Skip to main content

harry potter - Why didn't Dumbledore or Ministry of Magic ask for Muggle help to search for the Chamber of Secrets?



There are lots of Muggle technologies in existence which can find and map hidden structures precisely. e.g. ERT (Electrical Resistivity Tomography), BOTDR (Brillouin Optical Time Domain Reflectometry), Underground Radar, Seismic Imaging - MASW (Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves) etc.


Talking about restriction on electricity, I believe the restriction can by lifted by the headmaster. If not, some of the techniques can work without electricity. Sometimes, all you need is ideas, not Muggle devices. e.g. vibration can be created by a wizard and a non-electric device can measure deviations in reflections. All you need is experts in the domain. Lots of hidden sections of pyramids were found even when electricity wasn't in existence.


Talking about International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, it doesn't need to be told that Hogwarts was a wizardry school. It could easily be disguised as a Muggle castle. And, as a last line of defense, there was always memory charm.


Why didn't Dumbledore or the Ministry of Magic ask for Muggle help to search for the Chamber of Secrets?



Answer




It’s very unlikely most wizards at Hogwarts or the Ministry would consider it useful to enlist Muggle help in looking for the Chamber of Secrets, especially as it would be an inherently ‘magical’ thing, so wizards would likely be thought more capable of finding it. If skilled wizards couldn’t find it, it’s unlikely they’d think Muggles could. Hogwarts had been searched for the Chamber of Secrets by many skilled wizards and witches, who were unable to find any evidence of its existence.



“The whole thing is arrant nonsense, of course,’ he said. ‘Naturally, the school has been searched for evidence of such a chamber, many times, by the most learned witches and wizards. It does not exist. A tale told to frighten the gullible.”
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 9 (The Writing on the Wall)




It’s considered evidence against the Chamber existing that so many Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses couldn’t find it after generations of looking for it.



“Nonsense, O’Flaherty,’ said Professor Binns in an aggravated tone. ‘If a long succession of Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses haven’t found the thing –”
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 9 (The Writing on the Wall)



These unsuccessful attempts to find the Chamber of Secrets had most people convinced it was a myth. After that, it’s unlikely they’d believe Muggles could find it when skilled wizards couldn’t.



“That will do,’ he said sharply. ‘It is a myth! It does not exist! There is not a shred of evidence that Slytherin ever built so much as a secret broom cupboard! I regret telling you such a foolish story! We will return, if you please, to history, to solid, believable, verifiable fact!”
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 9 (The Writing on the Wall)




Therefore, it would likely seem silly to those in charge to call in Muggles to search for the Chamber.



Also, even if a Muggle search team was asked to search Hogwarts for the Chamber of Secrets, the majority of their equipment would likely fail, as electric devices don’t work inside Hogwarts.



“All those substitutes for magic Muggles use – electricity, and computers and radar, and all those things – they all go haywire around Hogwarts, there’s too much magic in the air.”
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 28 (The Madness of Mr Crouch)



This is because of all the magic in the air at Hogwarts, which can’t simply be removed if they want Muggles to search it. Also, radar, which would likely be one of the most useful Muggle methods of searching for the Chamber, is explicitly stated as something that won’t work in Hogwarts.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why didn't The Doctor or Clara recognize Missy right away?

So after it was established that Missy is actually both the Master, and the "woman in the shop" who gave Clara the TARDIS number... ...why didn't The Doctor or Clara recognize her right away? I remember the Tenth Doctor in The Sound of Drums stating that Timelords had a way of recognizing other Timelords no matter if they had regenerated. And Clara should have recognized her as well... I'm hoping for a better explanation than "Moffat screwed up", and that I actually missed something after two watchthroughs of the episode. Answer There seems to be a lot of in-canon uncertainty as to the extent to which Time Lords can recognise one another which far pre-dates Moffat's tenure. From the Time Lords page on Wikipedia : Whether or not Time Lords can recognise each other across regenerations is not made entirely clear: In The War Games, the War Chief recognises the Second Doctor despite his regeneration and it is implied that the Doctor knows him when they fir

the lord of the rings - Why is Gimli allowed to travel to Valinor?

Gimli was allowed to go to Valinor despite not being a ring bearer. Is this explained in detail or just with the one line "for his love for Galadriel"? Answer There's not much detail about this aside from what's said in Appendix A to Return of the King: We have heard tell that Legolas took Gimli Glóin's son with him because of their great friendship, greater than any that has been between Elf and Dwarf. If this is true, then it is strange indeed: that a Dwarf should be willing to leave Middle-earth for any love, or that the Eldar should receive him, or that the Lords of the West should permit it. But it is said that Gimli went also out of desire to see again the beauty of Galadriel; and it may be that she, being mighty among the Eldar, obtained this grace for him. More cannot be said of this matter. And Appendix B: Then Legolas built a grey ship in Ithilien, and sailed down Anduin and so over Sea; and with him, it is said, went Gimli the Dwarf . And when that sh

Did the gatekeeper and the keymaster get intimate in Ghostbusters?

According to TVTropes ( usual warning, don't follow the link or you'll waste half your life in a twisty maze of content ): In Ghostbusters, it's strongly implied that Dana Barret, while possessed by Zuul the Gatekeeper, had sex with Louis Tully, who was possessed by Vinz Clortho the Keymaster (key, gate, get it?), in order to free Big Bad Gozer. In fact, a deleted scene from the movie has Venkman explicitly asking Dana if she and Louis "did it". I turned the quote into a spoiler since it contains really poor-taste joke, but the gist of it is that it's implied that as part of freeing Gozer , the two characters possessed by the Keymaster and the Gatekeeper had sex. Is there any canon confirmation or denial of this theory (canon meaning something from creators' interviews, DVD commentary, script, delete scenes etc...)? Answer The Richard Mueller novelisation and both versions of the script strongly suggest that they didn't have sex (or at the very l

What is the etymology of Doctor Who?

I recently decided to watch Doctor Who, and started viewing the 2005 version. I have the first two episodes from the first season, and I can't help but wonder what is the etymology of the name "Doctor Who"? And why does the protagonist call himself "the Doctor" (or is it "the doctor")? Answer In the very first episode of Doctor Who (way back in 1963), the Doctor has a granddaughter going by the name "Susan Foreman", and the junkyard where the TARDIS is has the sign "I.M. Foreman". Barbara, who becomes one of the Doctor's companions, calls him "Doctor Foreman" (probably assuming that is his name given his relationship to Susan), and Ian (another early companion) does the same in the second episode, to which the Doctor says: Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about? "Foreman" is most likely selected as a convenient surname for Susan to use because it happened to be on display near where the TARDIS landed.