Harry will be accused and locked up in Azkaban

[happybean98 <kathleen@happ.net>]

No: HPFGUIDX 49453

Greetings,

I have a theory/prediction to propose about the central conflict of 
book five.  To my knowledge, it has not been raised in any previous 
posting.  If it has, please bring me up to date.  

A thread has been posted about Harry being cast under suspicion for 
causing Cedric's death in GoF.  This is understandable due to 
speculation about his wanting to win the cup, etc.  However, I 
believe this suspicion will only be the tip of the iceberg when Harry 
is put on trial by the MoM.  

I will begin with HPandSS.  When Harry confronts Voldemort, Voldemort 
tries to win him over by promising the return of his parents.  Harry 
refuses Voldemort....but does anyone else witness it?  The only 
people present are Voldemort, Quirrel,(who dies), and Harry.  Ron and 
Hermione, through a series of plot twistings, have been left behind.  
Harry faces Voldemort alone.  We the readers are privy to his triumph 
over evil, but who else could come to his defense if his loyalties 
were called into question?  Of course Dumbledore believes him, but he 
has only Harry's word that Voldemort was thwarted by Harry.

Next, in CoS, Voldemort becomes more powerful and is able to nearly 
kill several students through the diary/basilisk.  To an outsider, it 
would seem that Voldemort has grown more powerful, not weaker, after 
his encounter with Harry in Book one.  Malfoy sees Harry with the 
diary at one point.  Wouldn't he rather blame Harry for planting it 
in Ginny's hands as opposed to believing that his own father planted 
it?  Once again, Harry faces Voldemort in the Chamber of 
Secrets....Alone! Well, almost.  Voldemort is there, and Ginny, but 
she is unconscious.  Fawkes arrives, but could he defend Harry before 
the Ministry?  

We know that Harry defeats Voldemort once again by killing the 
basilisk and piercing the diary.  Once again, Dumbledore believes 
Harry and has the evidence of the diary and the bloody sword, but 
will this convince the MoM that Harry truly thwarted Voldemort?  
Could not the accusation be made that these so 
called "confrontations" with Voldemort are actually trysts held in 
the deepest of secrecy, with no witnesses?  Could Harry be accused of 
being in league with Voldemort?   Of actually bringing Voldemort to 
power?  Perhaps in hopes that Voldemort will bring his parents back?  
Harry is already openly suspected of being the heir of Slytherin and 
under further suspicion for being a parseltongue.  If the speculated 
romance between Harry and Ginny grows, would this not complicate 
matters if Ginny tries to defend Harry before the MoM?  

In Book three, we have Harry getting mixed up with Sirius Black, 
widely accused by the WW for killing Harry's parents and generally 
feared and mistrusted by all.  Would it not seem suspicious to those 
not yet fully convinced of Black's innocence that Harry has not only 
rescued Black, but is keeping in contact with him? 

In GoF, we have the most suspicious confrontation of all.  Harry 
encounters Voldemort, and returns with a dead Cedric and Voldemort 
more powerful than ever!  We know Harry is innocent, again, 
Dumbledore believes him.  But, no one else witnessed what happened 
except Voldemort, the Death Eaters and Cedric...now dead.  If Harry's 
crush on Cho Chang comes to light, won't that cast him under even 
more suspicion as a jealous rival of Cedric's perhaps?  

I predict that Harry will be tried before the Ministry of Magic.  He 
will become the scapegoat of the Death Eaters and the MoM.  The Death 
Eaters will certainly want him marginalized, since he has witnessed 
their loyalty to Voldemort.  The MoM will want the WW to know that 
they "have their man" and continue to ignore/facilitate the rise of 
Voldemort. They will either accuse Harry of bringing Voldemort back 
to power or of using Voldemort as a scapegoat for the evil things 
Harry himself has done.    

Ron and Hermione will of course rush to Harry's defense, but won't 
all their rule breaking come back to haunt them?  Ginny and Cho will 
try to defend him, but the romantic quandrys they are entangled in 
will come to light, complicating things.  Mr. and Mrs. Weasley will 
try to protect him... but won't Arthur Weasley's smudged reputation 
with the MoM come back to haunt him?  

What about Fred and George?  Could they defend him? Maybe, but Harry 
recently gave them his winnings from the tournament...hmmm... could 
he be accused of buying their defense?  Percy will be the one to 
watch..will he side with the MoM or Harry? Could this trial divide 
the Weasley family in two?

I predict Harry will be tried, convicted, and locked into Azkaban.  
He will have to face the Dementors...his worst fear.  Luckily though, 
he has his Patronus charm to help him. Also, he is friends to two 
former inmates...Sirius and Hagrid!  Perhaps they can get him out?

Meanwhile, with Harry locked up in Azkaban, Voldemort will be 
completely unchecked and the Death Eaters free to continue their 
duplicity.  Could this explain the increase in deaths hinted at by 
Rowling?  Perhaps Snape will prove useful to Harry somehow, if he is 
loyal to Dumbledore.  Snape's widely observed hatred of Harry may 
actually help Harry if Snape decides to defend him and reveal that he 
is a double agent.

I would greatly enjoy hearing comments on this theory.  This is my 
first post since I am new.  

Kathleen