Hagrid Took a Day to Deliver Harry: 7 Harry Potter Plot Holes You’ll Never Be Able to Unsee
Harry’s Missing Day
After Voldemort’s attack on the Potters, Hagrid says he collected Harry from Godric’s Hollow. The following night, he brought the baby to the Dursleys, as shown in the opening of The Sorcerer’s Stone.
McGonagall had watched the Dursleys all day and objected to leaving Harry with them. The account raises a question about what happened during the 24-hour gap between Hagrid finding Harry and arriving at their home.
The Secret Keeper Choice
In The Prisoner of Azkaban, the Potters’ decision to make Peter Pettigrew their Secret Keeper is presented as a vulnerability: he could betray their location. They also suspected that someone close to them might be a traitor.
In The Deathly Hallows, Bill Weasley is his own Secret Keeper for the cottage he shares with Fleur. That example prompts the question of why Lily and James did not protect their home themselves.
The Cost Of Wandmaking
Ollivander’s wands use cores such as unicorn hair, dragon heartstring and phoenix tailfeathers. In The Half-Blood Prince, Slughorn says each strand of unicorn hair can sell for 10 Galleons.
The account notes that Ollivander sells wands for less than the value of some materials used to make them. It leaves his business model—and how the wand-maker avoids bankruptcy—unclear.
Voldemort And Unbreakable Vows
An Unbreakable Vow binds a wizard with a fatal consequence for breaking it, a concept introduced in The Half-Blood Prince. Voldemort, who sought control over his followers, did not use one to prevent disloyalty.
Several Death Eaters proved unreliable: Snape was a traitor, Pettigrew was an unfaithful servant, and Lucius Malfoy abandoned Voldemort’s forces after another failed attempt to kill Harry. The story raises why Voldemort did not use the vow to guard against betrayal.
Key points
- Hagrid collected Harry from Godric’s Hollow but delivered him to the Dursleys the next night.
- Bill Weasley became his own Secret Keeper, prompting questions about the Potters’ choice.
- Unicorn hair can sell for 10 Galleons, while Ollivander’s wand prices leave his costs unexplained.
- Voldemort did not use Unbreakable Vows to deter betrayal among his followers.