HungryHippo comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 27, chapter 98 - Less Wrong

2 Post author: Vaniver 28 August 2013 07:29PM

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Comment author: HungryHippo 30 August 2013 11:36:09AM 4 points [-]

When Harry lists all the ways he could have prevented Hermione's death to McG, he is quite upset and mentions that he could have asked for everyone to get communication mirrors. This is overheard by Dumbledore, as we learn later in the chapter. However, as far as we know, Harry has seen communication mirrors only once: when he was in Azkaban. Dumbledore should be able to deduce this and thus that Harry was indeed involved in the break out.

Comment author: ArisKatsaris 30 August 2013 11:55:41AM 9 points [-]

Are "communication mirrors" supposed to be a big secret of the Aurors that Harry wouldn't have been able to learn about otherwise? I doubt it.

Comment author: CAE_Jones 03 September 2013 02:39:45AM 3 points [-]

The only ones seen in canon belonged to Sirius and James, but they're so tactically useful that of course all MoR aurors have them. This somewhat implies that they aren't exactly easy to come by, but doesn't make it clear if this is because they're too costly to make and mass produce, if they're strictly regulated, or if the Marauders were supposed to have developed them. (Even if the marauders developed them, you'd think they would have shared the secret with the Order of the Phoenix in the first war, so I doubt that's the explanation. They're probably just difficult to produce on mass, either because the process requires a highly skilled wizard, or because the wizarding world can't seem to mass-produce anything but candies and newspapers.)

Comment author: DanArmak 30 August 2013 12:55:51PM *  2 points [-]

Indeed, the Auxiliary Protective Force Aurors gave them to all the APSC members, and Susan used hers publicly in the last chapter to signal them to enter.

Susan took a small, round glass object from within her robes, one of the communicators that the DMLE used, which they'd all been given

Comment author: mare-of-night 31 August 2013 12:21:57PM 3 points [-]

It's relevant that Dumbledore had it pointed out to him that mirrors could have saved Hermione, and he didn't procure them for Harry and Neville

Comment author: ChristianKl 31 August 2013 07:50:52PM 2 points [-]

Given that Harry talks with the Defense Professor about how the magicial world works and reads a lot of books I find it unlikely that Dumbledore would think that Harry doesn't know about the mirrors.

Comment author: buybuydandavis 01 September 2013 05:48:33AM 2 points [-]

Given that Harry talks with the Defense Professor about how the magicial world works and reads a lot of books

and would be especially interest in militarily useful magic...