The Wise Old Fool, his Kith and his Kin (Quite Long, Even for Me)

[Zara]

No: HPFGUIDX 170064

> Goddlefrood:
> Dumbledore hardly knew Morphin Gaunt and yet he took the 
> trouble of finding out information from him that proved 
> his innocence of the crime he was sent to Azkaban for.

zgirnius:
The cases are not at all similar, in my view. Dumbledore suspected 
Voldemort was the true guilty party from the start, and he 
investigated the matter as part of his investigation of 
Horcruxes/Riddle's backstory. When the investigation turned up the 
fact that the wrong man was in jail for a serious crime, he naturally 
took steps to remedy that. As I believe Dumbledore would have for 
Sirius, did he have any information or other suspects to suggest 
Sirius was innocent.

> Goddlefrood:
> Sirius had been a member of the Order of the Phoenix. 
> Dumbledore was head of the Order. I personally find it 
> difficult to reconcile that Albus took the matter of the 
> exploding street with Peter in it at face value. Particularly 
> if, as I've argued before, Sirius had no formal trial.

zgirnius:
I do not believe the matter of the exploding street was the clincher. 
It was Sirius's own clever little plan that did him in. Dumbledore 
knew there was a traitor in the Order of the Phoenix, but not who it 
was. And then he learned Sirius, their Secret Keeper, betrayed the 
Potters. He met the description of the spy Dumbledore had, in terms 
of being close enough to the Potters to have passed the information 
that had been passed. Sirius then killed 12 Muggles and his friend, 
shocking I am sure, but rather less so in light of his very recent 
betrayal of his best friend and his apparent prior (what did Sirius 
say, a year?) involvement with Voldemort.

I don't doubt Dumbledore would prefer the rule of law and proper 
procedures and all, but I also think he had little doubt as to the 
issue of such a proceeding, had one been held. It is also certain he 
disagreed with the sentence, in that he did not believe the Ministry 
should employ Dementors as prison guards. 

> Goddlefrood:
> Dumbledore is someone, in my reading, who wants to know 
> what is going on. 

zgirnius:
And he believed he did. This was a mistake in the sense that he did 
not, in fact, know what was going on, but I don't think it was either 
emotionally based, or glaring.
 
> Goddlefrood, congratulating zgirnius for having waded through 
> the ramblings of the thread starter :-)

zgirnius:
He did tend to go on a bit. ;-) But a good read nonetheless.