Some questions about Sirius Black (some FF)

[Devika]

No: HPFGUIDX 54126

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Briony Coote" 
<briony_coote at h...> wrote:
> Hello Everybody!
> 

Hello, Briony!  Welcome!

<snip> 
> My favourite character is
> Sirius Black and I have a hunch that the fifth book will deal with 
the
> crusade to clear his name.  Why?  Because Azkaban will certainly 
feature
> very strongly since Voldemort plans to break it open, and because 
the
> Ministry will probably make Black a scapegoat for any nasty 
activity.

If your favorite character is Sirius Black, you're in very good 
company on this list <g>.  Anyway, I think you have an interesting 
idea here.  I hadn't thought of it, but it makes sense to me that the 
Ministry would think Sirius was involved in Voldemort's plans for 
Azkaban.  After all, they do think that Sirius was Voldemort's right 
hand man, and they are still looking for him.  On the other hand, 
though, Voldemort wants to release Azkaban from the control of the 
dementors so that the dementors can join the DEs.  Would the ministry 
honestly believe that Sirius would want anything to do with the 
dementors now?  Well, it's possible.  You never know.



>  
> 1 - At the end of GoF, why does Dumbledore tell Sirius to resume his
> human form while Snape and Mrs Weasley are in the hospital ward?  
Is it
> more than just to let them know the truth about Sirius?  Could
> Dumbledore have some plan to clear Sirius?
>

I always thought that the main purpose of this was to have everyone 
on the same side knowing the truth about Sirius.  That doesn't mean 
that Dumbledore doesn't have a plan to clear Sirius, and I'd love it 
if he did.  However, uniting to fight against Voldemort is the 
primary concern here.
  
I do wonder, though, why Dumbledore sent Prof. McGonagall away before 
asking Sirius to reveal himself.  I know we've discussed this before, 
and I do not subscribe to the evil!McGonagall theories.  Perhaps she 
already knows?  Or perhaps Dumbledore didn't want her to have to lie 
to the Ministry just in case they asked questions.    

  
> 2 - Now that Mrs Weasley knows about Sirius, what is she going to do
> with this piece of information?  How do we know she doesn't go to 
the
> Ministry?

We trust Mrs. Weasley.  We know she won't go to the Ministry, 
although she'll have to keep her information about Sirius a secret 
from Percy.  Molly Weasley trusts Dumbledore, and Dumbledore trusts 
Sirius.  Plus I'm sure Ron explained the whole story to her 
afterwards.  That would be good enough for her.


  
> 3 - Rita Skeeter must also know, since she was in the ward at the 
time
> (Hermoine caught her on the window sill).  What's to stop her from
> blabbing (apart from Hermoine's blackmail)?


Yes, we've definitely discussed this before.  Rita Skeeter most 
likely does know, and there really isn't much that keeps her from 
reporting everything.  It would make one incredible story.  I somehow 
don't think that Hermione's knowledge about Rita will be very 
effective in keeping Rita quiet on a story like this.  I'm really 
quite afraid of what Rita can and might do.

>  
> 4 - Could Mad-Eye Moody testify that Pettigrew is alive, and a DE?
> Remember, Pettigrew was with Crouch Jnr when they surprised him and
> stuffed him into that trunk.  

Mad-Eye Moody may not have actually seen Pettigrew.  He may have been 
attacked before he saw who his attackers were.  Even if he did see 
Peter, I doubt that Moody's testimony would count for much, since 
most people dismiss him as paranoid.


>  
> 5 - If word gets out that Dumbledore and Harry are protecting 
Sirius,
> what could happen to them, and Sirius?

Whatever it is, it won't be good.  That's why Rita is starting to 
scare me.

 
> 6 - What could the ramifications of Voldemort's raid on Azkaban be 
for
> the campaign to clear Sirius? 

I don't know if they would really have anything to do with each 
other, unless you believe in the scapegoat theory that you stated 
before.

The point is that no matter what Sirius or Voldemort (or anyone else 
for that matter) do, Sirius is not going to clear his name unless he 
can prove that Peter is alive.  Sirius didn't go to Azkaban for 
betraying the Potters; he went for killing Peter and twelve other 
people.  If it were found that Peter was in fact alive, that would 
cast doubt on whether or not Sirius had actually killed anyone.  
Sirius doesn't have to show that Peter is a DE right away (although 
that would certainly help his case).  He just needs to show that 
Peter is alive so that there is some initial doubt of his guilt.  
Then the fact that Peter is a DE would help to show that Sirius had 
been framed.

 
  
> 7 - Doesn't Sirius have the right to any form of appeal, especially
> since he didn't have a trial?  They must have an appeal system since
> Buckbeak got one.

It seems likely that Sirius technically has the right to an appeal; 
however, considering the fear and panic of the time when he was 
arrested and the upcoming fear surrrounding the return of Voldemort, 
it seems unlikely that Sirius will be granted an appeal.  

  
> 8 - Finally, have those imprisoned DEs been given some sort of 
special
> power that would enable them to survive Azkaban with their minds and
> powers intact?  The Lestranges could not apparate to Voldemort's 
side
> because they were locked in Azkaban, but this also means that they 
can
> still apparate.  In other words, they still have the powers they 
should
> have lost while being exposed to Dementors. 


The fact that the Lestranges couldn't apparate from Azkaban doesn't 
necessarily mean that they still have their powers.  I don't know if 
Voldemort has any way of knowing whether or not they still have 
powers.  Even if they do, however, that doesn't mean that all of the 
imprisoned DEs have retained their powers.  I'm sure many of them 
died in Azkaban, just as Barty Crouch Jr. was thought to.  Many 
others probably lost their powers.  Since we don't know how many DEs 
were imprisoned, we can't know how many were able to keep their 
powers.

  
>  And what of their minds?  Have they gone mad or what?  If they are
> insane, what use would insane DEs be to Voldemort?  But Karkaroff 
and
> Crouch Jnr. were still sane after a year or so in Azkaban, 
while "most
> go mad within weeks."  

*Was* Crouch Jr. sane after being in Azkaban for a year?  We know he 
certainly wasn't sane twelve years later, but we don't know whether 
his insanity in GoF was caused by Azkaban or by his imprisonment by 
his father.  He could have been insane all along.  We don't know.  As 
for Karkaroff, we don't know that he was in Azkaban for a year.  All 
we know is that he was put into Azkaban and then later released.  I 
always got the impression that he wasn't in Azkaban for very long.
If the Lestranges were the people Harry saw in the Pensieve, then 
they had a fanatical devotion to Voldemort even before they were put 
into Azkaban.  That devotion can only have intensified after so many 
years.  So, insane or not, the Lestranges should be of just as much 
use to Voldemort as Crouch Jr. was.

  
> So do the DEs have some special capability that would enable them to
> withstand Azkaban?  

Just my opinion, but I would say no.  If Azkaban had no effect on 
DEs, then the Ministry would probably have noticed and done something 
about it.  


So many questions, so much speculation...
Only three months to go!!

Devika :)