Were Dumbledore & Snape involved in James & Lilly's death+ LV downfall?

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 90122

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Debbie Roberson" 
<robersondd at c...> wrote:

> There was enough time for Dumbledore to figure out which 
> parents/children were likely candidates and help them take 
> precautions.  Do you think, perhaps, that might be WHY the Potters 
> were in hiding in the first place?

Of course. Right on! And we haven't heard, but the Longbottoms may 
have been in hiding, too.  I have no doubt that Voldemort would have 
taken the King Herod solution and killed every possible candidate he 
could.  IOW, if LV had succeeded in killing Harry Potter, he would 
have immediately hunted down Neville as well.

  Do you think the prophecy might 
> have something to do with WHY the Longbottoms were tortured and 
> ended up in Hospital?

That doesn't appear to be the case -- we've heard that the 
Longbottoms, both Aurors, were tortured for information on LV's 
possible location (and to gratify Bellatrix's psychosis).  Why else 
would they be tortured, to reveal their son's location?

We have to speculate how Dumbledore knew what it was that saved 
Harry, because we don't know. It's plausible to me that a wizard as 
wise and powerful as Dumbledore could sense the aura of the ancient 
natural magic that protected Harry, especially so soon after the 
event.  The scar might have told him, as learned as he is. But I'm 
guessing.  

I find it more believable than the notion he set up the deaths of the 
boy's parents and arranged Lily's sacrifice.  How could he ever 
predict how things would go down?  How could he know Voldemort 
wouldn't just magically set the Potter's house ablaze in the middle 
of the night, or just sneak in little Harry's bedroom and kill him 
before his parents had any idea LV was around?

The 'Dumbledore arranged it' theory depends not just on DD being 
capable of being as cold and manipulative as Voldemort himself, but 
on the entire cast of characters behaving exactly as planned. That's 
a hard sell. Life is much messier than that.