Lupin visiting Sirius at Azkaban/Crookshanks/Fudge

[alshainofthenorth]

No: HPFGUIDX 111608

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Cathy Drolet" <cldrolet at s...> 
wrote:
> sad1199 here
> "If one of my very best freinds supposedly betrayed one of my other 
> very best friends and the other best friend ended up dying... I 
> think I would find that former best friend and confront them. I 
> would beg and cry and yell and plead to find out what had happened.
> Now, it says in the books that Fudge visited Sirius in Azkaban and 
> Crouch and his wife visited their son and did the big switcheroo. 
> WHY DIDN'T LUPIN GO ASK SIRIUS WHAT HAPPENED?"
> 
> DuffyPoo:
> I have this same problem with why Dumbledore didn't see Sirius and 
find out what happened.  Since EVERYBODY knows Dumbledore (according 
to Mrs. Figg) and he's supposed to be the second most powerful wizard 
in the world, and he was begged to take the MoM job, knowing what he 
knew about the situation I just can't see that he couldn't have 
gotten a visit with Sirius in Azkaban and got the truth of the story 
from him.  Even if Lupin couldn't have gotten in, being just a common 
wizard, there's no reason DD couldn't have coerced is way in there.

Alshain:
If it hadn't been for the Secret-Keeper business, I think Dumbledore 
and Lupin might have been more likely to distrust the evidence 
against Sirius. But since only four persons had known that Peter, not 
Sirius, was the Secret-Keeper, two of them being dead, Peter missing 
and presumed dead, with Sirius left on the scene of crime looking 
like the obvious suspect caught red-handed, I think the Sherlock 
Holmes principle applies: "When you have excluded the impossible, 
whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." As far as 
Dumbledore and Lupin knew, Sirius had been the Secret-Keeper, and 
only the Secret-Keeper could have betrayed the Potters. 

Peter's Animagus abilities were a well-kept secret - if WPP had 
registered it's possible that the Ministry would have looked into it. 
What if a Muggle witness saw Peter turn into a rat and either refused 
to believe it or wasn't believed by the Ministry?  

I don't know if Lupin had suspected Sirius of being the spy before (I 
have an unfounded belief that Peter was working behind the scenes 
there), but if he had, his suspicions would have been verified. What 
if Sirius's betrayal of the Potters disgusted him so much that he 
washed his hands of him?        

> sad1199 here
> "And! Crookshanks is part Kneazle and part what? Why is the cat so 
> protective and friendly to Sirius? I'm thinking Crookshanks is 
> someone that Sirius knows well. Anyone?"
> 
> DuffyPoo:
> Crookshanks is half Kneezle and half cat.  He is protective and 
friendly to Sirius, IMO, because they got to know and trust each 
other over the school year.  Crookshanks knew Scabbers was no rat the 
second he saw him in the Magical Menagerie (the Kneazle part of 
Crookshanks) and tried to get rid of him.  Then he met Snuffles in 
the school yard and Snuffles spent some time convincing him of what 
he was after, so they worked together to get Scabbers.  Built quite a 
bond since they both where after the same thing.
> 

Alshain agrees and adds:
According to Fanastic Beasts, Kneazles are supposed to have an 
inborn "uncanny ability to detect unsavoury or suspicious 
characters..." and I suppose it might work in the opposite direction 
as well to make them recognise loyalty and trustworthiness. If you 
take the story-external view, Crookshanks's protective behaviour is 
of course a clue that things aren't what they appear to be, even 
though no one knew the first thing of Kneazles back then. 

Here's a thought, by the way: What if Hagrid had held a lesson on 
Kneazles and mentioned their abilities during PoA? Do you think that 
kind of clue would have been too obvious?
(It would have given Ron and Hermione a new subject to bicker about:
"I'm telling you, Ron, my clever Crookshanks's got Kneazle heritage!"
"No, he hasn't! He's just a stupid mad cat!")

Re: Fudge:
Fudge's *personality* is unchanged, as I see it. Throughout the books 
he's a self-serving politician with a position and a love for power 
above his abilities, dependent on advice from others, with a weakness 
for flattery and notions about pure-blood supremacy. The great change 
is in Fudge's *perception of Harry*.  

In the beginning of PoA he sees Harry as the innocent baby hero of 
the Wizarding World, a child who has to be pampered and protected and 
someone who can one day turn into a valuable ally. It doesn't cost 
him a thing to show himself fond of Harry Potter.  

In the end of GoF and in OotP Harry has developed into a threat 
against his legitimacy and his power, and Rita Skeeter has alerted 
him to facts he can use against Harry. Fudge uses every contemptible 
technique there is to brush Harry aside and vilify him, because 
taking Harry seriously is going to cost him a great deal.

Alshain