[HPforGrownups] DEs, anonymity and the HBP

[Patrick Jarrett]

No: HPFGUIDX 123119

> catkind:  An extremely random thought.
> If such anonymity is really the case, the Graveyard naming of names
> would be a major change of direction. Perhaps a punishment, or
> forcible rebuilding of solidarity after the break?
> But, and I'm heading in the direction of farfetched here,  IF DEs were
> anonymous amongst themselves, how did they address each other at
> meetings?  I hypothesise, in the tradition of all good spy stories,
> codenames.

Patrick: This is quite logical. Before V's fall, he had the ability to
run his organization with the minimum reliance of its members one each
other. And then, when he was gone, it still somehow managed to survive
and make actions such as in GoF. Perhaps that was spontaneous, but if
it wasn't what it is is a strict, almost mafioso hierarchy where you
know X other people, who also know X other people. You don't tell
anyone anything else, but if one person tells his network, they tell
his network, word spreads and soon everyone knows. To go geeky, it's a
P2P social network. No one can fully break the system without finding
key nodes and removing them.
 
> So I come to the random thought:  could HBP be a Death Eater codename
> for Voldemort's mysterious second?

> Admittedly it would be a bit odd given LV's supposedly pure-blood
> politics, but he's already known to be a bit two-faced about that, and
> it could be a snide way of keeping the second in his place. It
> wouldn't be so unreasonable to suppose that not just LV and his
> nemesis but also his second-in-command are half-bloods.
> 
> Minor supporting arguments: LV is the only character we've come across
> thus far who's interested in aristocratic titles, and it would save
> all the bother of suddenly discovering a royal family. And Lord
> Voldemort is itself a sort of codename.

Patrick:
This seems possible, I like the theory and if it proves untrue I'd
like to see an AU FF based on it. *shrug* We'll see how it goes.

-- Patrick