Harry in Azkaban?

[Eric Oppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 49097

While I think Harry going to Azkaban might well happen, I do _not_ think
that he'd be there because of being sentenced there.  He _is_ "The Boy Who
Lived," and we've seen that WW trials are no more immune to the effects of
celebrities' fame than RW trials are...*cough Ludo Bagman cough cough*

Another possibility, I fear, is that one or both of the Trio _other than
Harry_ might end up there.  I fear for Hermione in particular---what she did
with Rita Skeeter could easily be far worse under WW law than Rita's being
an unregistered Animagus and all-around pest, nuisance, and disgrace to the
journalistic profession (as, I believe, she would be to _any_ profession,
even one involving standing around on street corners in skimpy attire,
trying to get the attention of male passers-by).  She's also done other
things that could get her into Very Deep Kimchee...stealing Snape's
supplies, brewing illegal Polyjuice Potion, accessory
before-and-after-the-fact to impersonation, aiding-and-abetting Sirius
Black's and Buckbeak's escape...oh, the list goes on and on, and _unlike
Harry,_ she doesn't have the protection of fame.  She's also a "Mudblood,"
one step above a Muggle to many wizards and witches, DE and not, and doesn't
have a family that knows the ins-and-outs of the Wizard World well enough to
defend her.  No doubt, the Weasleys would go all-out trying to help her, but
I don't know how much they could do.

Poor Hermione could well end up as a scapegoat...the evil "Mudblood" who led
poor, slightly-crazy Harry Potter astray, and led him into a life of
crime..."well, you _know_ how those Mudbloods are, don't you?  Can't trust a
one of them!"

You know, if she _did_ end up in Azkaban at the end of the next book, that
would be a heck of a cliff-hanger, and would give Harry something
interesting to do all summer long instead of moping about the
Dursleys---plotting the Great Escape.  He's got an expert available, after
all, the one man who cracked out of Azkaban and made it to freedom.

However, _Ron_ could also wind up in the stripey hole.  Whether his
resentment at being poor leads him to do things he shouldn't, or a prank
goes horribly wrong, or he gets framed.  However, unlike Harry and Hermione,
he _does_ know his way around the wizarding world, and has a family that
does have some pull there.

--Eric, who suddenly noticed how much he sounds like Professor Trelawney