Dumbledore and Sirius' guilt (Was: Clearing Sirius/ Dumbledore's gleam)

[adhara_black]

No: HPFGUIDX 36271


Marianne wrote: 
What I wonder is this:  Did Dumbledore believe the (admittedly)
overwhelming evidence of Sirius' guilt and write him off as the worst 
kind of traitor? Or did he try to visit Sirius either before or right 
after he was sent to Azkaban to get Sirius' version of the story?  If 
so, was he not allowed this visit?  That strikes me as odd.  I would 
think that someone as well-known, respected and powerful as 
Dumbledore would be able to get at least fifteen minutes to see a 
prisoner, even if the only way he could do it was to call in some 
favors.  

Adhara writes:
Fair questions, leading to an even more fundamental one : how come 
Sirius was sent to Azkaban without a trial?! It's not as if it isn't 
common practice in the wizarding world (we get a description of 
Crouch Jr.'s trial in GoF after all). Yes, there is this reference 
to 'overwhelming evidence' but with Pettigrew's real role apparently 
hidden to those who arrived on the scene shortly afterwards, we don't 
know how much is fact and how much is (Evil?) Fudge's fabrication and 
embellishment. 
Bearing in mind what we know about Dumbledore's sense of fairness and 
justice, I find it astonishing that he didn't do anything to make 
sure Sirius got a trial, no matter how 'overwhelming' the evidence 
was!

-Adhara 
(aka Epsilon Canis Major)