Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, I’m going to
be discussing one of the most important dates in the Harry Potter story- and that is of
course the day that Lord Voldemort travelled to Godric’s Hollow to murder the Potters.
More specifically, I’m going to be discussing the actions of Albus Dumbledore and Rubeus
Hagrid immediately after the Potters were murdered by Voldemort.
When the Potters were murdered it was a shock to everyone- particularly as seemingly every
preventative measure had been put in place to keep them safe. When Sybil Trelawney announced
the fabled prophecy- and that ‘The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches’-
Voldemort went in to panic mode. At this point in time he was at the height of his power,
and, as a result of his legions of followers- was seemingly untouchable. This meant that
the imminent threat of a prophecy and his defeat was at the forefront of his mind, and
it also meant that he would do whatever it took to make sure the Potters (the family
whom he was certain the prophecy pertained to) were killed.
The primary defence protecting the Potters was the Fidelius charm- a powerful piece of
magic involving a ‘secret keeper’- a witch or wizard that conceals a secret inside of
their soul. In this instance the ‘secret’ was the location of the Potters. Normally
this sort of magic would have worked perfectly and protected the Potters, HOWEVER, the poor
choice was made to make Peter Pettigrew secret keeper- andhe inevitably gave them away to
the dark lord. And so, on the night of October 31- Voldemort
travelled to the potter cottage with the knowledge of their whereabouts. When the Dark lord finally
entered the Godric’s Hollow home, it wasn’t long before he made quick work of James Potter.
From there, he began making his way in to the room with Lily and Harry. Voldemort’s
target was Harry- this was because HE was the chosen one- the boy with the ‘power’
to vanquish him. Voldemort went straight for Harry, however, when Lily got in the way,
Voldemort put an end to her life. However, what he didn’t know was that Lily had cast
a loving sacrifice- a means of ending her life to protect Harry’s. THis meant that
when Voldemort finally fired his killing curse at Harry, it rebounded back at him, effectively
ending his reign of power..for a little while. But one thing peculiar about that night, is
that Hagrid and Dumbledore were seemingly aware of the Potters death nearly instantaneously.
Neither Hagrid nor Dumbledore were secret keeper- so, just how did they learn of their
deaths so quickly?
"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.
So, if the house was almost destroyed (which would certainly draw a LOT of attention),
how on EARTH could Hagrid have gotten there BEFORE muggles started swarming around? If
a house in my neighbourhood blew up, I’m fairly certain that people would arrive within
minutes if not seconds- so HOW was Hagrid there? I’m fairly sure that it would have
been Dumbledore who instructed Hagrid to go and pick Harry up- so more importantly, HOW
did Dumbledore know? I won’t lie, the very fact that Dumbledore
knew of their deaths so QUICKLY is a bit suspect- and it makes my mind question the morality
of his character. However, I’m not going to elaborate on that further because it turns
out that JK Rowling has actually addressed this issue in an interview:
INT: How did Dumbledore find out about what happened in Godric's Hollow? 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. 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.
This is not an amazing answer- but it’s an answer nonetheless, and it does sort of
make sense. Why wouldn’t a powerful wizard like Dumbledore be able to set up some form
of ‘trip-wire’ type magic? It’s a level of magic that would certainly not be beyond
a powerful sorcerer such as himself. Though less exciting than the prospect of Dumbledore
being EVIL and allowing the Potters to be killed, it turns out that this is the answer.
And that’s it for this video! DId you guys know the answer to this question? Do you think
Rowling is covering up Dumbledore’s TRUE nature? Let me know in the comment section
below. Until next time
There is plenty to be learned even from a bad teacher - what not to do, how not to be