Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today we’re going to be discussing The Potter Family, Godric’s Hollow, Voldemort and October
31st 1981.
Specifically, we’re going to be tackling the question of WHY James Potter didn’t
act as his OWN secret keeper- instead entrusting the responsibility with known RAT Peter Pettigrew.
Join me as we dive deep into the Fidelius Charm and the role of the Secret Keeper in
the tragic events that led to the downfall of James and Lily Potter.
Let’s get started.
We all know how devastating it was when the Potters were killed, leaving baby Harry as
the only survivor.
It was a defining moment in the story of the boy who lived, and many fans have debated
the events that led to their untimely deaths.
To understand what happened, we need to take a closer look at the Fidelius Charm.
This powerful spell is used to keep secrets hidden and secure, and it relies on the presence
of an individual known as a ‘Secret Keeper’.
But what happens when the Secret Keeper is not the best choice?
What if choosing differently could have saved lives?
To answer these questions, we first need to properly grasp what the Fidelius Charm IS,
and what being a “Secret Keeper’ really means.
Imagine a spell so powerful, it can hide the location of an object or person from prying
eyes.
That's the Fidelius Charm!
This ancient and complex enchantment is one of the most formidable defensive spells in
the wizarding world.
The Fidelius Charm works by confining the ‘secret’ (in this instance, the location
of the Potter cottage) within the soul of a designated Secret Keeper.
Only the Secret Keeper possesses the knowledge of the hidden location, while all others remain
completely unaware.
Think of it as an invisible magical lock guarding the secret with an unbreakable bond.
But, as powerful as the Fidelius Charm is, it’s effects are useless without a reliable
Secret Keeper.
Selecting the right Secret Keeper is no easy task, and the task becomes even more crucial
when life and death are at stake.
It requires absolute trust and loyalty, as the person chosen holds the key to the hidden
secret.
The identity of the Secret Keeper is known only to the person who cast the charm and
the Secret Keeper themselves.
The Potter’s Decision
Now, let's dive into the heart of the matter - why did James Potter choose Peter PETTIGREW
as his Secret Keeper instead of being his own?
It's a question that has haunted fans for years.
Let me start by addressing the first part of the question - Why Peter?
Lifelong Friends
James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, the Marauders, were tight-knit, and their friendship ran
deep.
They shared adventures, mischief, and secrets during their time at Hogwarts, forming an
unbreakable bond.
James and Peter were lifelong friends and he really didn’t have any reason NOT to
trust Peter.
A Diversionary Tactic
For those unaware, James Potter actually initially chose SIRIUS BLACK as his Secret Keeper.
In fact, Sirius was the man who most believed to be the Potter’s Secret Keeper.
However, Sirius, thinking that Voldemort might target him, suggested that they choose Pettigrew
instead.
The following excerpt from Sirius addresses this:
"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it...
I thought it was the perfect plan...
Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless
thing like you...
It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could
hand him the Potters."
By selecting Peter, the seemingly least likely candidate, they hoped to throw off the scent.
Unforeseen Betrayal:
After being made secret keeper, it didn’t take Peter Pettigrew long to reveal his true
colours- in one infamous act of cowardice and disloyalty revealing the location of the
Potter cottage to Voldemort.
Peter was no friend of James, but instead a cowardly Death Eater sympathizer who went
wherever he believed the power to be.
Peter’s cowardice inevitably cost James and Lily Potter their lives- effectively orphaning
The-Boy-Who-Lived.
Alternative Secret Keepers
Provided that the downfall of the Potter’s was almost exclusively due to their choice
of Secret Keeper, I can’t help but ask myself…What if someone ELSE was chosen?
And who better to leave the secret with than the Potter family THEMSELVES?
Would James have survived if he had chosen himself as the Secret Keeper?
What if he conjured up the courage to trust in his own ability to protect his family?
The first thing I’ll mention is that there’s a fair bit of ambiguity with regards to who’s
actually qualified to be a Secret Keeper.
In the Deathly Hallows, it’s revealed that Bill Weasley is the Secret-Keeper for Shell
Cottage and Arthur Weasley is the Secret-Keeper for the Burrow.
Given that these are their places of residence, it proves *I think* that a person who lives
in the house being protected can also be eligible to be its Secret-Keeper.
By this logic, James Potter would have been a suitable candidate to be the Secret Keeper
for their cottage in Godric’s Hollow.
One possible reason why James may have opted not to assume the role of Secret-Keeper for
his own home could be due to the fact that he himself needed to remain hidden from potential
threats.
It’s speculated that the Fidelius Charm makes the dwelling untraceable through means
such as owls and Patronus communication, and in this regard Arthur and Bill Weasley had
the advantage of "Potterwatch" to stay on top of ever-changing events in the Wizarding
World.
This resource was not available during the First War, meaning that if James were to serve
as his own Secret-Keeper and go into hiding, the Potters would not only be untraceable
but also entirely disconnected from the wizarding world.
Alternatively, James could have chosen to appoint himself as Secret-Keeper and disclose
the secret to a trusted confidante who would act as the intermediary between the Potters
and the Order of the Phoenix.
Sirius would be the obvious choice here, HOWEVER, if something were to happen to him, the Potters
would once again meet the risk of separation from wizarding society.
It’s also worth pointing out that there is a bit of a difference between the way Bill
and Arthur used the charm vs James’s potential use.
In the case of Shell Cottage and the Burrow, the Fidelius Charm protected the property
and its occupants by extension.
However, in the unique case of the Potters, the purpose of the Fidelius Charm cast upon
them was slightly different.
Its main objective was to safeguard the family itself rather than placing emphasis on their
humble cottage.
This revelation is discussed by Professor Flitwick in the Prisoner of Azkaban, as he
imparts wisdom on the inner workings of the Fidelius charm.
“As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village
where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his
nose pressed against their sitting-room window!”
The intention behind casting the Fidelius Charm upon the Potters' cottage in Godric's
Hollow seems to have been focused on concealing the family rather than solely isolating the
property.
This could be attributed to the fact that the Potters had no need or desire to come
into contact with individuals outside their trusted circle.
On the other hand, the Weasleys, being active members of the Order, required interaction
with fellow members, leading them to protect only the locations of their homes under the
charm.
What’s also worth mentioning is that no one truly knows if hiding one’s own person
via the Fidelius Charm is even POSSIBLE.
While James Potter may have technically been eligible to serve as the Secret-Keeper for
the cottage, the ambiguity surrounding whether the charm protected the property or the family
itself, coupled with the obscurity surrounding the implications of the latter, leaves it
all a bit too wide open.
Why Not Dumbledore?
While we’re on the topic, I think the elephant in the room needs to be addressed: why not
Dumbledore?
Why not select the most powerful wizard of all time (who’s also your major ally) to
hold your secret for you?
Dumbledore (to me) seems like an obvious choice as secret keeper.
He wouldn’t have even needed to be ‘secretive’ about it- Dumbledore’s high profile but
it wouldn’t have mattered.
Voldemort himself feared Dumbledore, so the prospect of him being taken down or targeted
for information was extremely unlikely.
Voldemort’s fear of Dumbledore is even referenced by McGonagall:
“But you're different.
Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."
In the Prisoner of Azkaban, it’s even revealed that Dumbledore OFFERED to take on the responsibility:
“James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were,
that Black was planning to go into hiding himself… and yet, Dumbledore remained worried.
I remember him offering to be the Potters’ Secret-Keeper himself.”
This means that, even though Dumbledore offered, James Potter’s blind trust in Sirius Black
and his friends, whom he deeply trusted, was his eventual downfall.
Dumbledore was close with James, but he wasn’t one of the Marauders, and I guess James felt
that he could only trust his friends to the extent required.
I think that one of the main reasons for James NOT selecting Dumbledore is that Dumbledore
had recently formed a relationship with the defecting Death Eater Severus Snape.
Snape came to Dumbledore when he learned that Harry and the Potters were the target of Voldemort's
attack, which presumably prompted the use of the Fidelius charm in the first place.
This means that by this point, Dumbledore had accepted that Snape had switched sides-however,
his new relationship with Snape may have instilled doubt in his other allies- allies like James
Potter.
Ultimately they decided to go with someone that they were completely familiar with, and,
unfortunately, their misjudgement of Peter Pettigrew’s character was their ultimate
downfall.
My closing thought on this matter is that it really could have been avoided.
They could have chosen almost any other secret keeper and things would have turned out fine.
Furthermore, it was a strange decision to hide the Potter’s in such plain-sight.
A big house in Godric’s Hollow seems like a strange place for a family being hunted
down by Voldemort himself.
And that’s it for this video!
What do you think?
Had this thought ever occurred to you?
Please let me know down in the comment section below.
Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live