Inconsistencies in the Official Narrative
Compiled by Dr. Miranda Goshawk
Hogwarts Historical Research Division, 2019
"History is written by the winners. But sometimes, the losers leave notes."
The following document represents years of careful research into the official historical record of the Wizarding World. What began as routine archival work became something far more troubling: a systematic pattern of inconsistencies, logical impossibilities, and convenient gaps that suggest the history we know may be incomplete—or worse, deliberately constructed.
Official Record: Dumbledore visited Tom Riddle at Wool's Orphanage in 1938, immediately recognizing the boy's "darkness."
The Problem: If Dumbledore perceived such danger, why did he allow admission without oversight, never assign a mentor, and wait until the Chamber incident to act?
Did Dumbledore see darkness, or a powerful Muggle-raised orphan who threatened the pure-blood social order?
Official Record: Dumbledore is portrayed as nearly all-knowing, aware of events throughout Hogwarts.
The Problem: This omniscience fails conveniently: he "didn't know" about the Basilisk for 50 years, "couldn't prevent" Quirrell's possession, and "wasn't aware" of Barty Crouch Jr. impersonating Moody for an entire year.
Is Dumbledore's knowledge selective by limitation or by choice?
Official Record: Dumbledore abandoned his youthful ideology of "The Greater Good" after his sister's death.
The Problem: His actions suggest otherwise: placing an infant with abusive guardians, raising Harry as a sacrifice ("pig for slaughter"), manipulating allies, and keeping secrets that led to preventable deaths.
Did Dumbledore reject "The Greater Good," or merely learn to pursue it more subtly?
Official Record: The Ministry can detect all underage magic through "The Trace."
The Problem: Pure-blood families practice magic freely at home. Only Muggle-borns face consistent enforcement. Harry was punished for a house-elf's magic.
Is the Trace a security measure or a tool for controlling Muggle-born integration?
Official Record: Azkaban is a necessary institution for containing dangerous criminals.
The Problem: Dementors cause psychological torture. No rehabilitation or parole exists. Prisoners like Sirius Black were held for 12 years without trial.
What kind of society considers soul-destroying torture acceptable justice?
Official Record: House-elves are "happy to serve" and benefit from the current system.
The Problem: Elves are bound by magic that forces obedience and self-punishment. Freedom is treated as shameful. Hermione's liberation efforts were mocked by protagonists.
If house-elves truly wanted to serve, why is magical compulsion necessary?
Official Record: The Wizengamot is a fair judicial and legislative body.
The Problem: Hereditary seats held by ancient families. No Muggle-born representation in leadership. Lucius Malfoy maintained influence despite known Death Eater ties.
How different is the Wizengamot from the pure-blood supremacy it claims to oppose?
Official Record: Death Eaters were purely motivated by blood supremacy and cruelty.
The Problem: Many came from marginalized families. Snape and Regulus defected, suggesting complex motivations. The movement's early rhetoric focused on reform. Voldemort himself was half-blood.
Was blood purity the real ideology, or a narrative constructed to delegitimize valid criticisms?
Official Record: Memory modification is carefully regulated and rarely used.
The Problem: Obliviators work full-time modifying Muggle memories. Lockhart built a career on memory theft. Slughorn modified his own memories. Hermione erased herself from her parents' minds.
How can we trust any historical account when memories can be fabricated at will?
Official Record: The prophecy destined Harry Potter to defeat Voldemort.
The Problem: Dumbledore chose which child it "meant," informed Voldemort through Snape, placed Harry with the Dursleys, and controlled what Harry learned and when.
Did the prophecy determine events, or did Dumbledore use it to justify predetermined plans?
Official Record: Tom Riddle was born evil, a soulless psychopath from childhood.
The Problem: This claim absolves all institutions that failed him, justifies treating Slytherin students as suspects, and discourages examining his actual ideas or grievances.
Is "born evil" an explanation or an excuse for not examining what wizarding society did to Tom Riddle?
Official Record: "Voldemort" became unspeakable due to fear of a dark wizard.
The Problem: The taboo prevents discussion of his ideology or history. It reduces a complex figure to a symbol of pure evil. "He Who Must Not Be Named" is not analysis—it's propaganda.
What are we not supposed to think about when forbidden from speaking his name?
Official Record: Tom Riddle's transformation was driven by evil nature and dark magic.
The Problem: Decades of his life remain unexamined. What happened after Hogwarts? Who joined him, and why? What did the original movement advocate? Why do records remain classified?
What might we learn if we examined Tom Riddle's ideas instead of just his crimes?
I do not claim to know the truth. I only know that the official narrative contains too many contradictions, too many convenient gaps, and too many questions we are discouraged from asking.
Perhaps Tom Riddle became exactly what the histories say: a monster beyond redemption. But monsters are made, not born. And if we cannot honestly examine what made him, we learn nothing—and risk creating the next one.
"They speak of 'tradition' as if it were a virtue. But tradition is often just the accumulated arrogance of the dead." — From a journal attributed to T.M.R., October 1938
— M.G., 2019