At the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Snape is cleanly out of the order. The secret of when Harry was moving was very closely kept. It seems even the staunchest Order members don't trust him. So, how did he figure out when Harry was going to be moved to the Weasley's home?
asked Aug 2, 2011 at 23:07
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3its called magic– XantecAug 2, 2011 at 23:27
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1 Answer
If Snape could Confund Mundungus Fletcher to suggest the plan of using multiple Potters for Harry's move, then no doubt he could in the similar fashion get the date from Fletcher after it was set. Snape, highly accomplished in Occlumency, was probably a strong Legilimens as well and may simply have read it in Fletcher's mind. It isn't spelled out in the final book, but that seems the most likely way.
It's possible that one of Dumbledore's reasons for having Fletcher -- most likely not all that trusted by the Order himself once Dumbledore was no longer around -- suggest the plan of duplicate Harrys was to ensure that Fletcher would know the date of the move, making it easier for Snape to get when it was finalized.
A possible alternative is that Dumbledore's portrait got the information from Phineas Nigellus's portrait. But that would have required the plan to get finalized at Grimmauld Place, which the Order pretty much abandoned after Snape killed Dumbledore, and within earshot of the portrait.
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5Dumbledore's portrait would have been everywhere, especially places the Order called safe. Dumbledore could well have overheard the date and passed it to Snape when giving him the instruction to Confund Mundungus and plant the idea of decoys.– KeithSOct 20, 2011 at 0:03
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3@KeithS Is there any evidence Dumbledore had a portrait anywhere other than the Headmaster's office?– DasonFeb 10, 2012 at 4:02
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4@Dason - Dumbledore, though newly deceased as of the end of the canon, was one of the most accomplished wizards of all time, in addition to being a celebrated Hogwarts Headmaster. I would expect there to be dozens of his portraits around the Wizarding world. However, no; the books never explicitly mention any other painted magical portraits of Dumbledore. The Chocolate Frog card Harry gets in his first year does seem to have a picture that is slightly more "intelligent" than others, where Dumbledore moves between CF cards, but that behavior is never mentioned again.– KeithSFeb 10, 2012 at 19:29
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I agree with what you say in the second paragraph. Nobody would have invited Mundungus to the Order, because he was a thief and a weak wizard. Dumbledore, it seems, might have seen this as an opportunity, however risky (too many things could have gone wrong).– JanomaFeb 16, 2012 at 22:05