Appearances==
  +
{{Imagecat|Images of Time-Turners}}
−
*''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' {{1st}}
  
  +
*{{POA}} {{1st}}
−
*''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)]]''
  
  +
*{{POA|F}}
−
*''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)]]''
  
  +
*{{POA|G}}
−
*''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]''
  
  +
*{{OOTP}}
−
*''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'' {{Mention}}
  
  +
*{{HBP}} {{Mention}}
−
*''[[LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World]]''
  
  +
*{{CC}}
−
*''[[LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4]]''
  
  +
*{{CC|P}}
−
*''[[The Wizarding World of Harry Potter]] ''
  
  +
*{{COG}} {{Possible}} {{Deleted scenes}}
−
*''[[J. K. Rowling's Official Site]]''
  
  +
*{{LEGO|C}}
  +
*{{LEGO|Y1}}
  +
*{{HPK}} {{Mention}} {{Photograph}}
  +
*{{WWHP}}
  +
*{{JKRS}}
  +
*{{PM}}
  +
*{{WW}}
  +
*{{HPV|CH}}
  +
*{{HM}} {{Mention}}
  +
*{{WU}}
  +
*{{PAS}}
  +
*{{MA}}
   
 
==Notes and references==
  
==Notes and references==
 
{{Reflist}}
  
{{Reflist}}
   
  +
[[de:Zeitumkehrer]]
 
[[es:Giratiempo]]
  
[[es:Giratiempo]]
 
[[fr:Retourneur de Temps]]
  
[[fr:Retourneur de Temps]]
Line 64: Line 119:
 
[[ru:Маховик времени]]
  
[[ru:Маховик времени]]
 
[[nl:Tijdverdrijver]]
  
[[nl:Tijdverdrijver]]
  +
[[pl:Zmieniacz czasu]]
⚫
[[Category:Objects]]
  
  +
[[pt-br:Vira-Tempo]]
  +
[[ja:逆転時計]]
  +
[[Category:Albus Dumbledore's possessions]]
  ⚫
[[Category:Foundables]]
 
[[Category:Hermione Granger's possessions]]
  
[[Category:Hermione Granger's possessions]]
  +
[[Category:Magical objects]]
  +
[[Category:Malfoy family possessions]]
  ⚫
[[Category:Minerva McGonagall's possessions]]
 
[[Category:Necklaces]]
  
[[Category:Necklaces]]
  +
[[Category:Plot to restore Lord Voldemort]]
  +
[[Category:Time travel]]

Latest revision as of 08:47, 17 March 2024

Hand pointing right transparent Warning!

At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery & Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells & Harry Potter: Magic Awakened.
As such, spoilers will be present within the article.

"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 borrowed Time-Turner[6]

A Time-Turner was a magical device used for time travel. It was a special timepiece which resembled an hourglass on a necklace.[1][3]

The British Ministry of Magic encased an Hour-Reversal Charm in the time turners they created, for additional stability. The number of times one turned the hourglass corresponded to the number of hours one travelled back in time. However, they could only stay in the past for five hours at a time, without the possibility of serious harm to the traveller or to time itself.[1]

However, by 2020, two other "true" kind of time-turners were created. The prototype only let the time traveller stay in the past for five minutes, while the improved model let them to stay in the past for as long as they wanted, and return to the future when they wanted.[5]

History

1993-1994

"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 Ministry Time-Turner[src]
Hermione's Secret-Time-Turner

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger use a Time-turner

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 Potter or Ron Weasley 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.[3]

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.[7]

1996

The entire stock of Time-Turners, located in the Time Room, in the Ministry of Magic were rendered useless during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in 1996. While not "destroyed" per se, due to the way one of them fell when their counter was knocked over, the entire stock was trapped in an endless loop of falling over, un-falling, and then re-falling, in an endless cycle for all eternity, and was thus unable to be used.[2][8] However, it is possible that other countries around the world would be willing to lend their own Time-Turners to the British government if asked.

2020

"And there is a giant whoosh of light. A smash of noise. And time stops. And then it turns over, thinks a bit, and begins spooling backwards, slow at first ... And then it speeds up."
— The workings of a time turner[src]

By August 2020, Theodore Nott, while working for Lucius Malfoy, created a prototype of a time-turner, presumably in the hope of saving Voldemort from his fate. The prototype only let the time-traveller stay in the past for five minutes, although they could travel as far back as they wanted.[5]

Nott eventually created a better and improved model, which let the time-traveller stay in the past for as long as they wanted. They could also use the device to return to the future when needed. While Malfoy kept the improved model, which was eventually passed down to his son, Nott kept the prototype. Even though they both owned something which could be used to save Voldemort, neither of them tried.[5]

In August 2020, Harry Potter, in his capacity as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, retrieved the previously unknown Time-Turner at the home of Nott. Being a "true" Time-Turner, it had the potential to cause catastrophic effects on time, and Nott was arrested for creating such a dangerous device.[5]

Although it was hidden in the office of Minister for Magic Hermione Granger, it was later stolen by Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy, who intended to use it in order to save Cedric Diggory and return him to his father. They created a disastrous sequence of events and alternate realities, finding that they could only stay in the past for five minutes. They managed to correct events and set time right with the help of the alternate Hermione, Ron Weasley and Severus Snape.[5]

When they were were abducted by Delphini, she used the time-turner to travel back to October 1981 to save her father. She then destroyed it to ensure she would not be forced to return to the present via the five minute restriction.[5]

However, in the present, Draco Malfoy revealed he had the improved Time-Turner from his father, that would allow him to stay in the past for as long as he wanted; he had always had to resist the urge to use it to see his deceased wife one more time. Along with Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione, they travelled back in time with help from a message sent by Albus in the past. They stopped Delphini by the combined might of both generations, and then returned to the future.[9]

Types

Typical Time-Turners

TimeTurnerWU

A common Time-Turner

Time-Turners that were issued by the Ministry of Magic have an Hour-Reversal Charm placed onto them. They had a limit of travelling back a maximum of five-hours, which is the determined safety limit to the person and the fabrics of time. The Charm placed on them was unstable on its own and benefited from a container.[1]

TimeTurner WB F3 TimeTurner V1 Illust 100615 Port

Many different types of Time-Turners

The Ministry had a limited quantity which were not easily replaceable.[1] During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the Ministry's entire stockpile were destroyed and they were not repaired nor replaced.[2] Hogwarts students can apply for such a Time-Turner in order to take more classes, but they must undergo a large amount of screening process and must follow the most stringent set of rules, such as not abusing its powers nor let any outsiders know about it.[3]

Theodore Nott's Time-Turners

A pair of Time-Turners were created by Theodore Nott while he was working for Lucius Malfoy. There were two in total, and they were not restricted by an Hour-Reversal Charm, allowing one to travel back years or even decades. The prototype was kept by Nott until the Ministry found it following his arrest by Harry Potter. It was made of inexpensive metal and was not the finalised version; although still far more powerful than any Time Turner that had preceded it, the user could only stay in the past for five minutes before being sent back to the present.[5]

However, Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy retrieved it and proved (albeit unintentionally), that a person could create enough damage with catastrophic results in such a small window. When Delphi took it, she destroyed it while still in the past, and proved that the device would then allow the users to stay in the past indefinitely.[5]

Nott was arrested when he was found to have created and being in possession of such a dangerous device. When Albus and Scorpius were found using this device, they were very close to being expelled by Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, had she not been understanding enough from her experience with their parents. Nevertheless, she barred them from all future visits to Hogsmeade, cancelled all their Christmas and Easter holidays, and gave them a multitude of detentions, while their parents gave them a severe scolding. Delphi was later arrested for using the device in an attempt to alter the timeline illegally, along with the cold-blooded murder of Craig Bowker Jnr with the Killing Curse.[5]

Lucius kept the second "true" Time-Turner as he enjoyed collecting powerful artefacts. The finalised device gleamed like gold, and was not restrained by a five-minutes duration. By his son Draco Malfoy's belief, Lucius originally commissioned the creation of the Time-Turner to save Lord Voldemort from his fate, but ultimately decided not to. He passed the Time-Turner down to Draco, who used it to save Albus and Scorpius by travelling to the past. The device allowed them to return to the future by their own choice, instead of waiting for five minutes. Harry Potter told him that had the Ministry found Draco with the dangerous device, he would be sent to Azkaban for it.[5]

Nature

"As our investigations currently stand, the longest period that may be relived without the possibility of serious harm to the traveller or to time itself is around five hours. We have been able to encase single Hour-Reversal Charms, which are unstable and benefit from containment, in small, enchanted hour-glasses that may be worn around a witch or wizard’s neck and revolved according to the number of hours the user wishes to relive."
— Professor Saul Croaker[src]
Turning time

A Time-Turner while in use (Harry and Hermione in 1994)

Time-related magic is unstable, and serious breaches in the laws of time result in catastrophic events.[1] According to Professor Saul Croaker: 'Just as the human mind cannot comprehend time, so it cannot comprehend the damage that will ensue if we presume to tamper with its laws'. Possible scenarios include a wizard or witch killing their past or future selves by mistake,[3] or altering one's life path in such a drastic fashion that it can result in temporal anomalies such as un-births,[5] making it imperative for users to practise discretion and operate in secret lest they encounter their past selves and do irreparable harm.[3] While not as potentially dangerous as skipping five centuries, even the re-use of a single hour could still have dramatic consequences and the Ministry of Magic enforced the strictest guarantees if it permitted the use of these rare and powerful objects. Time-Turner possession was hedged around with literally hundreds of laws, and the most stringent laws and penalties were in place to prevent their misuse. It would have surprised most of the magical community to know that Time-Turners were generally only used to solve the most trivial problems of time management and never for greater or more important purposes.[1][5]

The consequences of meddling with time could be as severe as creating an alternate timeline, such as one in which Lord Voldemort was never defeated and still ruled. In this case, however, the person who had used the Time-Turner, if they still existed and weren't Un-born, would still have memory of the events of the original, un-corrupted timeline, but would have to learn second-hand the nature of the changes which had been made.[5] The alternate timeline apparently disappeared when the changes were "fixed". Another consequence of traveling long distances through time was that time itself could have been disturbed by such a serious breach of its laws. Such was the case after Eloise Mintumble returned from her five century trip. Tuesday following her reappearance lasted two and a half full days, whereas Thursday shot by in the space of four hours. The Ministry of Magic had a great deal of trouble in covering this up.[1]

According to Professor Croaker's law, the longest period that could be travelled back in time without serious chance of harm to the traveller or time itself is around five hours.[1][10]

Behind the scenes

  • 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. As such, he could have seen two pairs of Harrys and Hermiones. It may have been that he was too focused on sharpening his axe that he did not notice the second Harry and Hermione coming through. In addition, there is a scene played wherein Ron sees future Harry and Hermione enter the room at the same moment that their past selves disappear to travel back in time.
  • 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 could have caused significant problems, 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 the book 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 traveller 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. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child also shows that reckless use of a Time-Turner can result in the creation of an alternate timeline.
  • Knowing that time-related magic is unstable, there might be different ways to experience time through magic. This would explain catastrophic events as with Eloise Mintumble, paradoxes as result of poorly performed time-related spells, and/or apparent differences between the experience of time travel through authorised Time-Turners in Prisoner of Azkaban and that through unauthorised Time-Turners in Cursed Child.
  • When Eloise Mintumble time-travelled and changed things, it was noticed by other witches and wizards from the original timeline who went to retrieve her. When Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy time-travelled and changed things, the people from the original timeline did not believe they could retrieve the students. Harry Potter remarks that the Time-Turner cannot help them, because they do not know to what time the students went.
McGonagall’s possible Time-Turner

What could possibly be a time turner worn by McGonagall in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

  • It is possible that Minerva McGonagall was wearing a Time-Turner in a deleted scene from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
  • 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[11], 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.[12]
  • You can hear quiet ticking as a background sound during part of the Time-Turner episode of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
  • In Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, after botching his first date Barnaby Lee, repeatedly commented he wished he had a Time-Turner to redo the evening.
  • Injuries acquired during time travel age up in a different manner than the time-traveller. When Albus Potter was injured after travelling twenty years in the past, his injury aged twenty years (according to Madam Pomfrey) even though Albus himself remained the same age. Similarly, Eloise Mintumble may have been injured when she was retrieved by her colleagues, ageing her up hundreds of years.

Appearances

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 45 images related to Time-Turner.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Time-Turner" at Wizarding World
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 35 (Beyond the Veil)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 21 (Hermione's Secret)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
  6. ↑ This quote comes from the "Harry Potter Sticker Kit", containing a plastic replica of the Time-Turner used on the film.
  7. ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 22 (Owl Post Again)
  8. ↑ Blue Peter (CBBC) interview with JK Rowling, confirming that all the MoM time-turners were destroyed.
  9. ↑ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Act Four, Scene Four
  10. ↑ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Act Two, Scene Sixteen
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. ↑ See this video
Deutsch Español Français Italiano 日本語 Nederlands Polski Português do Brasil Русский
*Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, Fandom will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
More Fandoms