Slightly OT: Thoughts on Apparation/Gringrotts Security

[bboy_mn]

No: HPFGUIDX 42584

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Yoris" <msn.tsf at h...> wrote:
> Just a small note on selective charms
> 
> bboy said:
> > True there could be selective anti-appparation charms but I don't
> > think we've seen any examples of charms that are that selelctive.
> > But then we are dealing with magic, so anything is possible.

Yoris repkied:
> 
> What about the enchantment dumbledore set onto the GoF, that only
> let people through above a certain age. What about the magic book
> of eleven year olds, it even selects on two thingies: the kids must
> have become eleven AND the kids must be wizzards.
> 

bboy_mn Responds:
Those charms still have pretty general 'selectivity'. The Age Line was
put around the Goblet of Fire; the Goblet itself wasn't altered. A
simple age barrier is pretty straight forward. Now if it was an age
barrier that would only let in girls over the age of 16 with blond
hair on Tuesday, dark hair on Wednesday, and red hair on Thursday, and
would only let boys over 5 foot 8 inch on Monday and under 5 foot 8
inch on Friday, and would only let age 17 and above across the line on
Sunday it the were not Christian, then you would have a selective charm. 

Even that is not as selective as an Anti-Apparation charm that could
read your mind and would only let people in who you held in a
favorable  light at any given moment. 

I'm not saying I can't foresee general selective Anti-Apparation
charms that wouldn't work, like a charm that is only active from 9PM
to 9AM. That wouldn't be that selective. Or a charm on the customer
area of a store that allow apparation during business hours and a
separate charm on the store room that doesn't allow anyone but the
owner to apparate. 

So, I'm not say it's impossible, but in the assumed context in which
it was discussed, the selectivity was a little too complex. 

---end bboy_mn----


Yoris Original Comment:

> Gingrotts Security
> 
> On the end of PoA Sirius writes in a letter to harry, he tells 
> him "i used your name but told them to take the gold from Gringotts
> vault number seven hundred and eleven - my own."
>
> How could Sirius use Harry's name to acces his own vault? because
> for the people in the bank it would seem like Harry asking money 
> from SOMEONE ELSES account, and why would they grant such a request?
> 
> Sure there is thing about the keys but what if a key would got
> stolen? I hope those keys aren't the only protection, you saw 
> how easily sirius could break in into an house and what if he 
> would have token the key of the people living there on his way?
>
> Also he didn't really go to gringrotts he only send an owl, and 
> would he send his key - being the ONLY claim on all his money- 
> with it? I think not, if he would have lost that key he would 
> lose ALL of his money, and he didnt have a reliabel owl too.
> 
> Well it seems to me that Gringrotts security is REALLY sucky and 
> then i'm asking myself how come none ever abused it.
> 
> Yoris
> -- wishes to be a wizzard-fraud

bboy_mn responds on Gringott's Security:

Some of my opinion on this subject some from my own fan-fictional
world. I think the goblins who run the bank have a VERY keen awareness
of someone's intent and they hold the people finances that they
control or that are entrusted to them as a sacred trust, and they
guard not only the money but the privacy of those accounts. 

For example, Mrs. Weasley takes money from Harry's vault while he is
at the Quidditch World Cup match and picks up all Harry's supply for
the new school year as well as a new supply of cash for his personal
use. I think when she came to the bank and told the goblins what she
was doing, their own internal lie detector saw that her intentions
were honest and good, and allowed her to take the money.

When Sirius Black allowed Harry to take money from his own personal
account, I think several things came into play. One, that the goblins
treat the privacy of peoples accounts very seriously and saw it as
none of their business who's account was being accessed. Hence, they
did not send a notice to the Ministry. There job is to guard money and
privacy, not catch criminal for the Ministry. Two, there own internal
truth detectors determined that this was legitamate. Plus, they may
have had other evidence to indicate that this was a valid transaction.
Someone else pointed out that Harry may now be the heir or benefactor
of Sirius' bank account and this lent credability to the transaction.

So, I don't think the goblins are just blind bureaucrats who approve
everything that comes across their desk. I think the reason they are
in charge of the banks is because the have this built-in ability to
detect ill intent and bad faith and just plain crooks.

bboy_mn