TBAY:Imperious!Arthur was a VICTIM(new acronym) long!

[Risti]

No: HPFGUIDX 45552

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%
20Files/hypotheticalley.\

It was a rather entertaining flight, Risti thought, as she soared 
high above Theory Bay on her Nimbus 2002.  She noticed a couple of 
very interesting ships sailing about, and made a note not to put off 
visits to some of them in the near future, but right now, she had a 
more important task at hand.  One of the most interesting ships of 
them all had suffered mutiny and brawls and was now under legal 
attention.  She knew that Captain Veronica needed a loyal and very 
passionate crew member.

Finally, Risti caught sight of the small boat.  Even from her 
altitude she could see that the whole place was decorated in a 
festive theme. Risti began to descend towards the ship, and that's 
when she noticed that things weren't quite right.  There were no 
people on the colorfully decorated ship.  It looked positively 
abandonned.  Even the banner reading 'ALL WELCOME' was starting to 
fall off in one corner.  The whole place looked like it had been 
through a storm.  She had heard about the mutiny and the brawl and 
now the trial on her flight over, of course, Wizarding World Network 
had kept her quite informed through her portable radio.  She only 
wished that she would have headed straight over here as soon as she 
heard the theory.  After all, she was the one who just a few short 
weeks ago put forth a post musing if Arthur Weasley could be related 
to the Imperius curse(44513).

Landing aboard the ship, she noticed a cute redhead deck hand trying 
to balance a tray full of empty bottles.  She put aside thoughts that 
he must be a Weasley to ask him a question.

"Where can I find the Captain," Risti asked, the confidence in her 
voice surprising her.  This was her first trip into Theory Bay, she'd 
expected to be alot more timid.

"She's in her quarters Ma'am, but I don't know if you want to disturb 
her right now..." he trailed off, looking down at the bottles on his 
tray.  Firewisky, Risti read, and sighed.

"Listen, once you've placed those somewhere, do you think you could 
bring me a pot of coffee in the Captain's chambers?  I need to talk 
to her, and I need to do it now before this gets any more out of 
hand."  With that she walked off towards the door 
labelled 'Captain.'  She knocked, and heard a few bangs inside the 
room, and then a voice that was very obviously drunk

"There's got to be a parallel, you understand!" a hiccup interupted 
the dialogue, "JKR just wouldn't set up two kids like that and not 
finish up on the third."

Risti opened up the door, and was suddenly overwhelmed by the smell 
of firewisky.

"Who are you?" Veronica drawled, "Your not one of them, are you?  I'm 
innocent I tell you, innocent!"

"I'm not with them, Captain," Risti tried to reassure her, "I'm on 
your side, really, I am.  I believed that Arthur had been put under 
Imperious before you even started this ship.  I was on my way to help 
you when all of this broke out."

"You believed me?" Veronica asked feebly, "I'm not crazy?"

"No, you're not," Risti reasurred her, hoping that deckhand would 
arrive soon with the coffee.  When he arrived moments later, Risti 
allowed Veronica to drink a full up before beginning to speak.

"So who are you really?  Why did you come here?" Veronica finally 
asked.

"My name is Risti.  I'm still rather new to these lists, but I must 
admit that I've always been Weasley obsessed.  As to why I've came," 
Risti hesitated for a moment, "Originally, I came to just offer my 
support.  I even had an idealistic notion of offering to be your 
first mate.  After all, believe it or not, I actually sent out an 
idea out a while back with the subject 'The Secret Life of Arthur 
Weasley' and brought up the relation between the curse and the 
friendly man.  You actually responded to it, posts 44513 and 44589.  
Then, when all the trouble began, I was going to play peacemaker.  I 
really am a peacemaker at heart, and I couldn't stand to see a theory 
that I liked being picked apart.  Now, well, remember how I told you 
that I had believed in Imperius!Arthur before you even started him?  
Well, I'm afraid *my* Imperius!Arthur is somewhat similar to both 
Operative!Arthur and Auror!Arthur." Risti paused, noticing that 
Veronica seemed ready to bring out her paddle again, and continued 
quickly. "Remember I said I wanted to be a peacemaker?  I thought my 
idea could make everyone happy.  As they continued bickering, 
however, I realized that I'd probably only make them more mad, and 
now the whole matter is in court..."

"What exactly are you here to say?" Veronica interupted Risti's 
ramblings.  Embaressed at the fact that she had gone on quite long 
without really saying anything, she knew she had to bring out her can
(n)ons soon or risk getting thrown off the ship before she'd even 
gotten started.

"Well, I began my Imperius!Arthur theory with the thought that there 
appears to be more to Arthur than meets the eye.  His connections, 
his associations with Dumbledore, everything.  At one point I even 
threw out a post relating to just this on this list.  I believe you 
even said something to that affect," Risti said, hoping she'd be 
allowed to continue.

"I believe I did say that in some of my conversations with Cindy.  I 
was so open to her idea, and then look at what she did to me..."

"I know that you have reservations.  In your last response to me you 
didn't really agree with my reasoning, but I didn't present it very 
well then.  I had scattered points, and I was trying to start debate 
rather then pound everyone with my theory, since I tend to get rather 
ignored when I do that.  I still say there's something to my Quest 
for Immortality theory, but that doesn't belong here at all." Risti 
paused again, cursing herself mentally for digressing again.  "I 
guess what I'm trying to say is this.  Arthur Weasly has been a 
VICTIM."

"A VICTIM?" Veronica asks, confused.

"Yes, a VICTIM.  A Very Intelligent Character Trampled by an Ignorant 
Ministry."

"Ahh, I see," said Veronica, but clearly she didn't. "What exactly do 
you mean by that," she asked warily.  She had just been under attack 
largely due to acronyms, and now this strange girl was bringing up a 
bunch of new ones.

"Ok, I think we can all agree that the Ministry bungles up 
everything."

For a moment there is a distant roar that is the entire list agreeing.

"They didn't give Sirius a trial, they threw Hagrid in Azkaban, and 
they allowed Lucius Malfoy to walk free.

Veronica continued to nod, sipping the coffee in front in her hand.  
She still wished it contained just a couple drops of something 
stronger, but for now she would endure Risti's thoughts.

"Why do we then think that the Ministry is going to treat Arthur 
Weasley, innocent victim of the Imperius Curse, with all the fair 
justice that he deserves?"

"You don't mean to say," Veronica's eyes were opened widely, "They 
wouldn't
"

"Wouldn't they?  I dare anyone to give me canon that supports the 
Ministry making a rational decision that wasn't heavily influenced by 
Dumbledore.  Heck, by the end of GoF, they won't even listen to 
Dumbledore anymore.  I don't have all the holes filled in, but here's 
my version of the Imperius!Arthur tale." Risti said with a gleam in 
her eye.

Veronica settled down in her chair, "With canon evidence?" she asked.
"Yes, with canon evidence," Risti laughed.  "I might even use some of 
those cannons to shoot out some BANG's."  She paused for a moment to 
collect her thoughts.

"Arthur Weasley played an active role in the battle against 
Voldemort.  That much is obvious.  Molly Weasley said after the World 
Cup that the last time Arthur had worked this late was during the 
Voldemort years.  During that same incident it isn't considered odd 
that Arthur is actively searching out the Death Eaters (more so then 
Percy, Charlie, and Bill).  Dumbledore obviously trusts him, as is 
evident in the conversation at the end of GoF and the fact that he 
seems to trust Harry in his care.  Exactly what he did, I don't know, 
and I don't really care.  I tend to lean more towards the Operative!
Arthur angle then the Auror!Arthur angle mainly because it allows 
more freedom in what he did, but that's not important.  All that 
really matters is that he had more power, more prestige, and 
assumedly more money then he does now."  Risti paused for a breath, 
wishing that cute deckhand would come back with a drink for her.  She 
was thirsty from all this talking.

"And then it happened, the Imperius curse!" Veronica said excitedly, 
getting into the tale.

"Exactly, the Imperius curse happened, and Arthur did something.  
Maybe it has to do with the Seventh Son theory, maybe it's something 
totally unrelated, but it happened.  I am almost positive that it was 
Lucius Malfoy that put the curse on him in the first place."

"Well then why didn't Arthur turn him in afterwards?  I mean, that 
should have been evidence enough for the Ministry?" Veronica asked 
innocently.

"Hah!" Risti said bitterly, "That is the very point I'm trying to 
make.  It should have been enough, yes, but Arthur was a VICTIM.  
Lucius Malfoy has the entire Ministry wrapped around his finger.  He 
got away with a lot more then putting Arthur Weasley under the 
Imperius curse.  When Arthur went and told people that the reason he 
did whatever evil things he did was because Lucius Malfoy made him do 
it, the Ministry probably laughed in his face.  Then, after a lengthy 
trial that included his brief stint in Azkaban, expensive legal 
bills, and a lot of character witnesses including Dumbledore, he was 
let off pretty easy: A demotion, probably a fine, and a life time of 
Lucius Malfoy smirking to his face."

"Ooh, if I could get my hands on that Malfoy
" Veronica said with an 
evil grin on her face.

"What do you think Arthur has spent the last however many years 
trying to do?  Almost from the beginning the relationship between the 
Weasley's and the Malfoy's has had a strong focus of Arthur trying to 
prove Lucius's guilt.  Might he have a reason deeper then we are led 
to believe?"

Veronica sat for a moment, thinking.  "It's a decent theory, but I'll 
have to think about it.  Do you have anything else to say, or can I 
get around to doing some repairs on my ship?"

"Actually, I think I might be able to help you with that," Risti 
said, a trace of nervousness in her voice now that her baby was out 
and vulnerable.  "It's about the classroom scene."

"What about it?  Don't tell me you're going to argue against the 
parallelism."

"Not exactly," Risti bit her lip, and then continued when she saw 
Veronica's eyes begin to cloud over.  "Don't get me wrong, I love the 
idea.  I'm a literary nut, those are my favorite types of references, 
but well, I'd like to reinforce it against the arguments put up 
against it lately with some solid canon fact.  First of all, I don't 
believe that Arthur Weasley would put the Imperius curse on someone.  
Arthur is known as a `Muggle-Lover.'  Inside of the wizarding world, 
muggles are commonly thought of as being quite dull, able to be 
manipulated by the simplest of magic, and generally taken advantage 
of. Arthur Weasley is the exception to this. I believe that this goes 
further then just thinking muggle-born witches and wizards are `ok.' 
His job by definition protects muggles from careless wizards who 
misplaced their nuclear-bomb-in-a-pen."

Veronica raised her eyebrows.  Risti sighed, "Ok, so that's a slight 
exaggeration.  The point is, he protects people from being taken 
advantage of.  That's exactly what the Imperius curse does.  He also 
defends Hermione's point about the treatment of House Elves.  Again, 
he's coming to the rescue of those who have no choice in what they 
can do, and are essentially being taken advantage of by those more 
powerful then themselves.  I personally think that this is evidence 
of a lasting impact of the curse on his character, and proof that he 
wouldn't perform the curse on anyone if he hadn't put under it.  I 
mean, think about it, would Arthur Weasley really perform the 
Imperius curse on anyone?"

"Of course not!  I've been trying to tell them that all along," 
Veronica insisted.

"Another thing.  Forget the classroom, and go to the other place 
where the Unforgivable curses were discussed in GoF."
"Someone other then Moody/Crouch brings them up?"

"You'd better believe it.  Sirius does.  Now, Sirius had just 
proclaimed the trio `too young' for the political rant he was going 
on, and Ron told him to `Try us, why don't you.'(pg 456, Canadian 
Hardcover).  He then goes on to explain about how `Aurors were given 
new powers-powers to kill rather than capture, for instance'(notice 
that it's kill, and not `put under Imperius') and that `Crouch 
authorized the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects.'  
Now, don't you think that Sirius, not being completely in tune with 
whatever decision Arthur had told his family, might have let a `but 
surely you know all about this Ron' slip from his lips if Arthur was 
in a position where he would be authorized to do this."

Veronica looked as if she was thinking over all of this new 
information.

"So how else can I help you clean this place up?" Risti asked after a 
moment's silence.

"Well, you did promise me a BANG
 And are you saying that Arthur has 
just sat around and looked at cursed china sets for the last fifteen 
plus years.  After all, you're the one who said there appears to be 
more to him then meets the eye," Veronica said slowly.

"That's right, I did promise you a bang, and no, Arthur hasn't sat 
around and looked at china sets for the last fifteen plus years.  
Like I said earlier, he's tried to find evidence against Lucius.  
He's tried to raise the second half of his family in a more normal 
environment then the first half grew up in.  He's been there as a 
supporter of Dumbledore.  I also believe that most of the Ministry 
really didn't believe that he was really guilty of anything major.  
Otherwise they would have sent him away to Azkaban.  It's because of 
his earlier position, whatever it was, that people still look up to 
him.  I mean, the Malfoy's are the only family we see really opposed 
to the Weasley's, even if they are poor.  That's why he is still 
valuable to Dumbledore as a contact inside of the Ministry."

"And the bang is?" Veronica said hopefully.

"One of the major ideas proposed for the end of the series is that 
many characters would overcome the shortcomes in their life, and that 
conquest's Lord Voldemort thought he had made would suddenly come 
undone.  Other examples of these are Neville playing a bigger role, 
as well as Hagrid, obviously everything that surrounds Harry and Lord 
Voldemort's resurrection, Snape playing a key role, etc.  I believe 
that Arthur Weasley will ultimately be the undoing of Lucius Malfoy.  
The reason?  Lucius performed an unforgivable curse, Arthur knows it, 
and one day people are going to believe him.  He may have been a 
VICTIM, but he won't remain one."

~Risti, who doesn't think her first entry into Theory Bay turned out 
as well as she hoped it would and certainly longer, wonders if she is 
going to regret having written most of it very late at night, and 
knows that despite all of this, she is hooked.