Harry Will Be Accused and Locked up in Azkaban/ His Escape

[happybean98 <kathleen@happ.net>]

No: HPFGUIDX 50959

<Kathleen takes out her pensieve and begins filling it as she refines 
her theory in light of further objections>

Kristen:
(Commenting on Azkaban!Harry)
"I have to say that I simply cannot believe this theory [Harry
being railroaded into Azkaban] at all. Even if there were accusations
and a trial (though I don't even believe that it would come to that),
Dumbledore, Sirius AND Lupin would have to be completely discredited
and/or dead for this theory to even be plausible."

Jim:
One of Harry's defenders you name is under a worse than death sentence
and another one is of a despised and distrusted group, werewolves. 
They have negative credibility in the eyes of the wizard world. 
Dumbledore remains a strong defender, but he now has the enmity of the
Minster of Magic. How independent is the wizard judiciary? We might
find out.

Me: 
I agree with Jim 100% about Sirius and Lupin.  As for Dumbledore, I 
am certain he will be removed somehow the moment Cornelius Fudge 
finds out from Rita Skeeter that he is harboring  Sirius Black.. Any 
defense Dumbledore could give would be weakened if not annihilated by 
this turn of events. 
 
Kristen:
"There is no way they [Dumbledore, Sirius, and Remus Lupin]
would allow it [Harry being sent to Azkaban] to happen. If the risk
even came up, Dumbledore would send Harry away to a safe place."

Me:
Again, I don't think Dumbledore's help will be enough.  I am sure 
Dumbledore would try to help out in the trial...but will that be 
enough?  Couldn't the MoM point out  that Dumbledore once gave 
witness that Sirius Black was the Potter's secret keeper, and now 
Dumbledore is harboring him?  That Dumbledore claims to be protecting 
Harry from Black, yet he brings Sirius Black into the same room as 
Harry?.  I think Dumbledore will be the one sent to St. Mungo's.  His 
actions appear so contradictory.  Fudge implied at the end of GoF 
that Dumbledore was crazy for believing Harry so easily.  

Tom writes:
(On prospect of Azkaban!Harry)
They can portray Harry as nuts, but Azkaban? Highly doubtful. AND, at 
the beginning of PoA, when Harry meets Fudge in the Leaky Cauldron, 
doesn't Fudge actually *laugh* at the notion of Harry going to 
Azkaban?

I respond:
Yes, Fudge laughed at the beginning  of PoA at the prospect of Harry 
going to Azkaban.  He was so relieved that Harry was safe, he didn't 
think about giving Harry consequences.  Obviously he was under 
pressure to keep Harry safe at this point. However, at the end of GoF 
we see that a shift is taking place regarding how Harry is seen by 
the WW.  Fudge, Diggory, and of course Lucius Malfoy have held 
suspicions against him. It sounds to me as though Fudge is getting 
tired of babysitting Harry and would be grateful to be rid of him.  
Fudge is only worried about how he is percieved by the WW, and 
especially the MoM. His actions will flow from his desire to do what 
the MoM wants him to do.  If that means protecting Harry one day and 
locking him up the next day....so be it.

Me(In first post):
"Good point. I guess I should more specifically say that
Lucius Malfoy will accuse Harry of being in league with Voldemort. He
knows Harry has faced him because he saw the pierced diary and had it
returned to him by Harry."

Jim Ferer writes:
My objection to this theory is that I think the Death Eater strategy
will be to keep the wizard world asleep and complacent as long as
possible. They can count on the unwitting cooperation of the Minister
of Magic; Fudge wants everything to be hunky-dory. I suggest that
Lucius is going to say "there is no Dark Lord any more, thank
goodness," and accuse Harry of killing Cedric himself to win the Cup.
He might trump up some other charge, but I believe the Death Eaters
don't want the wizard world to believe Voldemort is back.

Me again:
Good point about the strategic value of keeping the WW in disbelief 
about the return of Voldemort....however, to continue that ploy, 
there would be three other deaths they would have to explain.  1. 
Bertha Jorkins, 2. Frank Bryce (although this death may not be as 
significant) 3. Crouch Sr.  At least two of these deaths will need to 
be explained somehow, even if they pin Cedric's death on Harry.  Will 
they attribute the deaths  to Harry?  How?  

One possibility would be if Crouch Sr.'s death was pinned on 
Hagrid...after all...his "bone" transfigured body was buried outside 
Hagrid's hut.  How long will it take for Fang to dig it up and leave 
it lying around Hagrid's place?  As for Bertha Jorkins...this would 
be a little tougher to explain without including Voldemort...unless 
someone went out to Albania to search for her body.  

Also, don't forget the Dark Mark conjured with Harry's wand...checked 
by Amos Diggory himself.   Both Crouch Jr. and Crouch Sr. can no 
longer take credit for/explain  that mystery.  In addition, the MoM 
would have to explain the appearance of the Dark Mark on Snape's arm, 
as well as the disappearance of Karkaroff. I guess leaving Voldemort 
out of the picture could work....and certainly would be desirable 
strategically, but would the WW believe fabricated explanations for 
all of the other Voldemort related deaths and disappearances?

Jim again:
So they (the MoM) have to find
alternatives,( to Voldemort being involved):

** accuse Harry of killing Cedric himself so that he could win the
Triwizard Cup himself, which fits in with the "glory-hunter" image
Draco's been painting with Rita's help. Harry's wand gets "lost," or
they accuse him of using a different one, or phony up the evidence

Me:

O.K. I guess they could accuse Harry of killing Cedric directly, 
using Cedric's own wand of course, since we currently don't know what 
became of it.  Lucius could have confiscated it at Riddle's grave so 
it could not be checked. Harry could be accused of using it to kill 
Cedric, and then destroying it.  My only reservation to this theory 
is that Harry doesn't know how to perform the AK curse....*nodding to 
several other comments made to this effect*... but I guess the MoM 
could overlook/ignore that.

I wrote:
Harry escapes [Azkaban] the same way Sirius does! By becoming an 
Animagus! 

Tom replies:
I'm not crystal on this, but I thought it took years to perfect the 
animagical ability.

Me:
Good point.  It took James, Peter and Sirius three years to manage 
it... however, Harry has been known to master difficult spells in 
shorter than the usual time.. for example, the Patronus charm.  He 
also flew on a broom extraordinarily well the first time, even though 
he had never even seen one before.  He was placed as Seeker on the 
Quidditch team his first year, previously unprecedented.  I don't 
think his ability to accomplish animagical ability in a years time 
would be too much of a stretch, considering his history.
  
Incidentally, I think an owl would be the perfect animagus for Harry 
for three reasons: 1. Harry's glasses would translate well to an 
owl's large eyes and "wise" reputation.  2.  Harry has already 
established himself as an excellent flyer....(on a broom of course).  
3.  Harry's ability to locate a small Snitch from a distance and 
capture it quickly is very similar to the way an owl hunts for mice.  

  
Jim:
(Giving other alternatives)
** portray Harry as a nutter, again playing up on the stories Rita has
done, and try to get him iced in St. Mungo's.

Steve agrees:
They do accuse Harry of assorted misdeeds but the best Lucius can get
is Harry commited to St. Mungo's. This is better than Azkaban, because
it still allows a lot of the story to occur from Harry's 
perspective... (snip)

Me:
Yes, I've read that many people predict Harry will wind up at St. 
Mungo's.  A stay at St. Mungo's would certainly discredit Harry 
before the WW.  And yes, Rita Skeeter has painted him that way....so 
much so that Fudge seems to believe it at the end of GoF. Fudge 
says, "For heaven's sake, Dumbledore-the boy was full of some 
crackpot story at the end of last year too-his tales are getting 
taller, and you're still swallowing them-the boy can talk to snakes, 
Dumbledore, and you still think he's trustworthy?"  That said 
however, how could the MoM keep him at St. Mungo's against his own 
will?  If Harry can escape from Hogwart's, why would St. Mungo's be a 
setback? 
 
I still think Harry will end up in Azkaban because JKR has already 
set the stage for how the Dementors are Harry's weak point.  We are 
supposed to quake at the very prospect of Harry being sent there.. 
didn't we quake when Harry first encountered Voldemort and wonder how 
in the world a little boy wizard would escape him?  Now Harry has 
escaped Voldemort three times...we need a more palpable threat! Also, 
JKR has acknowledged that the Dementor's characterization came from 
her own experience of depression. (I like chocolate being the 
antidote for that on both levels!)  

Well, if Harry is going to defeat Voldemort eventually, (we hope), he 
can't have an Achilles heel.  He has to face the Dementors and escape 
them somehow.  If Voldemort really does convince the Dementors to 
join him as he proposes to do, someone has to learn of their weak 
points.  What better way for Harry to learn this than to have to 
escape from them himself?

Steve again:
Option 2-
Please allow me a brief side track into highly compressed FF.

Harry is in the courtroom giving testimony in his own defense, no one
is buying it, it looks bad for Harry, everyone is convinced he is
going to Azkaban for sure. Suddenly, the doors to the courtroom burst
open; it's Sirius Black looking hale and hearty.

Sirius: You've got the wrong man, it was me all along. I did it all.

Harry: NO... NO... yada yada

Fudge: Summon the Dementors; perform the Kiss.(snip)

Me: 
Yes!  I like the courtroom drama concept!  I am not completely 
opposed to there being lots of unexpected twists and turns in the 
proceedings...similar to the chapter "Cat, Rat and Dog" in PoA.  
Personally, I like the prospect of a conflicted Cho Chang being 
pressured to testify against Harry.  Imagine poor Harry's chagrin!  
Having his crush revealed to everybody and suspected of jealousy 
before the entire MoM!   I also like the idea of a torn Ginny.. 
unsure whether to lie and claim she, in fact, WAS conscious the whole 
time,  (in order to defend Harry),... or tell the truth and risk 
incriminating him further.  Percy's betrayal would be a real jaw 
dropper as well. I still hold, however, that Harry will be sentenced 
and sent to Azkaban.
 
Steve again:
Harry does go to Azkaban, but when Voldemort comes and frees all the
prisoners, he frees Harry without realizing it. Harry takes a wand
from a Death Eater, and Harry confronts Voldemort once more, and of
course defeats him.
 
Me:
I think I could go with this...I'll have to think on it some 
more..although I don't think Voldemort will be defeated until Book 
7.    Have you considered that maybe the whole reason Lucius Malfoy 
would try to sentence Harry to Azkaban would be for the purpose of 
delivering him into Voldemort's clutches?  Hmmm....


Jim:
** Play up the Draco incident on the train to a case of attempted
murder that will land Harry in Azkaban, or at least get him expelled
and open to attack outside Hogwarts.

Me:
Hmmm..maybe, but it would be hard to single out Harry as the only one 
responsible for that incident.  Four other people were involved.

Jim:
** concoct a story that Dumbledore and Harry are conspiring to make
Dumbledore the next Dark Lord, which might neutralize both of them.

Me:
Wow, I could be stirring my pensive all night thinking of the 
implications of this one... I can't think of anything right away to 
comment about.  As for neutralizing Dumbledore, I think Rita Skeeter 
will be able to do that once she informs Fudge that Dumbledore is 
harboring Animagus!Sirius Black.

Tanya writes:
For me, the whole Harry!Azkaban theory hinges on knowing who 
currently heads the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We know 
what happened when Crouch was there, loads of the accused simply 
disappeared off to Azkaban. If the right guy is in there, Malfoy 
won't have to *prove* anything!

Me: 
Good point, I hadn't thought of that...but I guess I'm still hoping 
for some courtroom drama!

Tanya again:
And, on a side note...who will head up the Department of 
International Magical Cooperation now that Crouch, Sr. is gone?...  
<snip>... I fear Fudge's fondness for Lucius

Me:
Ooooh!  Another good point...Lucius being appointed to this role 
would be a dreadful thing indeed.

Kathleen
<Still chuckling over the possibility of Animagus!Harry posing as an 
owl and intercepting lots of juicy information.>