November 1981

[rosie_rues]

I've been doing a lot of preliminary work for a fic set late 1981/early 1982, and an odd thought occurred to me.

Why did the Lestranges go after the Longbottoms when they did? Why then? Why Frank and Alice?

I found myself wondering if it had anything to do with Sirius' apparent return to the fold. I have no doubt that Bellatrix and Sirius, both being wild, were close as children, a closeness which would have easily become hatred as Sirius turned away from the family. So, we come to late 1981. The Dark Lord is dead, and so are many of the Order, Bellatrix's immediate counterparts. Sirius is once again her favourite cousin, but he's already in Azkaban, brought down at what Bellatrix might consider his moment of glory.

It's easy to see why Bellatrix might want revenge, not just for Voldemort, but for Sirius. But why the Longbottoms?

We know Frank and Alice were highly respected aurors. We also know that Sirius was taken from the scene by Magical Law Enforcement (which seems to be mostly aurors - it isn't clear from book to book). As non-suspect members of the Order, they would probably have been on alert, especially once they ceased to be Voldemort's secondary target.

Did Frank and Alice arrest Sirius?

Comments

[rosemaryandrue.livejournal.com]

*sighs* Oh, well. It was such a shiny theory.

I had a feeling there was some more detailed careers information somewhere, but I made the mistake of looking at Harry's careers interview.

Thanks.

[ex-stateline124.livejournal.com]

it was a really interesting theory, and would have, more importantly, made a wonderful story. it bothers me more, though, that half of the information she gives in interviews and these other "sources" of canon, directly contradicts what's in, or ends up showing up in, the books.

and the thing is, even if it wasn't frank and alice who arrested sirius, it was more than likely someone he knew. it's fairly clear that the wizarding population in britian is extremely tiny (i'd posit it wasn't much larger, even before the war), so it makes plenty of sense that everyone knows everyone.

[rosemaryandrue.livejournal.com]

*nods* I think the wizarding population had been in decline for a while. We don't know much about Grindelwald, but Voldemort had obviously been picking away at his enemies for years. Add to that the likely survival rate in the MLE, and there's a very small group involved. Even if Sirius wasn't an auror, there's a fair chance that whoever arrested him was in the Order.