Question #3

[kennyg1864]

No: HPFGUIDX 183376


> Pippin:
>
> Voldemort would know that Harry had survived, so trying to conceal
> this fact from the WW would have little benefit.

Two issues with this:

1. There wasn't any way for LV to communicate this knowledge to anyone. 
For the next 10 years he possessed the bodies of animals.  *Maybe* he
could magically get one to speak, but AFAIK all the Death Eaters thought
he was dead and gone for that time.  Until Quirrell came along, he was
pretty powerless.

(and actually I wonder if LV knew that Harry survived (had it not been
widely publicized, that is).  From his point of view, his AK curse
rebounded and he was a barely-alive shell.  He may not have been aware
of the infant Harry surviving.  For all he knew, they were both
"killed".  He may have discovered it only from reading it in the Daily
Prophet  [:p] )

2. Concealing Harry's *whereabouts* was one of DD's objectives. 
Publicizing the legend of "the Boy Who Lived" seems to work against this
objective.

Pippin:
> But Dumbledore would
> consider it of great benefit for people to know that Voldemort's
> downfall was not a Dark Wizard of greater power but an innocent babe.

I sort of see your point, but did they really need more inspiration once
they knew LV was dead and gone?  What is the additional benefit? 
Especially when weighed against the risk to Harry.  (I"m assuming that
DD knew that LV survived in some form, and knew there was a possibility
of his return, and the risk to Harry)


> kennyg1864:
> > Which book was this in? I just re-read the first few chapters of
> > SS/PS, and although all the wizards knew of Voldemort's death, none
> > mentioned the Potters' death, or Harry's survival. "TBWL" comes up
> > only when Hagrid tells Harry 10 years later, along with the
greetings
> > of those in the Leaky Cauldron.
>
> Geoff:
> You've somehow skipped over a large chunk of the opening chapter of
> "Philosopher's Stone":
<SNIP the quote, go UPTHREAD to read it>


Um, I have the US edition.  And that's my story and I'm sticking to it
[:))]

Boy did I totally miss that.  That's what I get for re-reading the SS/PS
chapters while my SO is FINALLY reading DH (she's about 1/3 the way
through) and deciding which of her questions I can answer while not
giving too much away.  [:p]

(she has a really good excuse for the long delay)

So I'm guessing DD made it known through a lot of Owl-mails, or a
special edition of the Prophet.

Begs a question though...since wizards don't have "fellytones", how do
they gossip/spread rumors?  Apparating to your wizard neighbor, and
knocking on the door?  (doesn't leave much room for privacy...)  I mean,
sure, there's the wizard pubs, but how does "house-to-house" gossip
spread?

It is odd to me that a 1-year old infant would be called "the boy who
lived" and not "the baby who lived".   Is that a UK thing?  In the US
one normally wouldn't call him a "little boy" until he's walking.
Although Harry was 1 yr 3 mos by then, so he probably was walking.  So
maybe I should just stop now before I embarrass myself further.  [:)]

kennyg1864, who wants to retitle this thread "Question #Oops"