Witness to LV attack on Harry at Godric's Hollow

[Matt]

No: HPFGUIDX 77688

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "confusinglyso" <pjcousins at b...>
wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "confusinglyso" 
> <pjcousins at b...> wrote:
> 
> > [snip]
> > 
> > My witness is Frank Longbottom. 
> 
> [snip] 
> 
> I forgot to add that Frank must have been the witness 
> because he, and his wife, suffered the brutal torture 
> from the DEs in their attempts to learn the whereabouts 
> of LV from Frank.

It's an interesting theory.  I agree that the theory would explain the
belief of the Lestrange crew that Frank would know LV's whereabouts. 
OTOH, another explanation is that they targeted Frank because of his
position as an auror.  We have pretty strong indications that the
Ministry was keeping track of LV at least by the time Harry entered
school -- multiple the references to his last known whereabouts being
Albania.  It would be reasonable to assume that the aurors would have
had access to such information.  

Like Mandy (see
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/77652 ), I noticed
that your theory needs a little supporting theory to explain why the
Fidelius charm did not keep Frank away from the house.  Mandy's
explanation that Pettigrew told Frank *before* telling Voldemort
doesn't square with the spirit of the account we heard in the
Shrieking Shack: though I don't have PA in front of me, my
recollection is that Peter is portrayed as having gone more or less
straight to Voldemort with the information.  Moreover, if Peter *had*
told Frank, then the Ministry would have known that Peter was the
secret-keeper, not Sirius, in which case it's hard to believe that
Sirius would have ended up in Azkaban for 12 years.  Could, perhaps,
Frank (or another witness) have followed Voldemort to the residence? 
And what would such a witness have observed without being privy to the
secret of the Potters' location?

-- Matt