Dumbledore as Secret Keeper

[KathyK]

No: HPFGUIDX 132996

Rachel wrote:

> With Dumbledore dead, will Grimmauld Place be visible to everyone
> now?  
> Or because he died before revealing the secret, will stay a secret 
> except to those who know it?

KathyK:

My feeling is that there must be *something* in the Fidelius Charm 
to keep the Secret being revealed if the Secret-Keeper is killed.  
Otherwise, it's a pretty pointless charm, isn't it?  All LV would 
have had to do to find Lily and James, had he not had Pettigrew, is 
murder Sirius.  

Then again, we don't know, really, how it works.  Maybe that's the 
reason Sirius suggested the switch. He *knew* LV would go after him 
and not Peter.  If Sirius died and the Secret was not revealed, that 
diversion would have bought James and Lily a little more time.  This 
coud be why Dumbledore offered to be there Secret-Keeper. 

Also, from HBP we learned Dumbledore and the Order were worried 
Bellatrix may be able to fing Grimmauld Place, had she been the one 
to inherit it, making the Unplottable charm Dumbledore cast (more on 
that later, from me, I promise) useless.  Bellatrix may not have 
known then that GP was the HQ for the order, but she'd be able to 
find the house?  And enter, presumably.  Then she'd perhaps discover 
evidence the Order had been there.  Kreacher would have told her 
Order secrets, for one, thus indicating this had been the 
headquarters.  

Wouldn't the Secret then be revealed?  Or would she see no 
evidence?  Would she not be able to discern from what Kreacher was 
telling her that the Order had indeed been there?  How does this 
Charm actually protect?  From Imperius and Legilimency, I believe.  
But what about Rachel's question?  What about when the SK dies?  

It made sense for the Fidelius Charm to be broken once Lily and 
James died, as they were the Object.  But again, the charm is 
useless for protection if all is Revealed simply by the SK's death.  
I feel there must be something more to this charm.  

There again, though, would the Secret remain hidden forever should 
the Secret-Keeper die?  Maybe there's an expiration date, sometime 
after the Secret-Keeper's death, making it possible for a new 
Fidelius be cast with a new SK once past the expiration date?

Then, there's always the possibility Dumbledore made someone else SK 
if he knew he was going to die.  I'm just throwing this out there, 
though I'm not sure I believe all this Snape is Dumbledore's man 
stuff.  I like my Snape ESE!  Then again, Dumbledore could know he 
was going to die without knowing Snape would be doing the killing.  

KathyK, talking in circles already!