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After searching various different resources, I am still confused as to why Hermione thought that bringing Yaxley inside the Fidelius charm cast on Grimmauld Place would comprimise the safety of the place.

As mentioned earlier in The Deathly Hallows, Hermione voices concern over how safe a refuge it is given that Snape is able to enter, but is reassured that he would be driven off by the defensive spells in the hall. However, surely it must of occurred to at least one of them that he could bring other Death Eaters into the house if it were possible. The apparition would not stop Voldemort for long, even though according to Dumbledore he

"secretly fears [the dead]".

At this point they believe him to be a loyal servant of the Dark Lord. As a master of non-verbal spells, Snape wouldn't even need to speak in order to bring other Death Eaters in/bring Harry out of safety to Voldemort. If bringing people inside by apparition was possible, why would Snape not just appear elsewhere in the house with Voldemort, or, if this was not possible and the doorstep was the only possible place to apparate to, to there, then proceed to have one of the most powerful Dark wizards of the age dismantle the spells on the door/blow said door of its hinges?

Given this, why are they so utterly certain that Yaxley would be bringing in Death Eaters via side-along apparition after their botched escape from the Ministry of Magic? The spells Moody put in the hall to guard against Snape acted against anyone who entered, including them. If the trio considered them enough to keep Snape out, why not Yaxely? Did they believe that the sight of Dumbledore would unsettle Snape enough to force him out, but no one else?

Additionally, surely the case of Snape and Yaxley is different? Snape was a "second generation" Secret Keeper - that is, he was informed of the location by Dumbledore (he must have been to be able to enter prior to Dumbledore's death), the original Secret Keeper. This is the same as Ron, Hermione and Harry. But Yaxley must be a "third generation" Secret Keeper having been shown the place by Hermione. No "second generation" Secret Keeper could divulge the secret of No. 12 Grimmauld Place while the Dumbledore was alive, so why could Yaxley have passed on the location given that more "senior" Secret Keepers were still alive? This could be a result of the "dilution" of the protection described by Lupin(?) when explaining why it had been abandoned as headquarters, but is there any evidence to support this?

Sorry that is so long. I have looked on the wiki and searched in Google but there don't seem to be any conclusive answers.

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  • so from my understanding, upon Dumbledore's death, everyone became primary secret keeper at that point. we know snape disclosed the location as death eaters stood out front, however, it appears none wanted to actively venture into the house due to perceived spells that would be used against them, and that snape said it was empty, so instead they watched for members of the order to arrive. this lead to harry and co apparating on the doorstep, which was inside of the invisibility spell hiding the house so the death eaters still felt the house was un-inhabited.
    – Himarm
    Commented Mar 9, 2015 at 19:30
  • After snape told them the house was abandoned, he probably didnt bother actually passing the secret to the death eaters, since why bother. After Yaxley actually shows up inside of the barrier however, now the death eaters actually know someone in fact is in the house, and they will actively pursue to enter the house.
    – Himarm
    Commented Mar 9, 2015 at 19:33
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    If I remember correctly, the Death Eaters appeared outside after Harry used Voldemort's name inside the house. Fortunately for them, it didn't break the protective enchantments, but that must mean that they were aware that someone was inside.
    – Matt
    Commented Mar 9, 2015 at 19:33
  • This smells like a duplicate of several other Secret-Keeper questions, but I am not finding the one I am thinking of. @Slytherincess or @Alex?
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Commented Mar 9, 2015 at 20:56
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    In my opinion, that question is more directed towards whether or not Hermione divulged the secret to Yaxley or not. In my question, I am assuming that Yaxley is now able to access Grimmauld Place, but asking whether he could bring others in. However, other people may disagree.
    – Matt
    Commented Mar 10, 2015 at 14:13

2 Answers 2

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There is no canon source proving that Yaxley actually DID bring anyone into the house.

Hermione (and Harry too) believes that Yaxley became a secret keeper after she brought him into the range of the Fidelius charm:

"But then, where's he? Hang on.... You don't mean he's at Grimmauld Place? He can't get in there?"

Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she nodded.

"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?"

There was no pretending; Harry was sure she was right.

The whole thing is their speculation backed up only by the limited knowledge of the Fidelius charm that they have. Neither Hermione nor Harry knows a lot about the specifics of the charm itself to be completely sure but they considered it too risky to go back and check whether the house was still a safe place.

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  • 3
    Hmmn. I'm inclined to think that this is probably the correct response. Personally, I think calling Kreacher might not have been such a bad idea - go to a relatively public place, but not in direct sight, hide under the invisibility cloak, summon him and then see what happens.
    – Matt
    Commented Mar 10, 2015 at 17:40
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Yaxley could not bring Death Eaters into Grimmauld Place

Whether or not Hermione gave away the Secret to Yaxley is actually irrelevant in this case, since Yaxley was not a Secret Keeper.

There has been a lot of discussion on whether or not Hermione gave away the Secret. However, let us assume for the sake of this question that Hermione had given away the Secret to Yaxley. So, Yaxley would have gained access to Grimmauld Place.

There was no pretending; Harry was sure she was right. It was a serious blow. If Yaxley could now get inside the house, there was no way that they could return. Even now, he could be bringing other Death Eaters in there by Apparition

-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry's thoughts as shown by the above quote are partially wrong. To bring Death Eaters into Grimmauld Place, Yaxlay must tell the secret to the Death Eaters.

If Secret Keepers are the primary participants in a Fidelius Charm, and Secret Knowers are the secondary participants, then Yaxley was indeed a secondary participant. He did not have the power to give away the secret, due to the simple, but crucial fact that he was never a Secret Keeper.

“I am not the Secret-Keeper; I cannot speak the name of the place. You understand how the enchantment works, I think? The Dark Lord is satisfied with the information I have passed him on the Order.”

-Severus Snape, Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince

Snape could not have been lying at that time, because Voldemort wouldn't have been ignorant about the Fidelius Charm, which was pretty standard, unlike Lily's protection.

The only possibility where Yaxley could bring Death Eaters to Grimmauld Place, is if Hermione had died after revealing the Secret to Yaxley, wherein Yaxley would have become an additional Secret Keeper.

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