The Eavesdropper

[Fawkes]

From OotP, p.843
Dumbledore: "...except that Voldemort's information about the prophecy was incomplete. The Hog's Head Inn, which Sibyll chose for its cheapness, has long attracted, shall we say, a more interesting clientele than the Three Broomsticks. As you and your friends found out to your cost, and I to mine that night, it is a place where it is never safe to assume you are not being overheard. Of course, I had not dreamed, when I set out to meet Sibyll Trewlawney, that I would hear anything worth overhearing. My -our - one stroke of good fortune was that the eavesdropper was detected only a short way into the prophecy and thrown from the building."

We know that a man overheard the prophecy while Dumbledore was interviewing Trewlawney and that he passed the information to Voldemort. But who was he? How was he spotted? Who removed him? Did they know the importance of what he had overheard at the time? And if so why was he allowed to leave?

[Weasleyfanforever]

Originally Posted by Fawkes

Who removed him? Did they know the importance of what he had overheard at the time? And if so why was he allowed to leave?

We now know that Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus's brother, is and has been the bartender for 20 years. We also know that he was in the Order. So, it would had to have been Aberforth that threw him out, but wouldn't he have discussed it with Albus first? Maybe Albus knew which part he had heard, and knew that he would tell Voldemort, and hoped that by not cmpleting the prophecy correctly, it would kill Voldemort...

[Nagini]

Whoever overheard the beginning of the prophecy only heard just that, the beginning. So its unlikely Albus said said anything to his brother about whoever was listening in. Albus said himself, he was not expecting to hear anything exciting that night so would have been listening hard at Trewlawney giving the Prophecy.

I think Aberforth threw whoever overheard from the Hog's Head possibly because they were either barred or underage or a known troublemaker. Or maybe they were a reporter who reported his strange behaviour with that goat??

[The Laughing Imp]

Originally Posted by Weasleyfanforever

We now know that Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus's brother, is and has been the bartender for 20 years. We also know that he was in the Order. So, it would had to have been Aberforth that threw him out, but wouldn't he have discussed it with Albus first? Maybe Albus knew which part he had heard, and knew that he would tell Voldemort, and hoped that by not cmpleting the prophecy correctly, it would kill Voldemort...

Can you imagine the owner of a bar asking for his brother's permission to throw out a eavesdropping scumbag? I can't. Aberforth seems a scruffy individual who has no compunction about tossing troublemakers out on their ear. However, the book doesn't say that Aberforth was the person who tossed the eavesdropper from the bar. It could very well have been another barkeep, or a really burly barmaid.

As for Albus letting the creep go with only half a prophesy, I disagree. You'll have to reread that section again, but you'll see that Dumbledore was quite busy listening to Trelawney when the eavesdropper was removed from the premises. In fact, he was removed because he was eavesdropping. I believe it all happened too quickly to be a deliberate attempt to seed misinformation to Voldemort. Dumbledore admitted that even though he knew of the seedier nature of the Hog's Head Inn (which Trelawney chose as the meetingplace), he never expected to hear anything of importance there. It is only hindsight (and information from their spies) that revealed to the Order that Voldemort received wonky information from the guy who was tossed from the bar.

Voldemort wouldn't have even realized that he hadn't heard the whole prophesy. He went 15 years before suspecting he might not have understood the prophesy well and only because Harry was proving to be so surprisingly difficult to kill.

[Alz]

Aberforth Dumbledore, JRK left it a long time to feed any real credible information about him and if I am right he was in trouble once for magic and goats ... the mind boggles!

The eavesdropper could actually prove to be important if we could establish who they were ... indeed they are not to be dismissed just as an 'eavesdropper' becuase this person was able to go to Voldemort ... indicating a Death Eater link ...

Also reading the prophecy, it never mentions specifically Voldemort but in fact the Dark Lord ... this too could be telling and will be boundered around in other threads but for now I grasp onto the 'must learn to keep on-topic' stick and hit myself ...

The eavesdropper makes some assumptions and not too much of a strech of imagination but the co-incidences we are seeing so readily are mounting ...
A possible Death Eater, in the right place and the right time, understanding enough to know it is important, to attract the attentions of someone in the bar enough to be thrown out ... interesting

[The Laughing Imp]

Originally Posted by Fawkes

We know that a man overheard the prophecy while Dumbledore was interviewing Trewlawney and that he passed the information to Voldemort. But who was he? How was he spotted? Who removed him? Did they know the importance of what he had overheard at the time? And if so why was he allowed to leave?

I don't know if who he was and who removed him are pertinent. Of course, if Jo says they are pertinent in the next installment then they're pertinent. There really isn't enough information. However, I can be fairly certain that they didn't know the importance of Dumbledore's and Trelawney's conversation. It was a job interview. Dumbledore was going through the motions out of politeness. He didn't expect to hear anything important. Suddenly, Trelawney spouts a prophesy. Nobody was more surprised than Dumbledore who had just dismissed this girl as not having a trace of the gift of Seer. So somebody is caught listening in on Dumbledore's conversation and is booted out of the bar while Dumbledore sits in amazement as a charlatan suddenly lives up to her heritage. If Trelawney could be heard by everybody in the bar to the point that people thought, "Hey, we shouldn't let any scumbags overhear this" then Voldemort would have found out there was more to the prophesy 15 years earlier.

As for why the eavesdropper was allowed to leave, well it would have been a short book if it had happened otherwise. If Voldemort hadn't heard the prophesy he wouldn't have had a reason to try to kill a baby. If he hadn't heard half the prophesy he wouldn't have messed up the assassination, which only sealed his fate. I'm of the opinion that this seems to be happenstance. The eavesdropper was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, but unlucky enough to be caught before he made the best of his serendipity.

Of course, the real answer is that he was allowed to leave with only half the information because Jo wanted the set the plot up that way.

~The Laughing Imp

[Kingsley]

I think there is something to the eavesdropper actually--
we know that dumbledore had already started the order by then right?
Well in theory a death eater should be staking out his brother's bar---and/or trailing Dumbledore,
Dumbledore is talking to a girl, girl goes into a trance--everything that comes out of her mouth was going to be sent back to "V" even if it wasnt about him
with a possible/known death eater finally being noticed--he was kicked out--

i am just not sure of the -allowed to get the info back to "V" part- either

[Boing]

I have a suspicion that the person thrown out of the bar was indeed a DE and that his name is Severus Snape. In other parts of the septology, there have been mentions of Snape having a debt to Harry. Why would that be? Well, one reason could be that he was the one who gave the overheard prophecy information to Voldemort, resulting in Harry's parents' deaths.

If Snape was the person, then I have to think that whatever he did to get back on Dumbledore's good side must have been incredible. Do we know if we'll ever find out how Dumbledore knew Snape was good and was a fit teacher?

[The Laughing Imp]

Originally Posted by Boing

I have a suspicion that the person thrown out of the bar was indeed a DE and that his name is Severus Snape. In other parts of the septology, there have been mentions of Snape having a debt to Harry. Why would that be? Well, one reason could be that he was the one who gave the overheard prophecy information to Voldemort, resulting in Harry's parents' deaths.

If Snape was the person, then I have to think that whatever he did to get back on Dumbledore's good side must have been incredible. Do we know if we'll ever find out how Dumbledore knew Snape was good and was a fit teacher?

That's a very interesting theory, Boing. I'm going to be mean and demand references! Not because I doubt you, but because I don't remember it being mentioned that Snape owed Harry a debt and I'm stunned I could have missed such a reference. I want to read it and the surrounding bits for myself.

[SeleneBlack]

Look at the quote, Dumbledore starts to say "My -our- one stroke..." what was he going to say? That would imply that D had some kind of personal stake in the situation...he changed his wording...that is so important but has been overlooked. I think most likely Dumbledore was being followed or at least watched by Voldemort's followers.

Also, I believe it was Aberforth who removed the eavesdropper. Who ever did it would have been watching Dumbledore and what was going on around him, who better to be looking out for him but his own brother?