A Question

[ladyzenobia.livejournal.com]

Hello! I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but since I came across the topic here, I thought it would be appropriate.

I was reading oryx_leucoryx's wonderful GoF chapter commentary and it was mentioned that Bellatrix/the Lestranges managed to talk their way out of Azkaban before attacking the Longbottoms. This is actually something I've come across before on various forums and when reading theories, but I can't find anything about it in the books. I tried looking for old interviews and it isn't mentioned there either as far as I can tell. So I was just wandering, how do you know this? I'd be very grateful if someone gave me a quote or something :)

Also, this is my first post here, so I'm sorry if I've made some grave error.

Comments

[oryx_leucoryx]

Of course Dumbles had to keep the whole thing quiet because he did not want the Ministry and the parents of other students to find out that he was harboring a werewolf at the school (well the werewolf was just outside school grounds during his transformation but I doubt that would convince anyone who cared), so that would be one reason not to expel Sirius. Terri has a fic where Remus kills Severus and Dumbles still covers it all up (but unfortunately for him Severus returns as a ghost).

[sionna-raven.livejournal.com]

That's what we as readers know. The Marauders are Gryffindors. They admire Dumbledore and think he's the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen. They keep their little secrets from him which they think are harmless, but that doesn't mean they don't respect Dumbles. It's much easier to believe "the Dark snake" hashad bad intentions than believing that "the epitome of goodness", "the greatest sorcerer of their times" treated a student unfairly to save his own neck.

The parents of other students? Even James - he's the one who brings up the accusation against Severus to comfort Sirius who is really sorry and scared to death that his mother will arrive in the morning to take him home - points out that Dumbledore might have been in trouble to explain it to their parents. Whatever problems Walpurga and Orion had with Sirius he's their eldest son and he's still living at home at the time. They are rich influential Purebloods and I doubt they taken it quietly that their son could be expelled, because Dumbledore kept a 'Halfbreed' in school. How far the tolerance of the Potters would have gone under the circumstances is debatable. They might have been in favour of giving young werewolves a chance, but during full moon said werewolf should have been kept safe and far away from their little darling son.
Anyway those considerations would have been secondary, because

"Dumbledore is good and fair and would never do anything morally questionable"

. It's same the cult dogma by which he later controls the minds of the Order members.

[ladyzenobia.livejournal.com]

I think Dumbledore would have been in trouble explaining it not only to the parents, but to the school governors and the Ministry. I'm not sure if they necessarily knew that Dumbledore had a werewolf in school. There is the werewolf registry, of course, but perhaps the Ministry never thought to compare it to the list of students attending Hogwarts. Because in PoA it sounds very much like Lupin's condition is something that only a few people know about. But, assuming that the governors and the Ministry didn't know Dumbledore would have had to cover the whole thing up or he might have lost his position as Headmaster. Or not? Is there anything in canon about whether the Ministry knew that Lupin was a werewolf?

That co-written fic sounds brilliant btw! Could I have a link? :)

[oryx_leucoryx]

We can be certain Lucius didn't know or he'd be using that against Dumbles. After all he already tried to oust him the previous year and was going after Hagrid via Buckbeak in POA. Now theoretically it is possible that the Ministry and governors in the 1970s knew but left no record for the future so that by the time Lucius became governor he never found out. However given what we see of Albus' way of handling information I am inclined to believe he was the one who held the story.

[sionna-raven.livejournal.com]

Could I have a link?

For the rough version IJ (http://sionna-raven.insanejournal.com/) or a slightly edited version on AO3 (http://archiveofourown.org/works/216898) .
Events directly 'After the Prank' (http://archiveofourown.org/works/213634) .