Harry Potter has been one of the great endearing stories of our time, enchanting millions and inspiring seven books, eight films (and a spinoff), a brand new theatrical play and Pottermore, a digital platform devoted to fans of the series.
JK Rowling, now one of the richest writers in the world as a result of her most famous character, has been dining out the character she created on a particularly long train journey in 1990 for years, and the legion of fans that she has created are devoted to her and her wizarding chums.
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A little too devoted, it seems. In the dark recesses of Harry Potter fandom, however, a small storm is brewing. JK Rowling has done exceptionally well to make her magical creations come to life, largely because despite the wizardry, the concerns of the characters are believable and human and their actions translate easily into the lives of the readers.
To further this, Rowling has always been quick to explain away any plot holes that fans has uncovered. She's aware, too, that her fans are generally smarter and more dedicated to the fandom than she is. "As obsessive fans will tell you, I do slip up!" she told her fan site. "Most of the fansites will point you in the direction of my mistakes."
JK knows her fans don't miss a bloody thing. Credit: PA
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Some of the plot holes are obvious - why don't the wizard kids ever learn maths or English, for example, or any of the core subjects that Muggle kids learn? - while others require a little more knowledge and thought: why if Peter Pettigrew is Scabbers the rat, did nobody point out that Ron has apparently been sleeping next to a man called Peter for years?
One group of fans, however, have worked out the mother of all errors, undermining the whole premise of the series from beginning to end. It goes like this:
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When Lily and James Potter die on Halloween, Hagrid rescues Harry and takes him to the Dursley's. Yet he doesn't arrive at the house until almost a whole day later, shortly before midnight on November 1st. Where did they go? Hagrid literally says that the journey was easy, while Professor McGonagall has been hiding out round the Dursley's house all day while turned into a cat, waiting for the baby to arrive.
Credit: Warner Bros
In fact, Hagrid makes the point of squirrelling the infant Harry out of the remains of his parent's house pronto, lest any Muggle neighbours discover the boy in the wreckage. He jumps on a flying-bloody-motorbike - so no traffic problems - and heads off into the night.
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Wizards can jet around pretty much anywhere at will, what with Apparition, Floo Powder and Portkeys, so how could it possibly have took Hagrid the whole day to get from from Godric's Hollow in the South West to Surrey, just south of London?
Maybe this will become JK Rowling's Lord of the Rings Eagles moment. If they could just fly to Mount Doom and pick Frodo and Sam up, why couldn't they have flown them straight from the Shire to Mordor to drop the ring in the fire? Maybe Frodo et al had a lunch date with Hagrid and baby Harry on November the 1st that neither of them could miss...
Featured Image Credit: Warner BrosTopics: Harry Potter, JK Rowling