Phixius

Corrected entry: In chapter twenty-five, when Harry and Cho are walking to Hogsmeade together, Harry says that he saw Oliver Wood at the Quidditch World Cup "last year." This scene is taking place in February of 1996 and the World Cup was in August of 1994. Harry actually saw Oliver the year before last year.

Correction: 18 months previous to the conversation in question is when Harry saw Oliver. More than one year, but less than two. He connects the memory to other memories which he associates as being a part of his time as a fourth year at Hogwarts. Since this conversation takes place during a period he associates as being a part of his time as a fifth year at Hogwarts, he refers to the event as having taken place "last year". It's rather like how a school year actually takes place across two distinct calendar years and even though it isn't even one whole year long we still refer to it as one year.

Phixius

Your answer is accurate, however the original post also makes sense, as not every country's school year is across 2 calendar years and I upon first reading it was also confused.

Corrected entry: At the beginning of the book, Harry is given a gift by Sirius. This is a gift that he does not open until after Sirius is dead, and he finds it to be a communication mirror. Not once in the rest of the entire book is this present mentioned. Even when Harry uses the fireplace and risks everything to talk to Sirius, Sirius does not mention opening his present, and during the weeks of Christmas break, when they are actually face to face, no one mentions it either. This is a valid plot hole because it is highly unbelievable that such a valuable gift would have ended up in Harry's hands and not used. With that mirror in use, most of the miscommunication in the book would have been avoided, making the plot seem suspiciously forced.

Correction: It states explicitly that Harry pushed it out of his mind to avoid risking Sirius's freedom. It wasn't at the beginning of the book that he received it either, it was a Christmas gift; and no one knew about it except Harry and Sirius, hence the lack of discussion. Simply put, Harry deliberately forgot all about it. He even laments having done so after he finds out what it was.

Phixius

Corrected entry: Hermione is knitting hats to free the house elves of Hogwarts. but the elves don't belong to her, they belong to Dumbledore. So technically they can't be freed by students, only Dumbledore.

Correction: Where's the mistake? It never says any of the elves were freed. Only that they found the attempt insulting.

Phixius

If this is your answer, my follow-up question is: Hermione is extremely clever, so why would she be wasting her time knitting items to "free them" if she knows she cannot do so?

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