Harry Potter Fans Are Furiously Debating The 'Confusing' Thestrals Storyline

We’re obsessed with Harry Potter, and could happily keep re-reading it for the rest of our lives – but that doesn’t mean we’re blind to some of the faults in the plot.

Case in point: Harry and his ability to see Thestrals.

Watch the video below.

TikTok user @delanielynne took to the video sharing platform to point out what she perceived to be a short-sighted error.

“In Order of the Phoenix, after seeing Cedric killed by Voldemort, Harry can suddenly see the Thestrals,” they explain.

“For those who have forgotten, Thestrals can only be seen by those who have seen death.

“But wait a minute…shouldn’t Harry have been able to see them this entire time?”

Fans of the Harry Potter franchise will know that Harry has seen death twice at this point.

Warner Bros)

As well as seeing Quirrell die in his first year, Harry saw the death of his parents at the hands of Voldermort when he killed them, when Harry was just a baby.

Fans were quick to argue in the comments that Harry was too young to properly remember seeing his mother die.

But @delanielynn had an answer for that too.

“If you’re going to claim infantile amnesia, he does have the memories, as we saw in book three with the Dementors.”

Warner Bros)

Potterheads will know that when the soul-sucking phantoms attack Harry, he can hear a woman screaming – the memory of his mother dying.

However, JK Rowling did seemingly cover her back when it comes to the Thestrals theory.

Only people who have witnessed and understood death can actually see the skeletal winged horses.

Harry was too young to full comprehend the death of his parents when he was an infant, so could not see the Thestrals when he first attended Hogwarts.

He also passed out while Quirrell was dying, so he didn’t actually see his former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher kick the bucket.

Warner Bros)

However, as @delanielynne rightfully points out, there’s still a plothole – Harry would have surely seen the Thestrals when he was returning from Hogwarts in the fourth year.

JK Rowling’s got some explaining to do…

We’re just going to turn a blind eye to this one!

Topics: Harry Potter, TV And Film

Kimberley Bond

Kim is a journalist at Tyla, and has previously worked at the Evening Standard, Radio Times as well as several national newspapers. A showbiz obsessive and a television fanatic, Kim is particularly interested in celebrity gossip, A-list events and the latest releases on either the big or small screen. Contact her at [email protected]

@0xKimberley