A theory regarding the "innocence" of Sirius Black and the Redemption of Peter

[Scott <snorth@ucla.edu>]

No: HPFGUIDX 50723

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "webba28 <jrwajw at g...>" 
<jrwajw at g...> wrote:

> quote:
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> The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his 
followers. 
> His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight before 
> midnight...will break free and set out to rejoin his master...
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> 
> 
> 
> Does it seem odd to anyone else that the word "chained" is written 
> here? Wormtail was never chained in the truest sense of the word. 
Is 
> it meant to be symbolic? However, one other person was chained, and 
> that was Sirius Black. Yes, Wormtail did "break free" before 
midnight 
> but one other person broke free as well--Sirius Black. When Harry 
and 
> Hermione used the Time-Turner, they went back several hours and 
> managed to save Sirius. When they get back into the hospital wing 
it 
> isfive minutes to midnight. 
> 
> In other words, two people "chained"--one literally and one not 
broke 
> free. 
> 
> There may be arguments that Wormtail remained as a rat to spy for 
> Lord V., but he had no idea when or if the Dark Lord would rise 
again-
> -to everyone it seemed as if The Dark Lord was dead and gone 
forever. 
> Given that canonic portrayal of our beloved rat lends itself to the 
> idea that Peter attatched himself to anyone who could protect him, 
I 
> have a hard time believing that Peter would willingly try and tie 
> himself to a person who held no power whatsoever for several years. 
> Even if there were people upset that Wormtail had let down the side 
> of darkness, they were either in Azkaban or dead. And with public 
> opinion and the testimony of Muggles being what it was, I could 
> totally see Wormtail being able to defend himself successfully 
> against Black based on the outward appearances of the crime. 
Perhaps 
> he remained a rat because he was afraid he'd be murdered by people 
> like Lucius Malfoy who put on such prompt appearances...or he was a 
> spy for the side of the good. 
> 
> Later in PoA, Dumbledore states to Harry and Hermione that he 
himself 
> testified before the ministry: 

Me:
I'll admit, that quote is vaguely written.  Certainly, Wormtail 
wasn't chained in a literal sense.  Some would argue that he didn't 
have much of a choice; it was either fake his death or be hunted 
down, by both good and evil.

> quote:
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> I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the 
> Potters' Secret Keeper--PoA pg. 392
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> 
> 
> Why does he say this? If indeed the plan to change Secret-Keepers 
> from Sirius to Peter were indeed true, as Sirius insists it was, 
why 
> wouldn't Dumbledore say that it was Peter? Why would he still be 
> saying it was "Sirius?" Didn't Dumbledore himself perform the 
> Fidelius charm? I would think he'd know who he performed it on. 
> 

/Nowhere/ does it say that Dumbledore peformed the Fidelius charm.  
We know the Potters were wizards of some repute, I see no reason why 
James or Lily couldn't have performed, even if Dumbledore told them 
about it, taught them, etc.  All Dumbledore knows is that the plan 
according to James/Lily/Sirius was to use Sirius as the Potters' 
secret keeper.  We also know that at the last second, Sirius 
persuaded James to use Peter as their secret keeper, assuming that 
agents of the dark would come after himself (Sirius), the obvious 
choice (and, I believe, not only obvious, but *known* choice by 
several others close to the Potters, who may or may not have been 
spies, i.e. Lupin).  

> Dumbledore also states to Harry and Hermione that "two innocent 
lives 
> can be saved tonight." He never says Black specifically.... 
> 

He never says Buckbeak specifically!  We know Buckbeak did attack 
Draco!  Maybe he meant someone else!

Seriously though, that logic is flawed.  Wormtail had already escaped 
at that point, so Harry and Hermione were NOT saving him by using the 
Time Turner.  If they hadn't used the Time Turner, Sirius dies, 
Buckbeak dies, and Peter STILL goes free.  Honestly, it's pretty 
clear he means Sirius.

> Now obviously Wormtail is indebted to the Dark Lord in some way, or 
> is there out of sheer cowardice or whatever you wish to call it, 
but 
> I seriously (no pun intended) suspect there's more to Sirius Black 
> than meets the eye. He's remembered as laughing when the Ministry 
> caught up with him. He's laughing at the sight in front of him--
> Pettigrew's bloodied robes and all... 

Well, he DID just make a decision that resulted in the deaths of his 
two best friends, parents of his Godson, etc.  He also would have 
come to the realization that he had just been framed by the person 
who was directly responsible for leading Voldemort to the Potters- 
and he'll be in Azkaban because of his decision.  The irony is 
sickening, really.  

Also, note that the source of our information in this case is Fudge.  
Who, if not evil (I'm undecided on this), is certainly a bumbling 
moron.  

Really though, I wouldn't blame Sirius for laughing.

> 
> After all this research, I find myself not wholly convinced that 
> Sirius Black is as innocent as he seems to be at the end of PoA. 
> Wormtail's no paragon of virtue, either, but something about Sirius 
> doesn't sit well with me. I can't put my finger on it though. 

I don't think the strength of your case [on Wormtail's redemption] 
lies in implicating Sirius.  People have already brought up this 
point, but if Sirius really is an agent of Voldemort, it sends a bad 
message to the children reading this book; 'you can't trust anyone.'  
Also, if it is as you argue, that Dumbledore actually does think that 
Sirius is a traitor, I don't really see Dumbledore letting him get 
too close to Harry.

-Scott
(who's going to get mildly annoyed if Harry Potter turns into Wheel 
of Time, where every third character is actually a spy for the forces 
of Evil.  Seriously, if the characters in those books provide a 
decent representation of the population, half of everyone would be a 
Darkfriend... sheesh.)