Thank you all for responding to the last edition of The Quibbler. I missed writing it for all of you and I appreciate your continuous support of this article. A lot of people miss the point of this article, so allow me to reiterate the purpose. This editorial is a column where I discuss controversial theories in the Harry Potter series. My articles are written in a very sarcastic manner and are meant to make you think about things in the series from a different perspective. I think up most of theories by myself (with the help of friends and family) and I rely on the fans to help me think of new and exciting ideas. I realize that I make mistakes in my explanations, so please be conscious of that. I appreciate being called on the mistakes, but there is no need to be rude or mean when contributing feedback. MuggleNet and the Leaky Cauldron are the only Harry Potter fan sites that I visit, so please do not accuse me of stealing theories from other fans. I do not do this. However, I do use feedback to help with my theories as well as other published works, including Galadriel Waters’ Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter. Other than that, I think of everything myself and do not steal from other fans.

With that said, I will introduce to you the most controversial theory that I have ever produced (please spare the feedback form by not contributing rude or mean emails). What if there was a possibility that Arthur Weasley, or even Dumbledore, has used time travel and knows the outcome of what we know as the series and uses Harry as the tool for gaining power?

We know that time travel is possible, but we do not know exactly to what capacity. Hermione used a time turner in Prisoner of Azkaban, and we know that time travel is monitored by the Ministry of Magic (as McGonagall mentioned). Although it is regulated and Hermione got special permission, there must be more leniencies with time travel than underage use of magic around muggles. Even when Harry was trying to defend himself against dementors, he had to go to trial. If time travel is monitored so closely by the Ministry, then why could Harry and Hermione do it so easily when saving Buckbeak and not be punished? Time travel must not be monitored as closely as we were led to believe.

In The Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter, Galadriel Waters toyed with the idea that the Weasley twins used time travel during the Quidditch World Cup in Goblet of Fire. This is definitely possible because they were continually appearing out of nowhere, acting mysterious, and bet that Ireland would win, but Krum from Bulgaria would catch the snitch. This unlikely ending to a quidditch match would rarely have been considered by anyone who had not traveled ahead and knew the outcome of the match. If the Weasley twins were using a time turner, then one would have to be registered to them or a member of their family to have access to it. Most likely, it would be Arthur Weasley, not only as the patriarch of the family, but because he works for the Ministry of Magic.

We do not know much about Arthur Weasley. We know that he has red hair, lives in the Burrow, works for the Ministry sorting out muggle artifacts. It is safe to assume that he was born to a witch and wizard and has a long ancestry of magic family. We also know that goes out on a lot of raids and does not get paid enough for the work that he does. Maybe this is because he is not actually doing Ministry work when he is away from home. We know that he is associated with the Order of the Phoenix, and we assume that he is on Harry’s side. I completely think that he is as well, but sometimes it seems that Arthur knows more about what will happen to Harry than we notice.

In Prisoner of Azkaban, Arthur pulls Harry aside and tells Harry not to go looking for Sirius Black. Harry replied by asking why he would want to look for someone who wants to kill him. Is this a foreshadow of things to happen in Order of the Phoenix in the Department of Mysteries? Rowling is notorious for her use of foreshadow (see Pettigrew giving his “right hand” for the act of aiding Voldemort in Goblet of Fire. Perhaps Arthur, through the use of time travel, knows that later on Harry will go looking for Black and lose him. Arthur never reneged on his words to Harry that day, even after Harry found out that Sirius was okay. It is a stretch, I realize, but time travel is usually used out of some sort of personal desire (trying to save a life, winning a bet, or cramming in lots of classes).

Another idea brought about by Galadriel Waters in her book is that when Ron makes a joke, he usually ends up being right. At one point, Ron jokes about his father becoming Minister of Magic (about as much of a chance as Dad becoming Minister of Magic). If Ron jokes about this, it may end up being true at some point in the series. But what if Arthur has been using time travel and already knows that he will be Minister of Magic. He is definitely doing a good job of marketing himself. He has made friends with Dumbledore, made friends with Harry, has a positive reputation in the Ministry, made enemies with bad people, and has contributed positively (along with his family) to the entire wizarding world. He has made all the right connections. He has sustained a life-threatening injury by Voldemort and survived. He is completely electable! As a minor in political science, I have much experience in evaluating candidates for elected office (such as president or other offices) and it is very plausible to me to see Arthur as Minister of Magic.

Arthur definitely has used Harry to help him get to the point of possibly being Minister of Magic. Being a friend of Harry can sometimes make you seem fickle, but he is, after all, the one who made Voldemort disappear. How much more loyalty do you need? If this time travel theory is true, Arthur has very good political strategy. He is allowing others to do well while acting on his own agenda as well. Although Arthur is not harming Harry, he is definitely using him to his own advantage.

I hope that you enjoyed this theory. Over the next week, I would like to supply you with two more articles. The first will be answering feedback questions and concerns, addressing mistakes, and overall further explaining the first six Quibbler articles. The second will be a new theory: "Comparing Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter." Since the series is especially popular now, what can we learn about Harry and his scar from observing Frodo and the Ring?

12/30/2003

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