Why didn't the Longbottoms go into hiding?

[mhbobbin]

No: HPFGUIDX 110609

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "scoutmom21113" 
<navarro198 at h...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "nearlyheadlessryan" 
> <nearlyheadlessryan at y...> wrote:
> >  After Proffessor Trelawny's prediction in the Hog's Head, 
> why 
> > did only the Potter's go into hiding and not also the 
Longbottoms? 
> 
> Bookworm:
> IMO, they did.  They were tortured several weeks *after* Voldemort 
> disappeared by Bellatrix and company - who thought the Longbottoms 
> knew where Voldemort was - at a time when everyone was just 
starting 
> to relax and believe that the war was over. (GoF, The Pensieve)
> 
> Both the Potters and Longbottoms went into hiding around the same 
> time.  Voldemort found the Potters first because of Pettigrew.    
> After Voldemort disappeared the Longbottoms could come out of 
> hiding. 

mhbobbin now:
I suspect that the Longbottoms were likely in hiding and discovered 
only when they came out of hiding after the disappearance of LV as 
well. There is no textual evidence. However, this question has only 
come up because we learned about the prophecy at the end of OotP. So 
perhaps it will soon be revealed, and we still have so much to learn 
about what happened to the Longbottoms. I believe that we'll find 
out that Bellatrix and gang tortured them specifically to get the 
final wording  of the prophecy in hopes of finding LV. (And as the 
Longbottoms were insane, how did anyone know who had tortured them--
we don't really know about Crouch Junior's involvement but we 
certainly know that Bellatrix was rightfully convicted.)

But this all raises another question about the Potters' hiding. Why 
weren't the Potters in hiding before the Fidelius Charm? The Potters 
were only under the Fidelius Charm for less than a week before 
Pettigrew betrayed them. Fudge (in his PoA exposition) explains that 
one of DD's spies had alerted DD (Snape Perhaps?) that LV was 
looking for the Potters. Fudge also explained that the Potters knew 
someone was keeping LV aware of their movements for some time prior 
to that. (Sirius had suspected Lupin.)

As there was over a year between the Prophecy / Birth of HP and the 
Potters sealing their fate with Pettigrew, what protections were the 
Potters taking before this? This does possibly support the idea that 
the Potters were living at Hogwarts, possibly as teachers and that 
their movements out of Hogwarts were all that mattered. They also 
may have constantly been on the move or taking other precautions. 
Assuming DD told both the Longbottoms and the Potters of the 
Prophecy --and as they were all in the Order of the Phoenix I would 
expect that he did--what precautions were the Potters taking prior 
to the Fidelius Charm--as they knew that LV was aware of their 
movements? Or possibly the question is why weren't they taking 
precautions for an entire year prior to their deaths?

mhbobbin