The Burrow: Hidden in the Rubble

by Kimberly

In OotP, we see the Order members take Harry almost to the front door of Number 12 Grimmauld place, but Harry can’t see it. It finally appears before him after he reads the note from Dumbledore. What would happen, however, if someone would have picked him right up and carried him inside, just like baby Harry would have had to be carried by his parents into Godric’s Hollow? Would it still be invisible, or would it create a loophole of sorts because this technically doesn’t betray the address?

There’s a point of vulnerability to this theory: Wouldn’t it be easy to pull a Rita Skeeter, turn yourself into a bug and hitch a ride on a known Order member? In my opinion, this is way too big a hole. Voldemort (or a Death Eater) could have easily slipped into Grimmauld Place and murdered Harry and/or several Order members. It would have been just as easy to access Godric’s Hollow, making the betrayal of the Secret-Keeper obsolete.

I’m willing to bet that Harry can get into Godric’s Hollow simply because it was his home. Harry’s note from Dumbledore read, “The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.” It’s safe to assume that a note from Wormtail would say something like, “The hiding place of the Potter family is at (insert address here), Godric’s Hollow, somewhere in Britain.” But isn’t the brilliance of the Fidelius Charm its attention to specifics? What if the note read, “The hiding place of James, Lily and Harry Potter”? Te fact that Harry was their son should bear significance. After all, it was his hiding place that the charm was protecting too, no matter which way it was worded. Harry lived in this house, was perhaps taken in and out of it many times. Doesn’t it just make sense that he could go back? Even if he can’t find it on his own, Hagrid could just carry him in. (As a side note, Hagrid has yet to do more than be a significant friend to Harry and provider of monsters when needed for the plot. Wouldn’t it be nice if he had a chance to do some heroics?)

Now that we’ve gotten Harry to Godric’s Hollow, and solved the mystery of how he will see his parent’s home, let’s address the other issue – what’s there? To express my theory, I’ll have to debate against the Harry-is-a-Horcrux theory for a moment. According to Slughorn’s description, a Horcrux is made by committing a murder, which splits the soul, and encasing the torn portion in an object outside the body with a spell. We don’t know if this spell has to be performed before or after the murder. If the spell has to be performed after the murder, then the answer is obvious! How could Voldemort create a Horcrux when his body was destroyed and the house blown up? But if the spell has to be performed before, wouldn’t this mean that an object would have been already chosen and marked for the placement of the soul fragment? For safety, this object would preferably be nearby. So in the instant that Voldemort’s curse rebounded and his body was destroyed, there was an object waiting (perhaps even on him) that was primed and ready to receive a soul fragment. As obsessed as Voldemort was with his own preservation, I believe he would have place some protection on the object in advance, making it resistant to the explosion. This may also be the reason Harry was not injured in the blast, as it may have projected some sort of field encasing them both.

If my theory is right, Harry will find a Horcrux at Godric’s Hollow in the rubble near where his mother died. Harry being a Horcrux just doesn’t seem possible to me, considering what it takes to create one. I believe that an object was there and waiting. This would mean that there is potentially a unguarded Horcrux out there, one to be easily crossed from the list. Let’s face it: JK can’t make every Horcrux incredibly difficult. It would take away from the Final Battle and give us all heart attacks!