Lily's Protection

[MissWhizbee]

We are led to believe through the course of the first 5 books that DD knew about the protection left on Harry by Lilly that very first day after the attack. We are led to believe that DD sent Harry to the Dursley's because of that protection. But, in that first chapter of PS/SS McGonagall asks DD why Harry survived and DD told her that "We can only guess, We may never know." And this quote is right before DD leaves Harry and the note on the doorstep!

So, did DD really know about the protection left by lily back then? How could he have really known anyway? He wasn't present at the attack and didn't know what had taken place. It would have only been speculation, and it would seem that for him to leave Harry with the Dursley's based on speculation about a possible protection left by lily is very frivolous and uncharacteristic.

Do you guys have any thoughts on this?

[Jenelle]

Hey does anyone know if the "old magic" that Lily used was the Protego Spell? Its the protection spell...That would seem right, it fits!

[Boing]

Good point, MissWhizbee! How would Dumbledore have known who had given their life for Harry? It could have been James . . . and that would make the Dursleys house very unsafe. It would be easy to say that they both sacrificed their lives, and that would have given the protection, but Dumbledore and everyone else specifically says that it was Harry's mother that made a sacrifice. Now, this makes me think that Dumbledore knows specifically it was Lily and this could be because he was there that night or could somehow see what was going on from far away OR that he also knows that Lily did not have to die that night (for whatever reason) and that it was the fact that she did die that made that sacrifice for Harry's wellbeing.

Jenelle - I don't think it was a spell that Lily put on Harry. I believe it is just the sacrifice that she made for him - that she gave her life to protect him - that has given him that extra protection.

EDIT: I just saw the post about James and thought about this as another possible reason that Lily's sacrifice was the one that counted and why everyone knew it had to be her.

What if the old magic only works when a mother sacrifices her life? That way, Dumbledore would know that it had to be Lily and that way it doesn't matter that James died either. Just a thought.

[Alz]

The spell was suppose to be old magic - as such do we know how old the Protego spell is?
Great thread again WM - like you are on a roll!

OK, boring first - deduction - Lily, Voldemort and Harry all in the same room - 2 dead - one alive .... seems to indicate that Lily over James ....

Speculative - OMG - that is a great point :D
Everyone is sure - very sure that Lily dies to save Harry ...
I am sure that I read somewhere that Dumbledore 'sealed' the charm before placing Harry in the Dursley's - as such Dumbledore knows what that spell is ...
If he didnt know what the spell weas - he couldnt be sure that leaving Harry with Petunia would continue to keep the spell working ....
So... gosh I see that questions now - just unsure of answers ... :o

[MissWhizbee]

Yeah, I had a couple of points I wanted to make more forcefully but decided to leave the floor open to begin with to see what everyone else thought about it.

First – Dumbledore doesn’t mention Lilly’s lingering protection of Harry until after Harry mentions to Dumbledore that Voldemort told him that his mother didn’t have to die. Harry tells DD this little jewel at the end of PS/SS. DD then tells Harry that the reason V/Quirrell couldn’t touch him was because of the lingering protection left by his mother, but actually just says that V couldn’t stand to touch someone that had been touched by something so pure and good. (weird don’t you think that the whole protection thing wouldn’t have come up then? It sort of did but not really, why not explain it then? It doesn’t make sense.) (BTW, I could have the series of events wrong and DD told him that V couldn’t stand to touch something that has been touched by something so good before Harry told DD about what V said about lily but I think my point remains, and only a little weakened.)

Second – Dumbledore doesn’t tell McG that he thinks Harry lived because of his mothers protection, when she asks that night on privet drive. Why? He either doesn’t trust McG with the info, or he hasn’t figured it out yet which means that he hasn’t actually sealed the old magic yet and therefore Harry is being left with the Dursleys unprotected. (either way both are big conclusions that have numerous implications, and I can’t think of another reason for him to not tell McG)

My Scenario:
DD might have ulterior motives for leaving Harry with the Dursleys. Part of his plan, as mentioned at the end of OoTP possibly. He probably found the Lily’s protection thing as a welcome unforeseen circumstance that worked to his favor. He is able to tell Harry that he needs to stay with the Dursley’s because of this weird old protection that was left by his mother. Who would argue with DD about old magic, who would question that he wasn’t telling the truth? So it keeps Harry where he wants him when he isn’t in school. But why oh why would he want Harry to be with the Dursleys’? I think we have to ask Petunia that question.

[Tinkerbell]

I have a feeling that it is an Evans thing rather than a Potter thing, as it were!

We are told that Harry's eyes are going to be "important" in the future, and these we know he got from his mother, and therefore may assume that this is an Evans trait? Therefore, by placing Harry with the Dursleys, and in particular Petunia, the protection afforded by Lily giving her life for Harry is enforced by being near Petunia?

Just a thought, and possibility that Dumbledore knows something about Harry's heritage that we have yet to discover?

[Boing]

Do we know if Harry's eyes were always green like his mother? Wouldn't it be interesting if a side effect of the charm that protected Harry was that his eyes changed color to match his mother and there is still some sort of protection because of that . . . Weird. I don't know. Just something else to think about.

[Alz]

That is an interesting point you make there Boingy - not sure it was specifically mentioned what colour eyes he had prior to the night of the attack - but I have to err on the side that say they were always green I suppose.
The relevance will be down to Slytherin - the colour green and the fact that Voldemort got his own back somewhat when he tried to attack Harry.
I think the Protection comes back to this so called old magic - something Voldemort was aware of but didnt take into account.
Because it is called old magic - it would suggest that whatever the practice - it has been removed from the mainstream Magical world for a long period of time - we dont seem to have had any other occurances we have heard of.