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Harry Potter Series - Why Can They Use the Stuff?
In book four it says over and over again that muggle stuff such as bugging cannot be used in the Hogwarts ground. Yet Harry has a watch that works perfectly fine and Colin Creevey has no problem taking pictures.
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Any edition of all 4 books, an eye, and a brain
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Contributed By:
Courtney on 07-30-2001
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i don't uderstand this picture. LOOK AT THE GRAVE STONE. it's from the 4th movie... the part where harry is transported to voldemorts rebithing, after the maze challenge. we know voldemort killed his father and his fathers parents (stated briefly in
i don't uderstand this picture. LOOK AT THE GRAVE STONE. it's from the 4th movie... the part where harry is transported to voldemorts rebithing, after the maze challenge. we know voldemort killed his father and his fathers parents (stated briefly in
Comments:
ayechegirl writes:
Do me a favor. Get a camera, watch and radio. Turn the radio on to a station. Then walk around outside until the station goes static. Then check if your watch and camera still work. I bet they do. The same thing applies here. Hermione says that things like bugging don't work is because there is too much magic IN THE AIR. Bugging and radios work with electronic waves IN THE AIR. Watches and cameras don't so they should still work. The magic interferes with the electronic waves.
257 of 271 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
LOLA writes:
I think the book says that devices Muggles use INSTEAD of magic don't work at Hogwarts, like electricity or computers. But even wizards need watches; Dumbledore has one at the beginning of the first book (granted, a strange watch, but a watch nevertheless), and wizards have cameras as well; we even see one in the fourth book.
32 of 42 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Ice Lord Ssarl writes:
There are wizard clocks (in the Weasley's, Book 2) so why not watches? It never says how long Harry's had the watch, it could easily be one he bought from a wizard store. :p As for the camera, that too could be a wizard one - the reason it requires the right fluid to develop is the same reason that Muggle film does - you just try developing a picture in Coke and see what happens. Likewise, Colin would need the right potion or they would not develop. Finally it's never confirmed that Colin's camera DOES work - the film is burned before printing. So :p, :p and :p.
25 of 33 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
hpfanmajor writes:
first of all, watches are not necessarily battery powered, some wind up. second, colin's camera did not produce moving pictures, he had to develope them in a certain potion to make them move. Third, the other posts were right, only SUBSTITUTES for magic muggles use don't work since wizards own watches and cameras (ron has a watch and he can't even use a phone, so other wizards must use them, and Rita Skeeter had a camera man with her in the pub in Hogsmeade) they can't be taken as a substitute for magic and therefore will work in Hogwarts. You can't expect Rowling to make that kind of mistake, she has obviously thought this out very carefully and that little fact could become relevant in later books for all we know. Just my two cents (or three or four, man this was long). Thank you for bearing with me!
15 of 15 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
sforzando writes:
What if watches and cameras were original wizard objects?
29 of 49 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Nonya writes:
No.Brainer. Neither are electronic.Duh
35 of 62 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Blondiegurl85 writes:
Actually, the book says something like, "Replacements for magic that muggles use will not work on the Hogwarts grounds." Therefore, even though muggles and wizards may not use the same watches and cameras, they do have them, so they would still work. But I can see how you could of gotten confused like that, I was a bit confused myself at first, but I realized what it meant eventually.
12 of 18 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Shortie writes:
When she says "All the substitutes for magic Muggles use", she means electronic things such as radar, sonar, and things of that nature that require some sort of satellite signal. Watches and cameras and things like that may be electric, but do not require a satellite signal, therefore working on Hogwarts grounds. You may argue that some watches have satellite times and therefore need a signal, but you wouldn't think wizards would buy that high-tech Muggle items, would you?
8 of 12 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Ryochan writes:
Colin's camera is not a magic one, he says that someone told him if he develops the film in a certain solution, the pictures will move.
11 of 18 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
disneychick writes:
For J K Rowling's own answer to that question, look on her website. www.jkrowling.com.
4 of 5 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
snoopy writes:
Cameras and Watches are NOT electronic. COME ON! analog watches and non-digital cameras! Jeez.
4 of 6 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
YGOHPDBZfanficfangirl writes:
I suppose magic and electricity wouldn't mix and would explain why you couldn't bug anything around there. At some point, his watch stops working. In the fifth book, he takes it off to work with the nifflers and it says something along the lines of 'He didn't know why he still wore it, it stopped working ages ago.' Don't quote me on that, I'm going off memory. I have no explanation for the camera except maybe it is special. Who really knows?
3 of 5 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Zach writes:
Colins Camera did make moving pictures. Remember in the second book when Lockhart made Creevey take a picture of him and Harry? Later in the book it mentions how the picture showed Harry pulling away From Lockhart. Also, watches use an electric circuit. The magic wouldn't interfere with that
2 of 3 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Satou Sei writes:
This has already been explained by other posters, but people seem to forget. Let me explain once more about Colin's camera: It is a regular MUGGLE camera. The camera on it's own does NOT produce moving pictures. After taking the picture, he can CHOOSE whether to develop it normally, thus creating a regular MUGGLE picture, or to develop it in a special potion, thus creating a MOVING picture. I hope you all understand now. As for why watches and camera's still work, it must indeed be because they're not substitutes. Wizards have them too, so there's nothing to substitute. If it were due to electricity, wouldn't the batteries fail? Then again, it could also be due to electronic waves, and I don't think batteries send waves through the air. So I suppose both explenations make sense...
1 of 1 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Sarah writes:
J.K. Rowling explains this in the FAQ on her website (jkrowling.com): "...in the case of [cameras] wizards liked the Muggle invention enough to appropriate the idea without adding cumbersome plugs/batteries." She also says that the magical atmosphere acts as a substitute for electricity. And what the heck is the point of the tombstone from Goblet of Fire if we are discussing Colin Creevey's camera, which is in the SECOND movie?
1 of 1 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Skaight writes:
If you actually read the book, you will notice that Colin Creevey's camera takes MOVING pictures, and only wizard cameras can do that. Therefore, Colin's camera is from the wizarding world, and would still work around the school. As for Harry's watch, it's not digital, so it cannot be affected.
2 of 4 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Loony Loopy Lupin writes:
You're right. I wondered a bit about that but I don't really care because it doesn't really matter. As long as J.K keeps writing the books, it doesn't really matter what mistakes she makes
10 of 21 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
mike writes:
Harry's Watch was broken in the 4th book I believe. Also, cameras are mostly mechanical.
3 of 11 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Unown writes:
His watch broke because he was under water for an hour in one of the tournaments tests.
5 of 15 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Nori writes:
This is true in the American version too. But if you notice, Colin has a camera that produces pictures that move, as in WIZARD PHOTOS! Therefore, it must be a wizard camera, not a Muggle one.
9 of 24 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Knex Wildfire writes:
Doesn't Harry have an Alarm clock too?
0 of 6 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
angelbabi4eva00 writes:
Watches and cameras are battery powered
6 of 20 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Sparky writes:
You also must put into mind that it could be a magical watch...
3 of 17 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
HGM4Ever writes:
Yes...some watches are electric. But that IS a good catch.
1 of 16 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
D-day writes:
Actually, Harry's Muggle-made watch breaks in one book. I don't have the actual page on hand, but I can often quote from the books, and I remember the phrase "Harry kept checking Ron's watch, having finally discarded his own." I don't remember what book this was in, maybe the first, remember that through the book it had kept mentioning Harry checking his watch and then remembering it was broken.
3 of 20 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
snakeboy writes:
That is also in the Hard cover American version. Good eye
3 of 27 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes
Lord Voldemort writes:
The stuff doesn't have to be electronic. Batteries are muggle things. so they cannot be used at hogwarts. Which ways of bugging are not battery powered or electronic. This IS a slip up.
3 of 29 people found this comment helpful. Did you? Yes


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