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When Harry, Hermione, and Ron leave Shell Cottage in Deathly Hallows we are told that they needed to leave the bounds of the Fidelius Charm in order to Apparate:

All three of them glanced back at Shell Cottage, lying dark and silent under the fading stars, then turned and began to walk toward the point, just beyond the boundary wall, where the Fidelius Charm stopped working and they would be able to Disapparate.

Likewise, this answer argues that Lily was unable to escape Voldemort via Apparition because it was blocked by the Fidelius Charm.

However, earlier in Deathly Hallows when they escape from the Ministry, Yaxley grabs onto Hermione and arrives with them at the front door of Grimmauld Place. When Hermione explains this to Harry, she expressly states that she brought Yaxley within the protection of the Fidelius Charm:

"Harry, I think he can. I — I forced him to let go with a Revulsion Jinx, but I'd already taken him inside the Fidelius Charm's protection. Since Dumbledore died, we're Secret-Keepers, so I've given him the secret, haven't I?"

This indicates that they had Appareted into the Fidelius Charm's protection.

Similarly, when Lupin visited them in Grimmauld Place he states that he had to Apparate precisely onto the front step to avoid being seen by the Death Eaters outside:

"I had to Apparate very precisely onto the top step outside the front door to be sure that they would not see me.

The implication here is that they would not be able to see him because the front step was included in the protection of the Fidelius Charm. But that would then mean that he was able to Apparate into the Fidelius Charm.

So which is it? Does the Fidelius Charm prevent Apparition or not?

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2 Answers 2

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When Dumbledore explains why he didn't Apparate into Slughorn's house, he says the following:

In any case, most Wizarding dwellings are magically protected from unwanted Apparators.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 4

Slughorn's house was not protected by Fidelius, and neither is Hogwarts, which we also know has anti-Apparition magic on it. Thus, it seems pretty likely that there are two different charms/spells: the Fidelius Charm and the one that prevents Apparition. It seems to me that if you're concerned about security you'll have both.

It's also significant to note that it is possible to Apparate within 12 Grimmauld Place despite whatever protections it has, as Fred and George Apparate into other people's bedrooms in book five.

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  • I agree that there is a separate anti-Apparition protection independent of a Fidelius Charm (I mentioned the Slughorn quote in the answer that I linked in my question). But it specifically says that they had to leave the confines of the Fidelius Charm in order to Apparate out of Shell Cottage. My understanding was that you could have anti-Apparition protection without a Fidelius Charm, but a Fidelius Charm automatically includes anti-Apparition protection.
    – Alex
    Nov 26, 2018 at 4:24
  • @Alex It is logical to have all your protective spells applied to the same area. So if you have the distinct space where your Fidelius Charmes have been applied, you would do the unti-apparation charms match the area. So when they say that they had to exit Fidelius Charm area to be able to Disapparate, it can mean they need to exit Fidelius Charm area to be free from all other protective spells that were put to support Fidelius Charm.
    – Shana Tar
    Nov 26, 2018 at 8:16
  • @ShanaTar Could be. But that requires a somewhat loose reading of the text.
    – Alex
    Nov 26, 2018 at 10:53
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No, it doesn’t affect Apparition. The Fidelius Charm is when the secret of a location is hidden with a secret-keeper and can only be shared by the secret-keeper. In The Deathly Hallows Harry Potter, Ron, and Hermione Apparate in and out of the Black house under the invisibility cloak.

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  • So why did they have to leave the boundaries of Shell Cottage before Apparating?
    – Alex
    Nov 26, 2018 at 2:14
  • They do not Apparate in and out of the Black house - they have to Apparate outside and then enter, otherwise all this mess with apparating at the doorstep would be meaningless and they would Apparate inside the house instead
    – Shana Tar
    Nov 26, 2018 at 8:11

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