Fidelius Confundus

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 183446

> CJ:
> Good point about DD.
> 
> However, based on what, other than LV's own use of the word in DH 
> (which I take to be typical self-aggrandizement), do we assume
> LV "broke" the Charm? Surely Pettigrew's revelation to LV was 
> entirely consistent with the normal duties and perogatives of a SK,
> and could not have broken it as such. Conversely, had LV the 
> ability to break the Charm, he would not have needed Pettigrew to
> reveal the Secret.

Jen: I don't think LV could break the Charm in some way or he would 
have done so long before as you say.  I still believe that sentence 
was meant to be taken literally, that the Fidelius was broken when 
Peter told the location of the Potters to the enemy they were hiding 
from.  It's as much the fact that JKR used the term Fidelius Charm as 
it is the use of the word 'broken', when she could've easily said 
LV finally possessed the secret location.  That would have been more 
consistent with information already in the story.

JKR seeems more interested in metaphor & symbolism in her magic than 
internal consistency though: "Magic at its deepest and most 
impenetrable" and all that.  There's a dramatic impact to the full 
revelation of what Peter did by revealing the secret & breaking the 
bond of trust that the Potters had made with him.  He didn't just 
pass the secret on to another person as he might do with a friend as 
well, he actually shattered the magical bond with the Potters when he 
betrayed the secret to their would-be murderer.  No, I don't have a 
chapter & verse, just a guess given the way I see JKR's writing 
style.  

Sure, it could definitely be LV's arrogance to choose that wording.  
He'd think the Charm was broken simply because he considered the 
Fidelius useless once he possessed the secret. 

Either way, I'd speculate Lily was the spellcaster -using her wand 
that was so useful for Charms, which didn't come into play otherwise- 
so the bodies would be visible to other magical people in the 
village when she died.  That continues to sound like the most logical 
way that word got out imo, including to Dumbledore, who would have 
been smart to have one of his 'useful spies' in the area since he was 
suspicious of the Potter's friends.