Cedric and Pettigrew (was Re: Faking Sirius' Death?)

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 91746

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "manawydan" <manawydan at n...> wrote:
> 
> Just one small thing to be explained to support this one, and that's the
> fact that Sirius could perfectly easily have put himself in the clear right
> at the outset.
> 
> Hagrid emerges from the wreckage having rescued Harry. Sirius now appears on
> his bike, hotfoot from discovering that Peter has gone AWOL. They talk,
> argue about who should take Harry, and then go their separate ways: Hagrid
> and Harry to go into limbo for 24 hours and Sirius to pursue Peter.
> 
> So. Why doesn't Sirius explain to Hagrid that Peter was the secret keeper
> and the traitor? If he had, then he'd be in the clear and there'd be no
> question of Azkaban. Peter would have found it impossible to frame Sirius
> and disappear to commune with his rodent side for the next 10 years, and the
> Dark Lord's return would have been made that much more difficult.
> 
> Sirius really does bring it all on himself, don't you think?


You put your finger on a critical point.
So far as we know no-one asked Sirius *anything* at Godrics Hollow and 
that is very difficult to accept.

Everyone assumed that he was still the Secret Keeper, anyone arriving at
the wreckage would turn to Sirius for answers or at least information as to
how this could happen. Just five words "I wasn't the Secret Keeper" and the
whole farrago becomes a very  different kettle of fish.

There have been many posts in the past speculating about that lost 24 hours
between Godrics Hollow and DD in Privet Drive, none of which produced
verifiable conclusions. Most frustrating.

OK, lets recap a few salient points, with questions.

1. House at Godrics Hollow wrecked in an explosion.
Explosion? From an AK? How did this happen?

2. Somebody informs the interested parties, which probably means DD and
the Order, but let's not forget that the rest of the WW heard almost as quickly.
Who? Who was there and got the word out?

3. So far as we know, Hagrid (sent by DD?) is first on the scene.
Why Hagrid? Wouldn't an Auror be more logical given that the Potters were a 
known target of Voldy and his DEs?

4. Sirius arrives. He later states that he went to check up on Peter and found
him gone, so he then went to the Potter house, saw the wreckage and their 
bodies.

5. He immediately suspects Peter - *but tells no-one!*
Come on! Pull the other one, it's got bells on.

6. At the Shrieking Shack Sirius tells us that the DEs in Azkaban accept 
that Peter betrayed the Potters. The DEs also assumed that Peter betrayed
Voldy, but was now presumed to be dead. 
So how come it was a secret to the rest of the WW? Why would the DEs hide
his role in the affair?

7. Peter is well aware that Sirius knows the truth and that he, and anyone
he told will be after him for explanations. He fakes his own death and kills
others in addition.
I've always had trouble with this; it doesn't seem to match what we know
about the AK curse. All other examples are aimed at single, targeted 
individuals and we have been told that you have to really  mean it. How
can Peter, not the sharpest chisel in the set, kill 13 people at random that
he's not even looking at? Talk about weapons of mass destruction! But wait
a moment! Sirius doesn't mention an AK. What he says is "...he blew apart 
the street with the wand behind his back..." Blew apart; remind you of 
something? Godrics Hollow. 

Somebody blew up Godrics Hollow, either to hide evidence or as an act
of spite after Voldy disintegrated. On the face of it, it could have been
Peter. We must assume that there were no acolyte DEs swanning
around the place or they would have carried the tale back to their lair;
Peter would not have been suspected of betraying Voldy and the affair
at the Longbottoms need never have occured. Just Peter and Voldy.

A rough framework of events can be cobbled together, but explanations
of individual actions are more difficult. Sirius's inaction in failing to shout
his innocence from the rooftops and to cast suspicion on Peter does not
make sense - unless he is hiding something. 

To stretch the envelope a bit, suppose what he has to hide is some sort
of association with Voldy, just as Peter suggested in the Shrieking Shack.
He'd really want to keep  that quiet. Voldy  was gone, James was dead,
Lily was dead - now who else needs tidying up? Ah, yes! Peter. 
Grief-stricken friend hunts down filthy traitor and zaps him in the street.
Unfortunate but understandable. Poor chap. Too upset to call the Aurors
and get Pettigrew taken alive for questioning.
Now no-one need ever know.

But things didn't work out quite the way he intended. Tee hee!

Kneasy