[HPforGrownups] Why a secret keeper?

[Andy Mills]

No: HPFGUIDX 189898

Hello WendyH,

> Forgive me if this has already been discussed. Ever since I read
> about secret keepers I wondered why have them at all? Why do you 
> have to tell your secret to someone? Why couldn't Lily and James 
> kept the secret to themselves? It seems safer. What is it about 
> Wizards that requires them to have a secret keeper?

I've not really thought about it much before, but I suspect it's because
information can be easily tortured out of people using the Cruciatus
curse, or veritaserum.

If you know who to look for for the secret, it makes the job easier. If
you don't know who is the secret keeper, it makes the job a lot harder
as you have find the secret keeper first, which could be any number of
people.

For example, if you want to know something about James Potter and you
know people keep their own secrets, you just have to search for James
Potter. If the secret keeper could be anyone, you first have to find out
who the friends and family of James Potter are, then find each person in
the hope they are the keeper - all this before they even can try and get
the secret from them.

The secret keeper is bound by the Fidelius charm, which means that if
they tell someone the secret the person they tell cannot then pass on
that information. It may be that the person under the charm may not be
able to pass on the secret by Cruciatus curse or veritaserum.

It may be that the because the secret is "stored" in the person's soul,
it doesn't work as well if the person already knows the secret, which is
in the human brain, which would mean that it wouldn't for the originator
of that secret.

I imagine that James and Lily needed to be found (by friends), which
means that people they trust could go to them (perhaps people brought
them supplies, etc.), rather than James and/or Lily having to come out
of hiding themselves.

It seems to work well, Grimmauld Place was hidden with the Fidelous
Charm for years and Snape was one person who knew of it and where it
was, yet its location remained hidden from Voldemort (it was only found
by accident). The weakest link seems to be that the secret keeper has to
be trustworthy, as we've found out with Wormtail who gave Voldemort
James' and Lily's location willingly.

-- 
 Andy Mills