4

It's said that you cannot speak out about the location of the place (that's been Fideliused.)

Is this like an unbreakable vow?

  • You speak out the secret and you die.
  • You cannot speak out the secret at all?

At the beginning of the sixth book, Snape explains to Bellatrix why he hasn't yet revealed the location of Grimmauld Place. He says the charm prevents him from speaking about it but the Dark Lord (Lord Voldemort) is satisfied with the info he has given him.

What does this mean?

Only the secret keeper can give out the information to OTHERS. But OTHERS can't give it to others - What will happen if they attempt to do so (do they die?) Or maybe they can't do that at all.

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  • 4
    "Fideliused": Good word. Dictionaries should add this. – 11.01.11 Jun 20 '20 at 14:14
  • @Umbrella Corporation are you serous or making fun of me. ? – TheMadHatter Jun 20 '20 at 17:59
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    I think s/he is serious in the sense that it is a commendation for you for using an innovative word, not making fun of you. – justhalf Jun 21 '20 at 9:33
14

If you aren't the Secret Keeper, you can't share the secret. You don't die, you just can't do it.

In order to reveal Grimmauld Place to Harry, they had to use a paper that was written by Dumbledore himself (the Secret Keeper), because they couldn't share the secret, even if they knew it.

Harry looked down at the piece of paper. The narrow handwriting was vaguely familiar. It said: The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.

Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (p. 54). Pottermore Publishing. Edición de Kindle.

At the beginning of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Dumbledore still was the Secret Keeper, thus, Snape couldn't reveal the location of Grimauld Place.

According to this article:

The Fidelius Charm is extremely ancient and still used to this day. It involves the concealment of information inside a living person. The chosen person, or Secret Keeper, is the only person who is thenceforth capable of revealing the protected information to others, however many previously knew it. If the Secret Keeper shares the hidden information, the person to whom he or she has confided it will be bound by the Fidelius Charm and find it impossible to pass the information on.

Only the Secret Keeper is capable of revealing the secret. That implies other people simply can't reveal it.

The article also states clearly that other people who knows the secret because it has been revealed to them can't pass the information on. Meaning, they just can't say it.

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  • Do you have some canon evidence to support this assertion? You may well be right, but it's difficult to tell without seeing where you get this claim from. – Rand al'Thor♦ Jun 20 '20 at 12:54
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    Added some canon evidences to support my claims. – Roberto Jun 20 '20 at 13:18
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    The mystery is what happens if Alice knows the address of Grimmauld Place, writes it down in their address-book, then Bob and Charlie decide to make Grimmauld Place a secret. Alice (who may or may not be aware of the fact that the location is a secret) presumably finds herself unable to share the location, and possibly also forgets it entirely... What exactly happens when a fourth person, Dave, sneaks a look in Alice's Address-book? – Ruadhan2300 Jun 22 '20 at 16:13
  • @Ruadhan2300 There's no specific canon. The writing might magically dissapear after the Fidelium Charm is in place. But let's remember that knowing the location doesn't make you know the Secret. For example, the Death Eaters knew where was Grimmauld Place (sort of) because of the Taboo Jinx, but they still couldn't see it. – Roberto Jun 22 '20 at 19:30
  • I like to think of the androids in westworld looking at <some object> that breaks their immersion. They just can't fathom what it is, their brain is shorting out. The mechanism for understanding it just isn't there. – Aww_Geez Jun 23 '20 at 14:00

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