The Droobles Blowing Gum Wrappers - Mystery Solved?

[Hannah]

No: HPFGUIDX 126724


Tinglinger wrote:

> I finally figured out why Alice Longbottom is so fixated on
> Droobles Blowing Gum Wrappers, and in doing so, found how 
> Sirius probably screwed up big-time as the Potter's 
> Secretkeeper.
<snip> 
> What if Sirius as secretkeeper wrote the Potter's Hiding
> Place down on paper and then DIDN'T PROPERLY DESTROY IT?
> And what if Pettigrew found the paper and took it to
> Voldemort, where its authenticity can be verified either
> by Regulus Black or the Black family crest that appeared
> on the paper?  Once Voldemort had the location, the Potters
> were doomed.
> 
> I don't believe that Pettigrew was ever the Potter's 
> Secretkeeper as everyone claims. I can't beleive that
> Sirius would be that stupid given the low opinion everyone
> has of the little rat. McGonagall went on a rant with Madame
> Rosmerta as to how stupid and useless Pettigrew was. Why
> would Sirius think that changing secretkeeper to Pettigrew
> would work ? 
<snip>
> So i feel that 
> Sirius Black never intended to tell Pettigrew where the
> Potters were hidden.
> 
> When the hiding places were set up or shortly thereafter,
> Sirius showed a certain piece of paper to the Longbottoms
> (just like Moody showed Harry in OOP). Then Sirius got 
> careless and didn't destroy the slip of paper revealing
> the Potter's hiding place. Voldemort knew that it was 
> authentic because either the paper was marked with the 
> Black crest from a ring, or Regulus was able to
> authenticate Sirius' handwriting.
> This relieves Pettigrew from having any brains,
> only treachery and the ability to dumpster dive.
> 
> So the Potters were done in by Sirius' carelessness and
> Pettigrew's treachery. The lie that Pettigrew was made
> secretkeeper was told to disguise the real guilty party -
>  Sirius Black. 

Hannah:  
I applaud you on a good conspiracy theory - it's pretty hard to find 
new ones.  On the other hand, I don't actually think it's right.  

If Sirius and not Peter was secret keeper, then why did DD believe 
his story?  He must have performed Legilimency on Sirius when he 
spoke to him that evening in PoA.  If Sirius was lying about Peter 
being SK, then DD would have known.

Secondly, why didn't Peter deny being SK when Sirius confronted him 
in the shack?  I'm sure he'd have been very quick to deny it.  And 
how could Sirius be sure that Peter was to blame for passing on the 
dropped piece of paper if that *was* what happened?  Sirius' 
behaviour immediately after GH (giving Hagrid his bike and saying he 
wouldn't need it any more) suggests he knew immediately that Peter 
was responsible.  If the information got to LV through a carelessly 
misplaced piece of paper, then how did he know it was Peter that 
showed him?

Sirius had the idea of using Peter as SK for the very reasons you 
cite for him not being it.  He says it himself; 'Who would suspect a 
weak, talentless' person like Peter?  Sirius Black, James Potter's 
closest friend, best man at his wedding, Godfather to his son, is 
the obvious choice of SK.  DE's could have captured him and forced 
the location out of him using Veritaserum or the Imperius Curse.  So 
they used Peter instead, hoping that if he stayed in hiding and kept 
his head down, LV would be so busy chasing Sirius, the decoy, that 
it would buy time.  

Sirius has his faults, but I do not think that dishonesty on that 
scale is one of them.  If he truly had been SK and accidentally 
betrayed Lily and James through a careless act, I think he would be 
the first to admit to it.  Lying about it - especially so 
elaborately - is the action of a coward, something that Sirius 
definitely is not.  

I think the gum wrappers are a plot device used effectively to show 
the terrible sadness of Neville and his mother's situation.  I tend 
to dislike theories that she is somehow passing on coded messages to 
him, as I think if she had that level of mental capacity left, she 
would care more about relating properly to her son than trying to 
pass some vague warning that he'd probably never understand.  

That's why I think it won't work.  But it was fun discussing it 
anyway.  

Hannah