The Legend of the Lost Day

[Goddlefrood]

No: HPFGUIDX 143793

There are conflicting views of what happened during the so-called 
lost day (the period from the time the Potters were murdered until 
Hagrid showed up with Harry at the Dursleys). One of the main 
controversies involves whether or not the "missing" 24 hours will 
prove significant to the ongoing story. 

Brandon Ford who styles himself as "The Underground Lake" on 
Mugglenet believes that the lost day, once the events thereon are 
revealed, will be of great significance in the resolution of the 
series. Red Hen has an excellent article in which she postulates 
that the missing 24 hours will be of little or no significance in 
the resolution of the series with some speculation as to what 
happened. My own view is that the true picture lies somewhere in 
between and the purpose of this post is to examine the potentially 
significant matters, analyse the same and draw some conclusion.

My starting point is to set out the known facts from canon. I will 
then proceed to make some guesses as to what may have happened and 
what can reasonably be inferred to have happened from what we have 
been given. Finally I will draw certain conclusions that may or may 
not be completely off the wall.

The facts:

(i) Sometime on the evening (here meaning anytime up to midnight) of 
October 31st 1980 Lord Voldemort arrived at the Potter's home in the 
village of Godric's Hollow based on information received or 
extracted from Peter Pettigrew. Peter had earlier either stated 
where the Potter's house was or written it on a piece of paper a la 
Dumbledore when revealing the secret of Number Twelve Grimmaud Place.

(ii) Lord Voldemort then dueled with and killed James Potter before 
proceeding to kill Harry.

(iii) Prior to aiming his killing curse at Harry Lord Voldemort gave 
Lily Potter the opportunity to save herself, which she declined. He 
then killed her and incanted the killing curse once more to kill 
Harry but was unsuccessful and the curse rebounded onto him while at 
the same time giving Harry his scar and certain powers.

(iv) Due to his having created several Horcruxes Lord Voldemort did 
not die and the piece of his soul then resident in his body was 
ripped from it and escaped, later using animals as hosts on the way 
to the forests of Albania.

(v) The Potter's house was reduced to rubble, possibly by a third 
party or possibly as a result of the failed curse (although I prefer 
the former explanation).

(vi) The first person on the scene was Rubeus Hagrid who had been 
sent by Albus Dumbledore and while he was there retrieving Harry 
Sirius Black turned up on his flying motorcycle that he subsequently 
gave to Hagrid to take Harry away.

(This last took place before either the Muggle authorities arrived 
or anybody from the Ministry of Magic and probably in the early 
hours of 1st November 1980)

(vii) On the morning of 1st November Vernon Dursley went to work at 
Grunnings as usual and noticed certain unusual events. These 
included multiple owls swooping around and groups of people in robes 
muttering to each other (who he induced himself to believe were 
students on some kind of prank). Vernon overheard the name Harry 
Potter at some point during the day and by the time he arrived home 
in the early evening he had tried to convince himself (successfully) 
that it was not his nephew.

(viii) Minerva McGonagall in her Animagus form spent practically all 
day at Privet Drive observing the Dursley's house and its environs 
and by the time Dumbledore later arrived had formed the conclusion 
that the Dursleys were not good Muggles.

(ix) Dumbledore arrived sometime after nightfall and put out the 
street lamps with his put outer, met McGonagall and had a chat with 
her about the Potter's death and Harry's survival. He at no point 
mentioned to McGonagall what he had been doing all day.

(x) Hagrid arrived at Privet Drive, somewhat late according to 
Dumbledore, with Harry on Sirius's flying motorbike in the late 
evening.

(xi) At some point on 1st November Sirius and Peter have their 
showdown after Sirius tracks Peter down having discovered that Peter 
was not at his hiding place and Peter sets up Sirius for the murder 
of a dozen Muggles and his own murder. Sirius is laughing when taken 
by Ministry of Magic personnel (one of the first to arrive being 
Cornelius Fudge) and soon after placed in Azkaban without trial on 
Barty Crouch Snr.'s orders (probably because he finally realised 
that Peter was a good deal smarter than he had believed).

(xii) Daedalus Diggle assumed to have set off shooting stars in Kent 
during the period in question as a celebration of LV's downfall.

The guesses and inferences:

(a) Someone else was at Godric's Hollow that night of 31st October. 
Someone who demolished the Potter's house I assume to break the 
Fidelius Charm and hide his tracks. The prime suspect is Peter 
Pettigrew and there will be more on this to come in book 7. This 
person then left before Hagrid arrived and LV's wand also must have 
gone from the scene.

(b) Dumbledore became aware of what had happened at Godric's Hollow, 
including the fact that Harry survived and needed retrieving, very 
quickly. This was possibly through Severus Snape telling him his 
Dark Mark had disappeared (although this would not account for 
Dumbledore's knowledge that Harry had survived), but more probably 
through the mechanism of one of the instruments in his office or 
from a Patronus sent by one of the Potters.

(c) Dumbledore dispatched Hagrid to retrieve Harry either by side 
along Apparation or by Portkey directly to Godric's Hollow.

(d) According to McGonagall Hagrid informed her what had happened, 
which is why she went to Privet Drive to await Harry's arrival and 
seek confirmation as to the brief details she had gleaned from 
Hagrid. This I propose was achieved by means of a Patronus from 
Hagrid to McGonagall and not by his diverting to Hogwarts after 
picking up Harry. Relevant canon (page 15 Bloomsbury paperback 
edition of PS): 

"Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the 
way?"
"Yes", said Professor McGonagall.

(e) Dumbledore spent some time placing the necessary blood 
protection enchantments for Harry to be protected while staying with 
the Dursleys, informed various parties (the Ministry and Order 
members) of what he proposed to do, and then set out to Privet Drive 
himself to rendezvous with Hagrid at the time he had previously told 
Hagrid to be at Privet Drive, although in the event Hagrid was late. 
He passed at least a dozen celebratory parties on the way to Privet 
Drive

(f) Based on Hagrid's known propensity for drinking and general 
celebration, coupled with the following quote from PS (page 13 of 
Bloomsbury paperback edition): "I must have passed a dozen feasts 
and parties on my way here" (Dumbledore to McGonagall), I contend 
that Hagrid stopped off to join in a little celebration, or possibly 
initiate one or two, between the time he picked up Harry and the 
time he arrived at Privet Drive. This would account for the 
widespread celebration also as Hagrid would have hardly been able to 
contain himself from mentioning LV's defeat and putting the word out.

(g) Part of Hagrid's time would also have been spent traveling from 
Godric's Hollow to Privet Drive, but as I state above with several 
detours.

Feel free to add or correct any of these if you disagree or offer 
alternatives.

So then, what is the significance of the lost day and will we be 
filled in on what happened? I personally do not believe that 
anything other than Hagrid and Harry stopping off at celebrations 
accounts for the time discrepancy with them. I do not adhere to the 
view that Harry was experimented on in any way, either at Hogwarts 
or at the Department of Mysteries as has been put forward by others. 
For one thing I do not for a second contemplate that Dumbledore 
would have allowed such a thing to happen. Neither for that matter 
do I think that Harry and Hagrid went to Sirius Black's place simply 
because Sirius was himself rather busy tracking down Peter Pettigrew.

What I do think we will be filled in on rather more are the steps 
that Dumbledore took to ensure that Harry would be protected until 
he reached the age of majority by staying with his blood relative 
Petunia Dursley. This magic appears, from what can reasonably be 
inferred, to be either unknown to LV or strong enough to resist any 
counters he may have contemplated to break it.

The other matter that arises from the death of the Potters, which 
is "How did Lily Potter protect Harry from the killing curse?" would 
be addressed in a later post.

For now I put this up in the hope that some good discussion can flow 
from it.

Goddlefrood