I can believe he was head boy. It's clear Scumbledore didn't give a rat's keister about James's bad behavior in any other context, so I don't see why he should care about it in that one, either. Such favoritism would also make James and Lily more inclined to join the Order, and even support it financially. (I got that idea from The Best Revenge, in which Harry is bankrupt because his parents beggared themselves to defeat Voldemort. I know Harry's rich in canon; I just wanted to give credit for my idea where it's due.)
I've always believed James and Sirius got away with so much in large part because of bribery. They both came from rich families, and even when Sirius got kicked out by his parents, he still had money from his uncle. I can easily imagine Dumbledore making Floo calls to the Potter and Black parents, asking for another "contribution" to cover up their kids' latest crimes. It's true we have no direct canonical evidence of this, but (1) we have plenty of evidence of such corruption in other parts of the wizarding world; (2) it happens a lot in RL.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2011-05-20 02:33 am (UTC)I've always believed James and Sirius got away with so much in large part because of bribery. They both came from rich families, and even when Sirius got kicked out by his parents, he still had money from his uncle. I can easily imagine Dumbledore making Floo calls to the Potter and Black parents, asking for another "contribution" to cover up their kids' latest crimes. It's true we have no direct canonical evidence of this, but (1) we have plenty of evidence of such corruption in other parts of the wizarding world; (2) it happens a lot in RL.