Dumbledore on the Dursleys in OotP (LONG)

[kiricat4001]

No: HPFGUIDX 151635

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Peggy Kern" <kernsac at ...> 
wrote:
>
> Sherry said: 
>  He even sent Sirius off while Harry was still in the hospital 
> wing at the
> end of GOF, when Harry so obviously wanted him to stay.  Wouldn't 
it have been nice to help comfort
> the all important prophecy boy with the one person whose presence 
Harry
> wanted?
> 
> Peggy now: 
>  I think, when you're talking about someone as evil as Voldemort 
> returning, speed makes all the difference.  I'm sure Dumbledore 
would have loved to have left Sirius there with Harry 
> for as long as Harry needed him.  But the most evil and feared 
wizard there 
> was had just returned to power and no one knew it yet, which put 
them in 
> grave danger.  So the more important decision was to do what would 
protect 
> the most people, rather than doing something kind for just one 
person.  Just 
> my thoughts.
> 
> Peggy

Marianne:

While I appreciate Peggy's opinion that getting things in position 
for the next Voldemort fight was important, I always felt there was 
something a little dodgy about sending the most wanted fugitive in 
England wandering about door-to-door chatting up old Order members. 
Especially as it seems that Sirius, at that time, traveled by 
Hippogriff or on shaggy dog feet, not by Apparation. If time was of 
the essence, wouldn't it be better to send a message by someone who 
could Apparate to the houses of previous Order members and who 
wouldn't have to hide a large magical creature somewhere? 

Would DD, sometime before sending Sirius off, have contacted these 
people himself telling them that he believed Sirius to have been 
wrongly accused and unjustly imprisoned and that, though he had no 
proof, they should also accept Sirius's innocence?  If not, the 
problem of people with wands (except Arabella) finding what they 
believe to be a mass-murderer on their doorsteps has not been dealt 
with. 

Marianne, who agrees with Sherry that a hour spent with Harry would 
not have materially changed anything.