Skip to main content

How did Hagrid and Dumbledore know the Potters had been killed?


In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone it says:



"No problems, were there?" [Dumbledore asked]

"No, sir - house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol." [Hagrid said]

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.

Sorcerer's Stone - page 11 - US Hardcover



How did Dumbledore - who I'm guessing dispatched Hagrid to go and survey the scene at the Potters' home in Godric's Hollow - know the Potters had been killed? Neither Dumbledore nor Hagrid were the Potters' Secret Keeper for the Fidelius Charm. How was Dumbledore alerted instantaneously that James and Lily had been killed, in order to be able to send Hagrid to the scene quickly enough that he was able to rescue baby Harry before the Muggles were alerted to the situation (which, to be honest, seems a bit unlikely if there was some kind of explosion, which it seems there was seeing as the house was "almost destroyed"). Heck, if the house next door to mine suddenly blew up, it would take me less than 10 seconds to get out onto my porch for a look-see!


How can these events logistically make sense?


ETA: Information on the Fidelius Charm.




When a Secret-Keeper dies, their secret dies with them, or, to put it another way, the status of their secret will remain as it was at the moment of their death. Everybody in whom they confided will continue to know the hidden information, but nobody else.

Just in case you have forgotten exactly how the Fidelius Charm works, it is

"an immensely complex spell involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find - unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it" (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

In other words, a secret (eg, the location of a family in hiding, like the Potters) is enchanted so that it is protected by a single Keeper (in our example, Peter Pettigrew, a.k.a. Wormtail). Thenceforth nobody else – not even the subjects of the secret themselves – can divulge the secret. Even if one of the Potters had been captured, force fed Veritaserum or placed under the Imperius Curse, they would not have been able to give away the whereabouts of the other two. The only people who ever knew their precise location were those whom Wormtail had told directly, but none of them would have been able to pass on the information.

J.K. Rowling's Website - The Fidelius Charm



I note that there is no canon evidence that Peter Pettigrew told anyone of the Potters' whereabouts except for Voldemort, and Voldemort, following the confrontation, wasn't exactly in the position to be playing Tellyfone with Dumbledore!



Answer



I don't think there is any canon info, but there are any number of magical distance observation methods he could have used:




  • The alarm spell around Potter house (similar to the one that triggered near Hog's Head in DH when the trio arrived there).





  • Watching from a portrait/photograph of himself at Potter's house (or other means - remember Sirius' mirror that he gave Harry to talk to him)




  • Having a dead wizard portrait serve as observer




  • Having some other alarm spell (e.g. something that monitors Potters' heartbeats).




Instantaneous communication is something normal for Potterverse (Dark Mark, Hermione's DA tokens, portraits, etc...). So are tripwire/alarm spells of all kinds.



Remember that Dumbledore was one of the most advanced wizards of his time, and was able to do extremely fancy magic, so combining SOME alarm/tripwire spell with a communication charm would have been easily within his capability.


And given the importance of the house/family (post-Prophecy), it's almost certain he'd have set something like that, especially being a paranoid nutcase diligent well-prepared-in-advance fellow that he was.


ETA: 09.01.12



SU: How did Dumbledore find out about what happened in Godric's Hollow?

MA:And what happened? There's this whole twenty four hours that people have been fantasizing about for years.

JKR: Yeah, I know. I've got a bit of problem with this myself, because every time I think it straight in my head I go back and look at what the fans are theorizing about, and I think "Yeah, maybe they've got a point." Dumbledore- Well there's an easy answer to how would Dumbledore know. Because you can- He? (laughs) You can. One can.

[SNIP]

Yeah, so okay. Obviously Dumbledore could cast a spell on a dwelling that would immediately alert him if something happened to it. So he could know instantaneously. That's not a problem at all. And then he could dispatch Hagrid and so on. I think The Scottish Book will have to answer that question. I'm gonna have to really go back through notes and either admit that I lost twenty four hours or I don't know, hurriedly come up with some back story to fill in. Either way, you either get to be right, or you get more story. So you can't complain.

[POTTERCAST - 12.23.07 - THE LEAKY CAULDRON]



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How do Pokemon trainers collect their winnings?

According to Bulbapedia , Prize money is the money that a Trainer pays out at the end of a battle. So we know that the money comes directly from the trainer that just lost, and not some third-party committee or sponsor. But how is this done? It can be easy seeing the random trainers who challenge you along the way wanting to wager and then, after admitting defeat, sticking to their word and handing over their hard-earned pokebucks. Then there are the likes of Team Rocket and Giovanni, who also give money once they lose. This doesn't seem like something people in a criminal organization would willingly do. From this it appears that trainers have no say in whether or not they cough up the dough after losing, but I can't find anything on how exactly the funds are transferred from loser to winner. So how do Pokemon trainers receive their winnings?
Post a Comment
Read more