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Related: Could Voldemort have gotten into Hogwarts if someone inside had said his name?

The last time I see the Taboo spell in action is when Fenrir Greyback and a band of Snatchers used it to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and subsequently took the trio to Malfoy Manor to be interrogated.

Is there any instance later than this that the Taboo spell is seen in canon? It would have behooved Voldemort to have kept it in place, because Harry says "Voldemort" several times during the Battle of Hogwarts without Snatchers, Death Eaters, or Voldemort coming after him.

When did Voldemort lift the Taboo spell? Why did he do this?

I'm looking for a canon-based answer.

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    We know the Taboo charm can’t break exceptionally powerful protections (e.g. the Fidelius Charm). I’d guess the spell was lifted when he died, and it was the strong protections around Hogwarts that kept it out; not the lifting of the spell.
    – alexwlchan
    Commented May 20, 2014 at 18:52
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    Why do you think it is broken or disabled? Taboo is a locater spell. It doesn't need to be disabled during the Battle of Hogwarts. The death eaters were attacking already, what would they do if when someone said Voldemort? Realize the enemy was in the castle they were attacking? After Harry was captured, what were they going to do when he said the name again? Harry was supposed to be held in relative safety until Voldemort arrived.
    – Zoredache
    Commented May 20, 2014 at 20:19
  • @Zoredache -- If you think it wasn't disabled, by all means leave that as an answer. I'm asking the question because I don't know. If the spell was not disabled, I want to know that too.
    – Slytherincess
    Commented May 20, 2014 at 22:25
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    @Slytherincess Chapter 34, The Forest Again. But he’s still within the castle grounds when he says it (it sounds to me like it’s just outside the entrance hall).
    – alexwlchan
    Commented May 20, 2014 at 22:35
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    I'm with @alexwlchan. There is more likelyhood that Taboo simply wasn't stronger than Hogwarts' wards. And when Harry's heading out of the castle, even if Taboo worked, nobody else cared about catching another Order member - they were all IN Hogwarts!
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Commented May 21, 2014 at 0:16

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I don't think the Taboo was disabled. My case for the Taboo spell still being active is the following.

  • The Taboo spell is used to identify the location someone said a specific word
  • The Taboo spell did not necessarily identify who the speaker was. Nothing specifically mentioned this. The arriving Death Eaters didn't say anything indicating they knew who the person was before arrival.
  • The use of the word almost certainly was directed to notify the Death Eaters instead of Voldemort himself. It seems unlikely that he would personally track down every person speaking his name. He never showed up, and it seems unlikely people would show up so quickly if Voldemort had to direct people to go search an area.
  • While Ron mentioned that the Taboo could break through some protections, it was not able to break through the Fidelius charm on 12 Grimmauld Place.
  • You cannot Apparate into Hogwarts. The Death Eaters did not Apparate into the castle after the name was used. So the Taboo spell was not stronger than Hogwart's protections.
  • Hogwarts had at least 3 Death Eaters on staff (Snape and both Carrows), and probably more close by.
    • If a student spoke the name 'Voldemort' at Hogwarts, you would expect the Death Eaters in residence to handle the problem, since the Taboo was apparently not strong enough to break the anti-Apparition spells.

So when Harry, and/or other people used the name when he arrived at Hogwarts it certainly could/would have notified the people responsible for monitoring the spell. But after he arrived on scene he was pretty quickly joined by a lot of backup.

Once the battle began it really wouldn't have made a lot of difference if he said the name. All the death eaters were there, or on the way to join the battle. Speaking the name again certainly wouldn't make people try to show up any faster.

At best saying the name might reveal the specific location of Harry at that specific point in time he said the name, but since everyone was prevented from Apparating, that wouldn't really help the Death Eaters much, since they would have had to fight their way to that location.

Given the facts, and conjectures, the Taboo spell would not have needed to be disabled to explain a lack of immediate response in conjunction with any uses of Voldemort's name after Harry returned to Hogwarts.

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    +1 -- Really great answer! I'm glad you decided to give your answer. It's interesting and a good read. :)
    – Slytherincess
    Commented May 21, 2014 at 4:18
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    Did Harry even say the name after they were taken to Malfoy Manor? I know he calls him Riddle in the final confrontation and Voldemort is outraged in that. But I didn't think he used the name after he triggered the Taboo? I agree with your answer though.
    – Pryftan
    Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 17:55

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