Wizarding Wednesday, the First

Confession: I love Harry Potter. I believe many of you are well aware of this. I just finished listening to the books at work. I find that every time I go through the books again, I am filled with questions about the story and the wizarding world in general. This time around, I wrote down my questions.

I've been wanting for some time to find something more creative to do with my blog. I've decided that, amidst my regular posts of my doings, I will write a post each Wednesday that will attempt to answer, or at least speculate on, these questions.

Today's question is: how did the wizarding world find out about Voldemort's defeat and Harry's survival so quickly? Shouldn't the Fidelius Charm have kept anyone from seeing the wreckage at the house? Who was the first to discover them, and how was word relayed? I suppose it's simple enough that the event, once leaked, was spread by the massive amounts of owls reported in the first book, but how did it originate?

Dumbledore seems the likely candidate. As the caster of the Fidelius Charm and a close friend of the Potters, it is highly possible that he had been brought in on the secret of their location. After all, we know that he is in possession of James' invisibility cloak at the time of James and Lily's deaths. He could have visited them to check up on them and bring them news. How long was the house under the Fidelius Charm? I wouldn't think an incredibly long amount of time, since Peter probably relayed the secret to Voldemort quite quickly.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find much on the Fidelius Charm. Nothing on Pottermore, and a very confusing paragraph on Harry Potter Wiki that claimed to explain this...but didn't.

So let us assume for the sake of argument that Dumbledore discovered them. He may have been suspicious of Peter, or just felt the need to keep a frequent eye on them. I think it's likely that there were members of the original Order of the Phoenix inconspicuously on watch in Godric's Hollow, ready to report any suspicious activities to Dumbledore. We know that there were children who saw Voldemort that night, so he wouldn't be beyond the notice of an astute guard. Perhaps they tried to stop him, but he disappeared under the protection of the charm before anything could be done. They quickly sent a message to Dumbledore, but by the time he arrived, it was too late. Can you imagine the horrible moment when he arrived to see the house in shambles, only to be the only one to be able to see it? A family destroyed while the rest of the world marched on, unaware.

Having assumed that Dumbledore knew the secret, it would make sense that he would send word to the minister for an official statement, though he may not have included the bit about Harry defeating him. That may have been for members of the Order to spread. I'm sure that's the sort of thing they would all hear about.

That's probably enough speculation on that. I do have one last question, though. Why did it take so long for Hagrid to bring Harry to the Dursleys? We know that the Potters had been discovered by morning, since the owls were out in droves. Did he pick up Harry during the night? It would make more sense to deliver Harry the next night, to avoid the suspicion of neighbors, but where was he all day? Discreetly receiving medical attention in a secret room at St Mungo's? Perhaps he was taken to the home of someone in the Order. Could you just imagine him staying the day at the Longbottoms', hanging out with Neville and sharing infant babble? An early connection that neither of them remembered and the few who knew never thought to mention. Pure speculation, of course.

So now it's your turn! Feel free to comment any thoughts that you have on the subject. I'd love to hear what you think. I know this question had more speculation than actual information. That won't always be the case, but I thought it might be fun to begin at the beginning (though perhaps it might have been more appropriate to open at the close...).

Anyway, thanks for reading.