Dammit, Sirius!
Jun. 2nd, 2019 05:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sunnyskywalker posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
deathtocapslockI was looking over the timeline of October 31/November 1, 1981, and ran into something I don't think we've discussed. Here's the sequence of events:
So... what's missing here? Sirius sending a message about Peter's betrayal sometime during the hours between the time he discovered Peter missing and the time they blew up the street together, that's what. Or, you know, telling Hagrid when they met in person.
Because it's hard to imagine things not happening differently if Sirius had sent Dumbledore a Patronus saying, "Btw, we switched Secret-Keepers, and now Peter's scarpered. I'm going to hunt down that rat and kill him for what he did to James and Lily!" Or if he'd said that to Hagrid and asked him to pass on the message.
And he must not have, or he'd be bitter about that after his escape. But he never says, "Crouch should have known it wasn't me--I'd told Dumbledore/Hagrid/someone that Wormtail was the real Secret-Keeper--but he threw me in Azkaban without trial anyway!"
Which means that Sirius was so hell-bent on revenge that he couldn't, over the course of hours, get his head together enough to realize that maybe it would be helpful if other Order members knew Peter was the traitor. Or he wanted to kill Peter himself so much that he couldn't bear the thought of someone else bringing him in. Or maybe he felt so guilty about suggesting the switch in the first place that he couldn't bear to tell anyone, whatever the consequences. (At least he and Remus can commiserate over their cowardice together.) His statement that he "wouldn't need" his motorcycle anymore rather suggests that he expects to either die in the fight with Peter or go to prison for murdering him. That is, he was at least partly conscious of the fact that he hadn't told anyone about the switch--and for some reason, wasn't planning to.
And about that flying motorcycle. Can Sirius Apparate with it, only flying for dramatic takeoffs and landings? (Hagrid wouldn't be able to.) Or does he have to fly the entire way? If the latter, then how long did it take him to fly from his hideout to Peter's to Godric's Hollow? Twenty minutes? Four hours? Just how much was he prioritizing looking cool over traveling swiftly in an emergency? Maybe if he'd left the bike and Apparated, he would have arrived in time to retrieve Harry, calm down a bit, and give Hagrid and/or Dumbledore a sensible statement about what happened. Hell, maybe he would have gotten there before Voldemort, and the Potters could have escaped!
So why didn't any of the other characters call him on this?
- Voldemort attacks the Potters in the evening, early enough that trick-or-treaters are still out
- Sirius discovers Peter missing and flies to Godric's Hollow to check on the Potters (this may have happened first, depending on how long it takes Sirius to fly to GH)
- Hagrid pulls Harry from the "rubble" (of a mostly-intact house) sometime that night, before the Muggle emergency responders arrive (which could have been hours after the attack, depending on how noticeable a hole being blown in the roof of a house at the end of the lane was to the neighbors)
- Sirius arrives, asks to take Harry, and gives him his motorcycle when Hagrid refuses
- The next day, late enough that the street is "full" of Muggle witnesses (and victims), Sirius confronts Peter
So... what's missing here? Sirius sending a message about Peter's betrayal sometime during the hours between the time he discovered Peter missing and the time they blew up the street together, that's what. Or, you know, telling Hagrid when they met in person.
Because it's hard to imagine things not happening differently if Sirius had sent Dumbledore a Patronus saying, "Btw, we switched Secret-Keepers, and now Peter's scarpered. I'm going to hunt down that rat and kill him for what he did to James and Lily!" Or if he'd said that to Hagrid and asked him to pass on the message.
And he must not have, or he'd be bitter about that after his escape. But he never says, "Crouch should have known it wasn't me--I'd told Dumbledore/Hagrid/someone that Wormtail was the real Secret-Keeper--but he threw me in Azkaban without trial anyway!"
Which means that Sirius was so hell-bent on revenge that he couldn't, over the course of hours, get his head together enough to realize that maybe it would be helpful if other Order members knew Peter was the traitor. Or he wanted to kill Peter himself so much that he couldn't bear the thought of someone else bringing him in. Or maybe he felt so guilty about suggesting the switch in the first place that he couldn't bear to tell anyone, whatever the consequences. (At least he and Remus can commiserate over their cowardice together.) His statement that he "wouldn't need" his motorcycle anymore rather suggests that he expects to either die in the fight with Peter or go to prison for murdering him. That is, he was at least partly conscious of the fact that he hadn't told anyone about the switch--and for some reason, wasn't planning to.
And about that flying motorcycle. Can Sirius Apparate with it, only flying for dramatic takeoffs and landings? (Hagrid wouldn't be able to.) Or does he have to fly the entire way? If the latter, then how long did it take him to fly from his hideout to Peter's to Godric's Hollow? Twenty minutes? Four hours? Just how much was he prioritizing looking cool over traveling swiftly in an emergency? Maybe if he'd left the bike and Apparated, he would have arrived in time to retrieve Harry, calm down a bit, and give Hagrid and/or Dumbledore a sensible statement about what happened. Hell, maybe he would have gotten there before Voldemort, and the Potters could have escaped!
So why didn't any of the other characters call him on this?
