JKR's Single Biggest Error so far (was: Harry's last ...

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 123954


>>Alla:
>What do you mean, "why do I think that Dumbledore gave the 
testimony?" 
>It is not me, it is canon, which gives us the reason to think if not 
for sure, but at least with a big possibility that some kind of 
hearing occurred ( with or without Sirius)
>"I myself gave the evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been 
Potters' Secret Keeper" - PoA, p.392, paperback.<

Betsy:
Thanks! :) That's exactly what I was looking for, because I didn't 
remember Dumbledore saying anything about testifing.  So that 
clarifies things.  But, Dumbledore doesn't say that he gave that 
evidence at a trial.  Perhaps the evidence was given when the 
Ministry was trying to figure out who betrayed the Potters, in other 
words, who they needed to hunt down.  I'm sure Dumbledore was 
questioned fairly quickly (maybe the same morning Petunia found Harry 
on her doorstep?) and then the manhunt was on to find Sirius.  And 
then he was found with a bunch of dead Muggles and Peter's finger, 
and was thrown into Azakaban and that was that.  Crouch was happy, 
and Sirius was screwed.

I get the feeling that the Potter's were fairly well liked within the 
WW.  So I imagine there was an outcry when they were killed, and so 
I'm betting there was a lot of pressure on the Ministry to take 
immediate action, and so I think there was very little that could be 
done for Sirius once he was in the Ministy's clutches.  Plus, the 
circumstantial evidence looked really, really bad.  Plus, Sirius came 
from a long line of dark wizards and his own brother was a Death 
Eater, so I'm sure public opinion was way against him.  And everyone 
loved Crouch, because he appeared to be doing something.  So I'm 
betting that once Sirius was in Azkaban, nothing was getting him 
out.  And he could have screamed his innocence to the guards, but the 
Dementors wouldn't have cared, and I think you need special Ministry 
permission to visit prisoners, and Dumbledore, much as we love him, 
doesn't seem popular with authority 'cause he's such a loose cannon, 
so once that file was neatly closed, I think it was all over.

Which a really long babble-y way of saying, Sirius had no trial, no 
hearing, no meeting, no discussions.  He went straight from blown-up 
Muggles to jail.  Do not pass Go.

Betsy, who is exhausted (see babble) and will now go to bed and 
apologizes if she came across snippy, cause she really, really didn't 
mean to. :)