The Missing 24 Hours, Still

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 42504

I started writing this yesterday, but RL intervened.  What I started out trying to do was to develop plausible answers to the following questions:

1.    How did Dumbledore find out about the events in Godric's Hollow?  His instructions to Hagrid were very specific, so he clearly knew more than that the Fidelius Charm had been broken.  

2.    How did all the rumors spread?  Everyone seems to be in the know by 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 1.  

3.    Where were Hagrid and Harry all day?

1.    How did Dumbledore find out about the events in Godric's Hollow?

I don't think Dumbledore could have been at Godric's Hollow, because I can't imagine that he would have left Harry in the ruins for a moment. 

However, he must have become aware instantly of what had happened there because he was able to dispatch Hagrid to Godric's Hollow with very specific instructions, and Hagrid removed Harry safely before the Muggles arrived.  Unless the house exploded silently, the Muggles would have been aware that something had happened and arrived relatively quickly.  While Dumbledore may have had a magical detection device that would have told him the Fidelius Charm had been broken, it would not have told him (or anyone else) that Voldemort had turned into a noxious vapor and disappeared. And I don't think Dumbledore knows what happened telepathically, or he would not have needed to debrief Harry about the graveyard in GoF.  Therefore, because --according to the rumors -- everyone seems to know what happened to Voldemort, someone must've seen and reported it.

Could it have been Snape?  I agree with Eloise (#42248) that because of the mechanics of the Fidelius charm, Snape could only have been there at Voldemort's invitation.  But I've been trying to reconcile that with my view of Snape as a double agent who, at that time, had been under suspicion by Voldemort ever since he discovered that the Fidelius Charm had been used (#39904).  But perhaps Voldemort took Snape along as a sort of test, wanting to see how he'd react to the demise of James and Lily.  Thus, fortuitously, he is there as a witness to the destruction of Voldemort's body and the departure of the noxious gas.  Either because he is Dumbledore's spy, or because Voldemort, his other boss, is gone, he informs Dumbledore immediately.  But Dumbledore tells Snape to go to the DEs and gauge their mood, which is why Dumbledore taps Hagrid, not Snape who is already on the scene, for the job of rescuing Harry.  

(Incidentally, I think the voice Harry hears really is James, and Lupin is not "surprised" but is struggling with his own memories of James and the demise of the Marauders and his fear of revealing too much to Harry.  Snape was there, but wasn't talking; I'm not even convinced he went inside the house.)  

2.    Where was Hagrid all day?

Starting at the beginning, Dumbledore gives Hagrid his instructions very soon after the events in Godric's Hollow (it must be, because he arrives there before the Muggles).  On his way out, he is met by McGonagall.  Hagrid tells her that Dumbledore is sending him on an errand; she asks where Dumbledore is and Hagrid tells her only that he will be going to 4 Privet Drive.  (Hagrid may have told her he will be meeting Dumbledore there, but does not mention Harry.)  He then leaves for Godric's Hollow.  Because he arrives before the Muggles, he must've gone either by Floo to the Potters' fireplace or by Apparating (I think he can Apparate, though he may be unlicensed to do so, because I think that's how he reached the hut on the rock to give Harry his Hogwarts letter).  However, he will likely have a transportation problem upon departure because I doubt he can Apparate with a baby.  Nor could he use Floo to get Harry to the Dursleys because (a) the fireplace has been destroyed, and (b) the Dursleys aren't connected to the Floo network.  Perhaps he had been planning to use a broomstick, but Sirius solves this problem by giving him the motorcycle.  

So where does Hagrid go now?  If the attack occurred on Halloween, it can't be much after midnight by now.  Dumbledore wasn't going to be at Privet Drive till the following evening, so he probably told Hagrid to lie low during the day.  I don't think he went to the Weasleys, despite the clarification that Hagrid might have flown back via Bristol to follow the motorways (I'm assuming here that Ottery St. Catchpole is in Devon near the real Ottery St. Mary's), because the lights might have been bright enough to make him visible in the evenings.  

I also don't believe Hagrid went to Hogwarts.  In addition to the reasons stated in Pip's geography lesson, if he did go that way, I'm not certain that he would have had time between sunset and midnight to get from Scotland to Surrey, assuming that the motorcycle can fly at approximately the same speed as the Weasley's car (by my calculations, it took Harry and Ron 7-8 hours to fly to Scotland from London, as they left shortly after 11 and arrived at Hogwarts after dark (following the train's direct route). 

I do think, however, that there were places to hide in Godric's Hollow, which I imagine to be a wizarding village west of Bristol in South Wales (see Catlady's #40558 on Godric Gryffindor being Welsh).  Where would Hagrid go when he has a break in carrying out a sad and stressful duty?  I'd look for him at the nearest wizards' pub, the Godric's Hollow equivalent of the Leaky Cauldron or the Three Broomsticks (thanks to Chelsea for putting the pub idea in my head!).  Assuming Godric's Hollow is somewhere in South Wales, and assuming that the motorcycle can fly at about the same rate as the Flying Ford Anglia, I estimate that it would take about 3 or so hours to fly to Surrey. The pub also provides a convenient answer to my third question:

3.    How did all the rumors spread?

The rumors begin flying quickly and by dawn much of the WW already knows that Voldemort is "gone" and some version of the events at Godric's Hollow, since Vernon Dursley sees them on his way to work, whispering excitedly.  
McGonagall must have passed them, in cat form, after her arrival in Little Whinging, because she keeps vigil at 4 Privet Drive from 8:30 a.m. to midnight, yet she knows all the rumors.  The rumors could have spread through contacts at the MOM, where I believe Dumbledore may have gone to confer with Ministry officials, or they might have started through Hagrid, now ensconced in the pub in Godric's Hollow, showing off Harry's scar to the few late-night customers while downing his first tankard.  That sounds *just* like Hagrid.

In fact, he's enjoying himself so much in the pub's backroom that he doesn't set off for Privet Drive when he's supposed to; thus, Dumbledore remarks that Hagrid is late.

Debbie


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]