Skip to main content

When leaving Privet Drive, why did there need to be seven Potters instead of using the Invisibility Cloak or Disillusionment Charms?


In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a bunch of the Order of the Phoenix members show up to escort Harry to the Burrow. The rationale behind this was that they couldn't use the Floo Network, they couldn't Apparate, they couldn't use a Portkey, and Harry still had the Trace on him. Thus, they were all going to fly away, and have six decoys plus the real Harry Potter.


What I don't get is this: Why didn't Harry just put on his Invisibility Cloak and walk out of range of the charm, and then Apparate away? He's largely undetectable under the cloak, and as long as he were to get out of range of the Floo/Apparition restrictions, he could've met up with a couple of Disillusioned or invisible Order members and been on his merry way. Why didn't he?



Answer



Deathly Hallows indicates that the Seven Potters wasn't the first plan to escort Harry away from No. 4 Privet Drive.



[...]Hagrid said, “All righ’, Harry? Ready fer the off?”

“Definitely,” said Harry, beaming around at them all. “But I wasn’t expecting this many of you!”

“Change of plan,” growled Mad-Eye [...]

Deathly Hallows - page 45 - US Hardcover



The Seven Potters was Dumbledore's plan. He told Snape the true date that Harry would be moved from Privet Drive, so that Snape could pass the information along to Voldemort. The goal was to keep Snape's cover intact, Harry safe, and Hogwarts out of the control of the Death Eaters (the Carrows), and Dumbledore condoned this. He instructed Snape to Confund Mundungus Fletcher and feed the idea of the Seven Potter to Dung, and to plant the idea of Dung suggesting the Seven Potters plan to the Order of the Phoenix.




“You will have to give Voldemort the correct date of Harry’s departure from his aunt and uncle’s,” said Dumbledore. “Not to do so will raise suspicion, when Voldemort believes you so well informed. However, you must plant the idea of decoys; that, I think, ought to ensure Harry’s safety. Try Confunding Mundungus Fletcher. And Severus, if you are forced to take part in the chase, be sure to act your part convincingly. . . . I am counting upon you to remain in Lord Voldemort’s good books as long as possible, or Hogwarts will be left to the mercy of the Carrows. . . .”

Now Snape was head to head with Mundungus in an unfamiliar tavern, Mundungus’s face looking curiously blank, Snape frowning in concentration.

“You will suggest to the Order of the Phoenix,” Snape murmured, “that they use decoys. Polyjuice Potion. Identical Potters. It is the only thing that might work. You will forget that I have suggested this. You will present it as your own idea. You understand?”

“I understand,” murmured Mundungus, his eyes unfocused. . . .

Deathly Hallows - page 688 - US Hardcover



Edited to Add: Harry was sixteen on the day the Order moved him to the Burrow. Apparition requires a wand. If Harry had Apparated without a license, using his wand, he would have tripped the Trace because he was under the age of seventeen. Remember, Harry turns seventeen while at the Burrow. The decision to take Harry from Privet Drive before he was seventeen was a risk, because the moment Harry left the Dursleys' home without the intention of ever returning or considering it home, Lily's protective enchantments broke.


The Homenum Revelio spell could have revealed Harry's presence to the Death Eaters, if they had formed a perimeter around Privet Drive to monitor Harry's movements, even if he were under an Invisibility Cloak and that would have left Harry quite vulnerable.



Invisibility Cloaks are not, generally, infallible. They may rip or grow opaque with age, or the charms placed upon them may wear off, or be countered by charms of revealment. This is why witches and wizards usually turn, in the first instance, the Disillusionment Charms for self-camouflage or concealment.

Tales of Beedle the Bard - page 163 - US Collector's Edition



Why didn't the Order use Disillusionment Charms to get Harry out of Privet Drive and to the Burrow? I don't recall any instance in canon (and correct me if I'm wrong!) where Harry casts a Disillusionment Charm on himself. However, in Order of the Phoenix, Moody places a Disillusionment Charm on Harry in the chapter The Advance Guard, so it's unclear why they could not have employed this on top of or in lieu of the Seven Potters. According to Moody, Harry's Invisibility Cloak would have come off during the flight if he rode a broom while wearing the cloak.




‘Disillusionment Charm,’ said Moody, raising his wand. ‘Lupin says you’ve got an Invisibility Cloak, but it won’t stay on while we’re flying; this’ll disguise you better. Here you go –’

Order of the Phoenix - page 53 - British Hardcover



The Disillusionment Charm does not create invisibility (except for Dumbledore; see Tales of Beedle the Bard, page 163) but rather allows a witch or wizard to blend in with his/her surroundings, like a chameleon:



Harry looked down at his body, or rather, what had been his body, for it didn’t look anything like his any more. It was not invisible; it had simply taken on the exact colour and texture of the kitchen unit behind him. He seemed to have become a human chameleon.

Order of the Phoenix - page 54 - British Hardcover



I suppose I would ask Why not a Disillusionment Charm, rather than the Invisibility Cloak? Further, we don't know exactly when the Taboo was placed on Voldemort's name. Harry, not afraid to say 'Voldemort,' might have uttered the word at the wrong place and time, which would have led the Death Eaters right to him, cloak or no cloak. The breaking of Lily's enchantment was a big vulnerability for Harry.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Do the Kwikspell courses work?

In Harry Potter we are introduced to Kwikspell course in The Chamber of Secrets (and never hear about it again). We see Filch taking courses, presumably by mail. The descriptions of Kwikspell make me think it is for people who are weak in magic (kind of like how Neville was supposed to be when he was younger), but had magic in them nonetheless. However, Ron's comments later in the chapter make it sound like it is mainly for Squibs to learn magic. However, it is strongly implied through out all the books that Squibs are essentially Muggles, and will never be able to do magic. How then is a Kwikspell course supposed to work? Do we have any information to know if it works at all? Is it a scam? An answer from any level of canon is welcome. Answer Kwikspell courses are (probably) useful to some wizards, but not to squibs. The Kwikspell course literature comes with two testimonials. Madam Z. Nettles of Topsham writes: ‘I had no memory for incantations and my potions were a family joke...
Post a Comment
Read more

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

languages - Do we ever see written English in the Star Wars films?

In Empire Strikes Back , we see a transcription of what R2's beeps and bloops mean, but it's not English (sorry for the low quality, it's from the 2004 DVDs): I'd assume it's what Basic looks like when written, but is there some point in the the Star Wars films we see written English instead? (This sort of spun off from a discussion in How do people understand astromech droids? .) Answer At one point there was English but it has been phased out in subsequent versions of the films. Chris Gould at DVD Active did a comparison of all versions of each of the Star Wars films, and in his comparison of Episode 4 , there are a couple of screenshots showing how the power gauge for the Death Star tractor beam was changed. I imagine there are probably more to be found in his other comparisons but I haven't got around to reading those yet.
Post a Comment
Read more

star wars - What "exactly" happens when someone turns to the Dark Side?

When I saw the original Star Wars saga as a kid, the concept of the Dark Side imprinted in me was quite simple. You did a bad thing, so you're a bad person so you go to the Dark Side and keep doing bad things. Now, obviously this doesn't hold true in reality. In my mind it is perfectly reasonable for Luke to kill the Emperor and Vader and then just flee the Death Star and rejoin the Alliance. After all they are at war, those are enemy officers that have captured him and are taunting him by threatening with death of all loved ones and the whole operation was intended to kill the Emperor anyway. The same would hold true for Anakin. He could have killed Mace Windu to save the Chancellor and Padme but that doesn't mean he's going to then go mad and kill all Jedis including children. It doesn't add up from a merely psychological point of view. He had a set of objectives and that made him want to keep the Chancellor alive (quite valid by the way, Mace Windu is quite clums...
Post a Comment
Read more