OOP: Secret Keeper/Chapter 1 SS/Prophecy

[mullsym255]

No: HPFGUIDX 67293


After reading OoP, I think I have a bit of a problem with the 
whole "secret keeping" situation. Now we know that both Dumbledore 
and Lupin were aware that Sirius was (at one point) the Potter's 
secret keeper. They weren't aware that it was later switched to 
Peter. We know the timeline from when Sirius was made secret keeper 
to when it was switched to Peter to when the Potters were killed was 
about a week according to Fudge in PoA. When Sirius was initially 
made secret keeper, I assume that Dumbledore and Lupin would have 
expected him to divulge the location to them so they could speak to 
Lily or James. This poses a problem. If Sirius planned all along to 
switch to Peter then he had to give some excuse as to why he couldn't 
tell AD and RL the location. If he did tell them, then the minute he 
switched to Peter both AD and RL would notice they couldn't get to 
the Potter's house anymore. But what plausible excuse could he give? 
He couldn't very well tell them, "Well I think you may be a death 
eater so I not going to tell you. Nyah!" It's possible that DD and RL 
wouldn't ask Sirius to divulge the location but that doesn't seem 
right to me. Does this make sense? It does in my head but perhaps I'm 
missing something.

Another question I have is how many people "knew" that Sirius was the 
Potter's secret keeper? Hagrid was part of the original Order of the 
Phoenix but in PoA he says that he didn't know that Sirius was the 
Potter's secret keeper. McGonagall was NOT part of the original Order 
but during this same scene, she seems very aware of the whole secret 
keeper situation. She knew that Dumbledore suspected a spy among the 
group and even remembers Dumbledore offering to be Lily and James' 
secret keeper. It appears she knew Sirius was the secret keeper as 
well. 

This reminds me of some problems I had with the first chapter of SS. 
I still can't come up with an explanation as to why Dumbledore 
allowed Hagrid to return the motorcycle to Sirius. The whole thing 
seems a bit Flint-y to me. Did he know that Sirius had been arrested 
at that point? If McGonagall was aware of the secret keeper situation 
(as she seems to be in PoA), then why does she seem so clueless in 
this chapter? Why doesn't she ask about Sirius when Hagrid mentions 
him?

My last question is why weren't the Potters in hiding long 
beforehand? Trelawney made the prediction over a year before they 
went under the fidelius charm. Dumbledore knew that a spy overheard 
them. He knew that the Potters fit the description in the prophecy. 
He had to know that they were a target. Yet, in PoA it's said that 
Dumbledore only told the Potters to go into hiding after he was 
tipped off by a spy that Voldemort was looking for them. Well wasn't 
it obvious that he was looking for them? 


-Tracy
(I usually lurk but OoP has brought me out of hiding.)