Tailkinker

Chosen answer: Any book-to-film adaptation will require changes, because what works on the page will not always work cinematically, for any number of reasons. Given the length of some books (the Order of the Phoenix clocks in at well over 700 pages), there's no realistic way that everything could possibly be fitted into the length of a movie, and thus it regularly becomes necessary to eject certain subplots entirely, condense certain events, combine characters or whatever else might be necessary to tell the basic story successfully within a two hour timeframe. As a result, many cinematic adaptations can contain significant deviations from the original book, but ultimately tell what amounts to the same core story. This happens with most of the Potter films, particularly those based on the longer books, but ultimately the main storyline remains intact, even if they take a slightly different route along the way.

Tailkinker ★

Chosen answer: No. Harry fought them off using the Patronus charm and they retreated. Where they went after that is unrevealed.

Tailkinker ★

Chosen answer: The latter - the Dementors are on their way and they have that sort of effect on the environment around them.

Tailkinker ★

Chosen answer: Because Dumbledore is extremely powerful and utterly unintimidated by Voldemort. Voldemort, while extremely powerful himself, relies on fear to weaken any opposition to him - through fear, he gains a measure of control. Dumbledore, who has no fear of his ex-student, stands as a strong opponent who cannot be weakened through psychological tactic - as such, Voldemort fears him.

Tailkinker ★

Answer: In addition, Dumbledore has a reputation of defeating powerful dark wizards, such as his defeat of Grindelwald, who yielded the elder wand.

Answer: Sure. The whole prophecy, taken from the books, reads as follows: "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...". Thus stating that the person who will be able to defeat Voldemort will be born at the end of July, to parents who have escaped Voldemort on three occasions - this applies to Harry, born on July 31st, and also to Neville Longbottom, born the previous day. It states that Voldemort will mark his enemy, which occurs when Harry was a year old, when Voldemort failed to kill him, leaving him with his scar - the deciding event that determined that Harry was the subject of the prophecy. The power "that the Dark Lord has not" is believed to refer to Harry's capacity for love, which Voldemort lacks entirely. Finally, the "neither can live while the other survives" section is fairly straight-forward; only one of the pair will live, the other must die - the interpretation being that one must kill the other.

Tailkinker ★

Answer: The Ministry can keep track of magic being cast, but appear unable to determine who actually cast it - for example, when Dobby uses magic at the Dursley's house during the events of the Chamber of Secrets, Harry is blamed for it, as he's the only known magic-user at that location. At the Ministry, there are something like a dozen adult wizards involved in the fight, including a considerable number of Deatheaters. The Ministry know that a Cruciatus curse was cast, but would have no way to know who actually cast it, letting Harry off the hook.

Tailkinker ★