Harry's Vault key

[Indigo]

No: HPFGUIDX 47493

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Carol Bainbridge <kaityf at j...> wrote:
> Jacqui wrote:
> ><< I am curious how Hagrid came to posses Harry's Gringott's vault 
key.  Did
> >he get it from Dumbledore?  If he did, how did Dumbledore get it?  
He wasn't
> >even at the Potter's on the night that Lily and James died. >>
> 
> JOdel answered:
> 
> >But he facilitated their disapearance, and probably had power of 
attourney
> >while they were in hiding. Which implied assess to their funds in 
order to
> >pay their bills, safekeeping for valuable artifacts and probably 
the custody
> >of their private papers.
> 
> That really makes a lot of sense.  After all, we know that James 
left his 
> invisibility cloak in Dumbledore's safekeeping.  Dumbledore didn't 
just 
> find it.  He clearly states that James left it with him.  It 
strikes me as 
> quite likely that James left more than that invisibility cloak with 
> him.  We know that the Potters were aware they were in danger and 
so went 
> into hiding.
> 
> (That makes me wonder something else.  If Voldemort was after the 
Potters, 
> James and Harry in particular, wouldn't it have been safer to have 
two 
> different secret keepers and have Harry someplace else with someone 
else 
> watching over him?  Of course, as a parent I wouldn't have wanted 
to leave 
> my son elsewhere; it was just a thought.)
> 
> If the Potters knew they were at risk, wouldn't they provide for 
some 
> contingencies -- like their demise?  If they did, did they fully 
expect 
> Harry to survive even if they didn't?  What was the point of 
leaving 
> anything with Dumbledore for safekeeping?
> 
> Indigo wrote:
> >Maybe there's such a spell for important stuff. So that when James
> >and Lily died, their important belongings apparated to a 
previously-
> >agreed upon location where Dumbledore could then take ownership of
> >said items for safekeeping.
> 
> That's a good thought.  I still have to wonder, though, what they 
were kept 
> safe for?  Harry was with Lily and James.  There are no other 
> relatives.  What would Dumbledore, or anyone else, be keeping all 
the stuff 
> safe for?
> 
> 
> Carol

The vault key had to go into safekeeping or any-old-body could get 
into the Potters' vault and take their fortune -- at least insofar as 
the book has shown us, there's not a whole lot of ID checking they do 
to confirm that the person getting in the vault should be the one 
getting into the vault.  The key seems to be it.  Maybe the key is 
magicked as well to only open for its rightful owner [safekeeper].

As for the other stuff -- even though there are no other relatives, 
perhaps James and Lily wanted it to go to Sirius for Harry's 
upbringing since he's the godfather, or they trusted Dumbledore to do 
something good with the belongings since there were no other 
relatives.

--Indigo