[HPforGrownups] Veritaserum & Sirius' trial (was Re - Veritaserum)

[Maria Kirilenko]

No: HPFGUIDX 49336


Meg wrote:

What is to preclude Sirius from having taken Veritaserum? Depending on what he was asked, he may have been able to truthfully respond that he killed the Potters. It is certainly what he believes. From Ch. 17 and 19 PoA (U.S. Hardback):
"You killed my parents," said Harry, his voice shaking slightly, but his wand hand quite steady.
Black stared up at him out of those sunken eyes. 
"I don't deny it," he said very quietly. "But if you knew the whole story" (p. 341-2)

<snip another quote from book 3>

In both sections, Sirius says that he killed the Potters. If under Veritaserum, he was asked "Did you kill the Potters?", he would have replied "Yes" and been truthful since he believed that in switching Secret-Keepers, he was to blame for their deaths. Unless he was asked how he killed them, and I don't think the MoM cared to know how, he would have taken the blame for their death. So it is possible that he really did confess to the crime.


Me:

Yeah, except MoM *knows* Sirius didn't kill the Potters, but that Voldemort did. They wouldn't ask if S killed J&L, so S wouldn't have the opportunity to say he did. They would, though, ask if Sirius betrayed the secret to Voldemort, or if he was a spy. To the former I honestly don't know what Sirius would have answered, probably 'no,' (but who knows) but the latter would have definitely gotten a negative answer. That's why I think a truth potion wasn't actually used.

Also, I just thought of another thing. Is it possible that Sirius takes all the blame for what had happened when he talks to Harry in POA because of his 12 years in Azkaban and when everything had just happened he would care more about exposing PP as a spy and clearing his own name? I would imagine that when the initial shock after the Potters' death and confronting PP, Sirius would tell exactly what role he played etc. *If* he got the chance! My guess is that they either sent him off to Azkaban with the first available vehicle, or, like I said in a previous post, threw him, the poor, traumatized boy (he wasn't must older that Crouch Jr at the time, I guess), into a room with a crazy, frothing at the mouth Crouch and scared out of their wits jurors who were more than a bit relieved to have a chance to throw another DE in jail, which they promptly did. Some trial! 

I know this last paragraph doesn't make much sense, I certainly don't get it yet (amazing how long it takes me to process my own thoughts). Does anyone have any thoughts (about this :))?

Maria



---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]