Secret Keeper

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 56708

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "greatlit2003" <hieya at h...> wrote:
>...the Potters had switched their Secret-Keeper at the last minute... 
> we were led to assume that they did this because Sirius was an easy 
> target for Voldemort ...edited... Why would the Potters keep 
> something so big a secret from him unless they suspected that he was 
> not as good as he seemed? Why didn't they use him as their secret 
> keeper? I wonder whether the switch was because of the threat of 
> Voldemort or Dumbledore. Sorry if this has been discussed already. 
> I'd love to hear your responses anyway.
> 
> greatlit2003, 

bboy_mn:

Not that Sirius was an easy target, but that he was the most obvious
target.

Sirius was planning to get lost; presummably move to Africa, Asia,
Australia, or the Americas, far from Voldemort reach and influence.
Sirius has already (after the fact) proven that he is very good at
hiding himself. If they couldn't find Sirius, then they couldn't get
the secret from him.

But Sirius thought he would throw an additional monkey wrench into the
works by acting as a decoy. Since Sirius was the most obvious person
for the Secret Keeper, he actually hid the secret right under
everyone's nose in a place that they would least expect it and be
least likely to look for it. That way Voldemort would spend all his
time looking for Sirius, and even if he found him, he couldn't get the
secret from him because Sirius doesn't have it.

Peter was also suppose to be in hiding. Sirius went to the place where
 Peter was suppose to be hiding to check on him, and when Peter wasn't
there, Sirius was sure something had gone wrong. So, he went straight
to the Potters to warn them. Which seems a little inconsistent, since
he seemed to know the secret even though he wasn't the secret keeper.
But the reality of the Secret Keeper isn't that people don't know
where the Potter's are because Sirius and Dumbledore DO seem to know.
The key is that if you come to the place where they are hiding, you
won't be able to find them there. Remember Flintwick said Voldemort
could be peeking in the window of the Potter's house and he still
wouldn't be able to find them. They are magically hidden. 

So why not Dumbledore are the Secret Keeper? Because Dumbledore was a
high profile person at the forefront of the war against Voldemort, he
wouldn't have been able to go into hiding and continue with his role
in the war. Plus, in his high profile role, and in his active role in
the war, he was a person at risk. I would assume that if the Secret
Keeper dies, the spell is broken. It was just too impractical for
Dumbledore to do this. It was a wonderful gesture on his part, but
still not very practical. 

Sirius on the other hand was probably involved in the war, but he
wasn't a key figure or a leader in the war. It would have been easy
and not much of a loss for him to disappear.

Just a thought.

bboy_mn