Apparition & Fidelius

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 91037

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy Jenkins" <CindyJ2 at c...>
wrote:
> Susan wrote in 90953:
> >Either way, it seems like someone, at some point, would see 
> >someone disappear off the street and wonder what was going on.  A 
> >nosy muggle neighbor (like Petunia) might even notice this 
> >repeatedly, and that knowledge could be obtained and used by 
> >unscrupulous parties.
> 
> I kind of liken the fidelius with platform 9 3/4, or St. Mungos. 
Wizards and witches go there all the time, but muggles don't ever
notice.  That's a running thread throughout the books--muggles will go
to great lengths to ignore magic, even when it's right in front of them.
> 
> Moreover, even if a wizard *did* notice some odd happenings, they
wouldn't be able to find the house unless they were given the address
by the secret-keeper.  In other words, DE could roam Grimmuald Place
all day and night and never find #12, even if they suspected it was near.
> 
> Cindy

But Bellatrix is Sirius' first cousin and probably visited 12
Grimmauld Place in her childhood and early teens. (Sirius said he
never saw her after he was fifteen, meaning that she must have left
Hogwarts two or three years before he did, but she could have visited
his home before that--or after he left home for good at sixteen.)
Anyway, I think it's extremely unlikely that she wouldn't know where
her uncle and aunt and her two cousins lived. So the Fidelius charm
would somehow have to erase that knowledge or just make the house
invisible and inaccessible to those who have not specifically been
told by the Secret Keeper not only its address but that its the
headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. (That's what Harry had to
say in his mind in Order to see it, but he could only do so because he
had read the words in DD's writing.)

My suspicion is that Bellatrix suspects the truth and knows exactly
where the house is but just can't see it or get inside. But if she
were to see Snape or someone else entering the house, or rather
disappearing as they entered the house, I think she would know exactly
what's going on. (I do think it's stupid of the members to ring the
bell and take extra time that might draw someone's attention, but I
imagine that no one who doesn't know the secret can hear the bell.)

It's also possible that Mr. and Mrs. Black never had visitors,
including their nieces, but then Kreacher wouldn't dote on Bellatrix
and her picture probably wouldn't be in their house. Messy, isn't it?

Carol, who is only exploring possibilities, not presenting any theory