13 Harry Potter Plot-Holes (That Were Totally Solved)

12. Snape: The Master Burglar

The "Plot-Hole"

When Dumbledore died and the Order Of The Phoenix abandoned Grimmauld Place, it is explained that Mad-Eye Moody placed some charms on the house to keep the Death Eaters out (on the assumption that Snape would give up the address).

He puts a Tongue-Tying Curse and a ghostly projection of Dumbledore, and yet somehow Snape manages to get into the house to retrieve the second half of the letter from Lily from Sirius' room. How did he beat the defensive charms?

The Solution

Rowling has answered this one too. She says that he was simply too quick:

"Snape entered the house immediately after Dumbledore's death, before Moody put up the spells against him."

It makes sense. Grimmauld place was the only safe place for Snape to go immediately after killing Dumbledore, so he would inevitably go there, not least to try and find a momento from Lily (which he knew Sirius would have hidden in his own room).