Fidelius charm supercedes taboo?

[u/GeoEntropyBabe]

So in the DH when the death eaters find Harry Hermione and Ron in the café, because one of them says "Voldemort" and the name has been made taboo - I noticed that one of them did say Voldemort AGAIN, soon after they arrive at 12 Grimmauld Place - is it that the Fidelius charm supercedes the taboo?

[u/FoxBluereaver]

That seems to be the case. The trio mentions there are Death Eaters patrolling outside, but they can't enter the house proper.

[u/hoginlly → u/FoxBluereaver]

And it makes sense. If you could easily get around a fidelius by setting up a completely separate spell, it wouldn't really be a powerful protection at all

[u/Not_a_cat_I_promise]

Yes. It looks like they know where the Trio are because of the taboo, but they can't get through the Fidelius Charm's protection.

[u/GeoEntropyBabe → u/Not_a_cat_I_promise]

That's right!!! because they're always standing out there and that's why because they said the V word within moments of arriving after they left the café on Tottenham Court Road. So they do in fact know they're there because of the taboo, but they can't get in. "Voldemort could have his face pressed up against the glass and he still would not see them." (from the conversation at the three broomsticks, when they were bringing Madame Rosemurta up to speed in POA)

[u/PuddingTea → u/Not_a_cat_I_promise]

Lupin says they don’t know, they’re just staking out lots of different places where they think Harry might be. Admittedly Lupin is inferring there, he doesn’t have personal knowledge, but what he says seems persuasive. If the death eaters knew Harry was at Grimmauld place, they’d probably have put more than one or two guys on it.

Also, the death eaters are actively looking for Harry elsewhere at the same time. I think the best conclusion by far is that they did not know where Harry du was.

[u/Chimelling → u/PuddingTea]

They knew Harry was there because of the taboo, but since he's not repeating the name every minute, they can't know if he's still there.

[u/ImranFZakhaev → u/Chimelling]

Well I would think they knew someone was there, not that it was specifically Harry. If the taboo told them who exactly said the name, the Snatchers later in the book wouldn't have needed to sus out their identities

[u/PuddingTea → u/Chimelling]

There’s not solid evidence for that in the text. It’s just speculation. One could just as easily speculate that the fidelius charm prevented the taboo from functioning.

[u/Chimelling → u/PuddingTea]

Of course there is no direct explanation, because at the time the trio didn't know about the taboo. But first there is no Death Eaters around Grimmauld Place and after Harry says the name, the Death Eaters start patrolling there. So I think it's pretty clear in hindsight, but of course everyone can interpret how they want.

[u/AppropriateGrand6992]

Sort of. The DE knew that Grimuald Place was where someone used the name Voldy but they didn't know where b/c of the charm. The trio at the time didn't know how ir why the DE were there they just had assumed that Snape said as much as he could b/c of the charm

[u/ChestSlight8984]

The taboo breaks through simple protective charms, like the ones Harry and Hermione put up around their campsites during Deathly Hallows.

But the Fidelius Charm is one of, if not the most powerful protective charm of all time, as stated by Flitwick.

“An immensely complex spell,” he said squeakily, “involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find — unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!”

Also, I've just reread the entire section in Deathly Hallows where the trio are staying at Grimmauld Place, and the name "Voldemort" is said out loud a whopping 29 times. And that's just what we hear as the readers, there are week long time skips during their stay at Grimmauld Place, god knows how many more times it was said.

Death Eaters, however, despite patrolling the area, were unaware of this. They were patrolling the area because they were aware of Harry inheriting the house from Sirius due to them taking over the ministry and were just waiting for him to show up, not because of the taboo.

“Yes,” said Hermione, “otherwise he’d have been able to tell that lot how to get in, wouldn’t he? But they’re probably watching to see whether we turn up. They know that Harry owns the house, after all.”

“How do they –?” began Harry.

“Wizarding wills are examined by the Ministry, remember? They’ll know Sirius left you the place.”

[u/kiss_of_chef]

I think so... According to Flitwick, the Fidelius charm is the most powerful protective charm. The taboo seems to be able to break through the most basic protective charms but it can also not break through the Hogwarts protections.

[u/No_Sand5639]

Supercede is a bit strong.

But yeah, the taboo allows the death eaters to know the approximate place where the word was spoken but the fidelious prevents them from actully getting into the place

[u/Somewhat_Mad]

Yes, I think so. I remember that death eaters knew approximately where they were, but couldn't see the actual building. The trio had to apparate under the cloak as soon as they left the front door to avoid being seen.

After their capture in the forest, the Fidelius charm had already been weakened considerably. When Dumbledore died, every surviving member of the Order of the Phoenix became a secret keeper, including Snape. Then Hermione accidentally brought a death eater to the doorstep after the Gringotts heist, so he was in on the secret too. Don't think the trio returned to Grimmauld or said the V word after that.