OOP: Secret Keeper/Chapter 1 SS/Prophecy

[l3al3y_Doll_3]

No: HPFGUIDX 67305

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "mullsym255" <tracym255 at a...> 
wrote:
> 
> 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.



I don't think Sirius suspected Dumbledore as being the spy amongst 
the group, (being he is DUMBLEDORE after all) but it says in PoA  
Sirius suspected Remus to be the spy. Which in my oppinion means, 
everyone suspected everyone else. I doubt Sirius would tell anyone, 
including one of his best friends, where Lily and James were hiding 
because he believed one of them to be the spy. Any information 
needing to get to the Potters would have to be brought to them by 
the messenger himself.

It doesn't seem to be Sirius ever knew the location in the first 
place because Lily and James switched persons at the last minute. So 
before telling Sirius, Sirius convinced them to use Peter- someone 
no one (especially Voldemort) would suspect. If they had told 
Sirius, and he still knew the information, then switched to Peter, 
what would be the point of even having a Secret Keeper which means 
only one person trusted with the information? 


> 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. 


I'm assuming of course only Dumbledore, Remus and possibly Peter 
believed Sirius was supposed to be the Secret Keeper. After the 
whole Pettigrew incident went down, news spread he had been the 
culprit behind the Potters. So surely that's how everyone- 
McGonagall, Hagrid and the rest of the WW, came to know. Twelve 
years passed before Remus found out Lily and James switched to Peter.



> 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?


Seeing as Dumbledore's an expert in the art of Occlumency, I'm sure 
he knew things during that time others didn't and wouldn't disclose 
for his own reasons. And Pettigrew being blown into smithereens 
hadn't happened yet, and remember Hagrid believed Sirius to be 
guilty of everything after that. So when he approached Hagrid Hagrid 
wouldn't have just kindly accepted help from him. And McGonagall 
wasn't part of the Order yet so that explains her cluelessness. 


> 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? 


The only explanation I can offer for this one is Dumble said there 
were two possibilities for the prophecy- Harry and Neville. So I 
guess the prospect of hiding out finally occured to them when they 
learned Voldemort was after them. It was Voldermort, for whatever 
reason, who chose his might-be destructor. But I agree, they still 
should have gone into hiding, not only the Potters, but Longbottoms 
as well to be extra safe...