Letting People Know About Sirius/Pettigrew (Was: Re: Contacting parents)

[erisedstraeh2002]

No: HPFGUIDX 55977

Bill wrote:
 
> I am curious about whether people here agree with the decision not
> to go public with Sirius' innocence.  I can see why Dumbledore does 
> not want to get HRH involved with the MoM, but there is a life at 
> stake here.

Now me:

I don't think Dumbledore can go public with Sirius' innocence and 
have people believe him without being able to produce Pettigrew.  As 
Dumbledore himself says at the end of PoA (Ch. 21):  "There is not a 
shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word - and the 
word of two thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody.  A 
street full of eye-witnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew.  
I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the 
Potters' Secret-Keeper." 

Of course, if the good guys are able to capture Pettigrew, this could 
be the means to clear Sirius.  We can only hope!

On the other issue of whether or not Dumbledore informed the parents 
of the petrified students in CoS - I would think he would have had 
to, since students like Draco Malfoy were telling their parents, and 
since Lucius was spear-heading the campaign to oust Dumbledore by 
having all of the Hogwarts governors sign an order of suspension.  I 
can't see all of the Hogwarts governors and the parents of other 
Hogwarts students knowing while the parents of the petrified students 
remained uninformed.

~Phyllis