Inheritance in the Wizarding World - Guilt, Death, & Money

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 96572

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" <justcarol67 at y...>
wrote:
> bboy_mn wrote:
> <snip>> 
> > Personally, I like to fantasize that with all that time on his hands
> > in Grimmauld Place, Sirius took the time to sit down and make
> > provisions for Harry's future. <snip>
> > 
> > As to the death of Sirius and all it's implicaitons, here is how I
> see the events playing out.
> > 
> > First, Sirius's death will be kept a secret until such time as the
> > order has gathered all the proof it needs to clear Sirius's name.
> > 
> > ...edited...
 
> 
> Carol:
> The question is, how can anyone prove that Sirius is dead without a 
> body or reliable witnesses? Dumbledore told Fudge "as much as he 
> needed to know," but does that include a mention of Sirius? 

bboy_mn:

The key to it all is 'as much as Fudge needed to know', and he didn't
need to know all that much, and certainly didn't need to know Sirius
died. That was my whole point, the Order doesn't make an issue of his
death, his guilt, or his estate until they can make it work to their
advantage. 

Like ducks in a row, you clear Sirius's name, that give him renewed
credibility, that new credibility give credibility to any Will he may
have written. Once his name is clear and you have a credible and
favorable resolution to the estate, then you present the information
establishing that he is dead. 

But you don't do any of that until you have control of the situation
from beginning to the end. You don't bring up the issue of his
innocents unless you know doing so is the first step in a controlled
and favorable plan that works to The Order's advantage.

As long as Sirius's status is unknown or assumed, then there is no one
who can challenge ownership of 12 Grimmauld Place, which means that
the Order can continue to use it. So for now, the Ministry and the
Wizard World are kept in the dark.

However, there are people who are not under the control of or in
complete cooperation with the Order who do indeed know that Sirius is
dead. Luna knows, Neville knows, however, they may not know that this
is information that needs to be kept secret. 

Once the rumor of Sirius's death spreads, especially if it gets out
before the Order is ready, things get very sticky. Malfoy's can
challenge the estate; they can claim ownership of the assets, or if we
are not guided by 'first born male heir' system of inheritance,
cousins and uncles could start coming out of the woodwork, all trying
to claim a share. You'd be surprised how many close cousins you have
when you die and leave a sizable estate behind.

Again, the Order will try to deal with all the issues associated with
Sirius's death in a way that they can control, and when it best suits
their advantage. Right now, it's to their advantage to keep it all
quiet, but at some point the estate will have to be resolved.

I think given Harry and Dumbledore's new credibility, and several
witnesses, it won't be that hard to establish that Sirius is indeed
dead. As far as the missing body, people are convicted of murder all
the time in the absents of the body of the murdered person. People who
are lost at sea, missing from plane crashes, and assorted other
reasons are frequently declared dead by the court so their estates can
be settled.


> Carol continues:
>
> Does it even include the other Order members, whom Fudge may still 
> regard as enemies? That leaves the kids, whose identities DD may 
> also want to protect and whose testimony Fudge won't necessarily 
> believe, and the Death Eaters. Even if Fudge or anyone else believes
> the story based on such shaky testimony, where's the proof that he 
> passed through the veil? 
> 
> Carol


bboy_mn:

There really isn't that much that Fudge needs to know. A quick
overview, the general story, but with many critical details left out.

Although, it's pure speculation, I think the identity of the kids may
have been left out; simply 'Harry and some of his friends'. But, there
is G1,000 reward on each of those escaped Death Eaters, and Ron would
certainly be overjoyed with a share of that cash. Although, I don't
think Harry will be too keen to take it. None the less, I speculate
that over the summer, Dumbledore will add enough additional
information to his account of the events to warrant the kids getting
the reward.

I'm not so sure the evidence will be that shakey when the time comes
to finally present it. Again, the Order isn't going to rush in, they
are going to bide their time until they have the resources to force
the outcome to their favor.

While even more unfounded than my other speculations, I none the less
speculate that they could walk up to the Veil and yell "Sirius, are
you in there?". If he answers "yes", then he's dead; bada-bing
bada-boom ;).

Just a thought.

bboy_mn