[HPforGrownups] Re: Fidelius charm?
Jacqueline Hendries
psychchick04 at yahoo.com
Thu Aug 8 16:16:07 UTC 2002
No: HPFGUIDX 42304
I had said:
>> From the way they described it in the book, I had always believed
that the Fidelius Charm only prevented a certain person or group of
people from seeing the Potters. This was why Sirius, Dumbledore, Hagrid
etc. knew where they were and Voldemort, DEs etc. did not. The only
problem I can see with that scenario is that they didn't necessarily
know who to trust at that time (well, obviously, huh?), but it is
possible that they could cast the spell in such a way that hid them
from all "untrustworthy parties" or would only show them to a specific
few people that had to be mentioned in the spell. <<
Eloise then said:
>> This is a *big* problem, especially as Dumbledore suspected a mole
in the organisation already. It adds a layer of complication in having
to add the "untrustworthy parties" clause, which I don't like. It also
means that it would have to somehow prevent those in the know from
divulging the secret (under torture, or whatever), or those who got the
information from them from understanding the answer.
And now me again:
I was thinking it would work something along the lines of Dumbledore's
enchantment of the Mirror of Erised in SS/PS, wherein only someone who
wanted to get the Stone but not use it, would be able to get it.
Perhaps the Fidelius Charm is such that only someone who wants to see
the Potters, but not hurt them, could know where they are at any given
time? They would not need to know specifically who was after the
Potters (just as in SS/PS, it wasn't specified who could or could not
get the Stone) for this to work, and it would make the Potters' life in
hiding a lot more pleasant if they could see friends from time to time.
:) Not that this is the main point of the Charm but...
Also, I imagine if what they were doing was so important that Voldemort
wanted them dead, they would have to have some contact with at least
Dumbledore.
Eloise points out:
>> Simply the fact that we are told that the secret is concealed within
a "single living soul". If others also knew, but were unable to divulge
the information, then it wouldn't be concealed in a single soul, but in
as many as knew, wouldn't it? <<
Me:
That's a good point. I had just interpreted it to mean that only a
"single living soul" could break the charm by spilling the beans, but
obviously it's open to interpretation.
Eloise also said:
>> Oh, I've just realised. Someone asked today what happened if the
Secret Keeper died? Perhaps that's the key - "living" soul. The charm
would be broken by their death. And perhaps that's the reason Sirius
went ahead with the switch - if he were the more likely target, his
death wouldn't release the secret. In fact, given that they thought
there *was* a mole, it was the sensible thing to do as he could expect
the traitor to attempt his murder, hence the fact that he, too was
going into hiding... <<<
Me:
I think that's a good idea, plotwise, but it makes the Fidelius Charm
impractical to the point of... well, pointlessness. All anyone would
have to do is go after everyone in their inner circle until he found
the Secret Keeper. From what we've seen so far of Voldemort, this
doesn't seem to be something that would be a problem for him. I'm not
sure about the relative power of the "Light Side" (as it relates to its
ability to hide its own) versus the "Dark Side" (as it relates to its
ability to find its enemies), but somehow I feel that Dark Magic is a
bit more powerful in this regard. I could be wrong, of course, but it
seems to me that in a time of war, casting a charm that depends on any
one person living for a long time would not be very effective.
Of course, that leaves the problem of what would happen if the Secret
Keeper did die... perhaps the Fidelius Charm involves a "second," like
a Wizard's Duel?
Ellie then said:
>> I suppose JKR might have an inkling, but <whispers> I'm not even
sure if she really knows. ;-)
I agree with you wholeheartedly there!
~ Aloha (who is waiting impatiently for Book 5 to explain all of this)
=====
jackie04 at brandeis.edu
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs
http://www.hotjobs.com
More information about the HPforGrownups
archive