Secret Keepers (formerly known as Family Secrets)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 116669


> moonmyyst said - 
><snip> 
> My son had a thought.  Is there any reason in cannon as to Why a
person cannot be their own secret keeper?  We know that they are not
but Why?
 
Kethryn responded:
> 
> I'll bite, I don't think that there is a reason listed in canon. 
And, now, I'll raise.  Why didn't Lily be James Secret Keeper and
James be Lily's?  Other than the fact that Harry would have loving and
doting parents now and we would be out a lovable might-as-well-be
orphan, that particular scenario makes the most sense to me.  If you
want to live, tell the person the secret that you trust the most. 
And, you know, if you don't trust your spouse with your life, you have
problems.  Maybe the person living in the house can't be the Secret
Keeper because that would lock them in some weird parallel dimension
thing?  Or a logic loop?  How about a circular argument?
<snip>

Carol adds:
Whatever the reason, I don't think a person can be his or her own
Secret Keeper or Dumbledore would have made that suggestion rather
than proposing himself (or after proposing himself and being turned
down because James wanted Sirius).

As for the Potters being each others' Secret Keepers, it was the
whereabouts of the whole Potter family, especially Harry, that was at
stake, and it's not clear where Harry would fit into the Each Other's
Keeper scenario. Also, I believe that Lily, who was skilled at Charms
(or so we can infer from Ollivander's words about her first wand in
SS/PS) placed the Fidelius Charm on Peter and could conceivably have
placed it on James (if the spell would "take" in those circumstances).
But according to Dumbledore, the charm is extremely complex and James,
despite his great skill at Transfiguration (also foreshadowed in the
wand scene with Ollivander) might not have had the skill at Charms to
place the spell on Lily.

Just some thoughts in response to moonmyst's son's very logical question