[HPforGrownups] Re: In defense of DD WAS musings on Dumbledore - Even Longer

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 158724


> Julie:
> Just to make it a clearer analogy, it would be like Ron going to jail 
> after
> Harry's death, with DD knowing that only a very *few* other people  could
> have betrayed Harry, those being, say, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, or
> Luna. The only people Harry would have trusted implicitly enough to
> be his secret-keeper (and, yes, Harry might have more people  than
> that, but it didn't seem James did). DD was told by Harry that Ron
> is his secret-keeper. Ron is found soon after Harry's demise,  laughing
> maniacally over the dead body of Neville, and is carrying away in  that
> crazed state.
>
> So, in this scenario, DD thinks...what?? Oh, Ron, dear friend of  Harry
> can't be guilty, it must be Hermione, dear friend of Harry, or Neville, 
> dear
> friend of Harry. Well, except that Neville is dead too. But still,  Harry
> Harry must have changed secret-keepers, suddenly and for no clear
> reason, without telling anyone. All that evidence against Ron--that
> very STRONG evidence--it must be wrong! It had to be one of the other
> highly trusted friends!

Magpie:
Right.  And given that scenario, wouldn't we expect DD to want to know 
exactly what happened?  Because any one of that small group of people have 
been close friends of Harry and proved themselves loyal to him in the past? 
And accepted Snape's being loyal just on Dumbledore's say-so etc?  I would 
expect Dumbledore to check into it and be all the more sure he was getting 
the right person.  We are, after all, talking about a spy in a magical 
world, after all.  Whoever the spy was would have to be crafty and would be 
throwing suspicion on other trusted people.

The only real evidence that makes Ron look bad in that situation is that he 
was Secret Keeper, though he claims they switched at the last minute.  Ron's 
laughing is only evidence in the literary sense--really he's hysterically 
laughing, not laughing in triumph.  Hagrid even describes Sirius as seeming 
shaken up when he sees him at the Potters--right before Sirius allows Hagrid 
to take Harry instead of, say, killing Hagrid or insisting on taking Harry 
himself so he could bring him to the Death Eaters.

So of course Dumbledore isn't to blame as if he framed Sirius and threw him 
in jail himself. But I do think we'd expect him to need to know the truth 
for any number of reasons.

Julie:
 (I note also that the  other
> likely suspects--Peter and Lupin--were Order members too I believe,
> so those asking why Dumbledore didn't "support" Sirius as he  would
> other Order members by questioning the situation further, should you
> also being asking why Dumbledore would be suspecting another Order
> member--you know, those folks he loves to support and protect--*was*
> the culprit despite *no* evidence, rather than Sirius who was damned
> by loads of evidence. Especially when one of those possible suspects
> was presumably DEAD.)

Magpie:
Yeah, I am fine asking why Dumbledore didn't question them, given that he 
suspected them as a group anyway.  Better to insult some innocent people be 
questioning them than put an innocent person go free to spare their dignity. 
It's not like Dumbledore was wrong for not flying to Sirius' defense and 
saying it *couldn't* be him--so he can't suspect anyone else.  It's just 
about making a thorough investigation.

In retrospect, there's no denying this was a big mistake on Dumbledore's 
part as a leader, right?  I mean, we know now that Peter quite easily 
betrayed the Potters and got away using basic magic.  Sirius' actions were 
all completely in keeping with an innocent man shaken up by the death of his 
family.  I don't think people hold DD fully responsible so much as they just 
naturally react strongly to the idea of this kind of injustice that they 
don't brush off as something that was unfortunate, but there was nothing 
anybody could do.

-m