Harry Potter only keeps a few valuable treasures from his time at Hogwarts. Fans of the series know that he has a small number of valued possessions such as the Invisibility cloak, his wand, Firebolt, and of course, the Marauder’s Map.
The map was created by the Marauders (Lupin, Sirius, James, and Peter) as a way to navigate the halls of Hogwarts and to keep Lupin hidden away when he went through his horrific werewolf transformations once a month. The map is an extremely important object in the series. But there are a few things about it that don’t make a whole lot of sense or present some interesting questions.
How was the map created?
We find out eventually that the Marauders, Sirius, James, Peter, and Lupin, were responsible for creating the Marauder’s Map. But one does have to wonder how they went about creating it since it obviously involves an advanced level of magic. However, we also know that this was a group of teenagers who were capable of turning themselves into Animagus, another form of complicated magic.
So it’s not beyond the realm of believability that they had the talent to create the map. Still, it might have been interesting to know a little more about how the concept came to them and how they went about executing it.
Why didn’t the Weasleys notice Peter Pettigrew?
This might be one of the biggest plot holes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. We know that Fred and George Weasley were in possession of the Marauder’s Map for quite some time before ultimately giving it to Harry.
Under that impression, one has to wonder why the twins didn’t notice Peter Pettigrew roaming Hogwarts. Peter disguised himself as Ron’s pet rat, Scabbers. We know that Peter does appear on the map, it is a pivotal plot point at the book’s climax.
How did the Marauders know Snape would see the map?
During one scene in the book series, Severus Snape gets his hands on the Marauder’s Map to prove that Harry has been using it to get to and from Hogsmeade Village. But he has a difficult time proving it. His opportunity comes when he gets the map and attempts to make it “show him its secrets.”
But the map is jinxed to make snide comments specifically aimed at Snape. How could the Marauders have known that Snape would have ever come across the map? Or did they just add that little failsafe in on the off-chance he stumbled on it? That’s a long time to wait for a prank to come to fruition.
The book description doesn’t make much sense
In the books, the Marauder’s Map is described as a “single piece of parchment,” one that could be laid across a desk. The film’s depiction of the map has it as a multi-layered document. The film version makes a lot more sense.
How could the entire map of a massive castle-like Hogwarts be shown on just a simple piece of parchment? That would mean the parchment was extremely large, would don’t make much sense since Harry would walk around the castle with it, or the font was extremely tiny. Or maybe it only shows certain sections at a time?
A deleted scene show’s a mistake on the map
In a deleted scene for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it shows the Marauder’s Map and Malfoy’s name on it when Harry is following him. Except, on the map, it shows only “Malfoy.” In reality, the map always shows both the first name and surname.
This mistake could be why the map wound up on the cutting room floor or perhaps isn’t detected.
Lupin is a little hypocritical about the map
One of the few times we see Lupin get upset in Prisoner of Azkaban is when he has to bail Harry out of trouble for getting caught with the map by Snape. Luckily, Lupin comes to Harry’s defense. That said, he then rebukes Harry for keeping the map to himself and not revealing it to someone because of the fact Sirius is supposedly out to get him.
The thing is, Lupin doesn’t share the map with Dumbledore or anyone else either. He was trying to protect Sirius but it comes off somewhat hypocritical for him to not take his own advice.
How did Fred and George know how to use the map?
Using the Marauder’s Map is not as simple as one might anticipate. It’s not like an ordinary map where you can just pick it up and see everything detailed before. There is a special incantation of sorts you must recite to make it show its secrets.
So how did Fred and George learn how to do it? Well, according to Rowling, the map recognized kindred troublemaking spirits in the twins and granted it access. It seems a little too coincidental to explain it all away.
Why does the film show footprints?
Another key difference between the depiction of the Marauder’s Map in the movies and books is how the people on the map are represented in each. In the books, they are shown moving around the castle as a mere dot.
In the movie, we see footprints walking on the map to show people walking around. The footprints make more sense and seem to give you a real idea of where people are headed and traveling to and fro.
Barty Crouch Jr. could have been caught much earlier
It was clever for J.K. Rowling to come up with a way to explain the fact no one caught Barty Crouch Jr. disguising himself as Mad-Eye Moody during the extent of the Triwizard Tournament.
The reason is that the map was not able to differentiate properly between people who have the same name. It’s kind of a mercurial coincidence but it does keep us from contending with another plot hole.
Harry happens to get the map when the Marauders are present
What are the odds that the very year Harry finally gets his hands on the map is also the very year that all the Marauders are present at Hogwarts once again?
Sirius has escaped from Azkaban, Peter has always been there disguised as Scabbers, Lupin is a professor, and even James returns in the form of Harry’s majestic stag Patronus. It obviously makes sense from a storytelling point to allow all those factors to come together in order to make for a fitting confluence of plots.
