15

Did the Death Eaters buy that Sirius was one of them? He had no tattoo and never had any prior dealings with them. On top of that, according to public (mis)information, it was on Sirius Black's information that Voldemort acted on when he went to his demise.

According to this question, the accepted answer is that the Death Eaters were not yet aware that Pettigrew was on their side. I will hold this to be true for the purpose of this question, so any answers must take this into consideration.

Did any of them believe that Sirius was now on their side? Did they think he was a spy for the other side? Did any of them interact with him in Azkaban? (I thought I remember Sirius saying Bellatrix made some quippy family remark while inside, but I could be imagining it or worse, it might have been the movie encroaching on my imagination)

1
  • 2
    This actually is a big inconsistency in the story. Sirius explicitly says that the Death Eaters know Pettigrew was on their side (and therefore that Black was innocent). If this is true, Snape knows Black is innocent...and so should Dumbledore. But Snape clearly believes Black is guilty throughout Prisoner of Azkaban. Hmm...
    – user48124
    Jul 12, 2015 at 21:19

2 Answers 2

15

I found a quote in Prisoner of Azkaban from Sirius Black which would lead me to believe the post I mentioned before is inaccurate, and that the Death Eaters did in fact know Peter was in league with them, and not Sirius.

From PoA, Chapter - The Servant of Lord Voldemort,

“You haven’t been hiding from me for twelve years,” said Black. “You’ve been hiding from Voldemort’s old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter. … They all think you’re dead, or you’d have to answer to them. … I’ve heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters’ on your information … and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort’s supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they’ve seen the error of their ways. … If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter - “

This sort of clears up my question. The Death Eaters would have known that Sirius was not on their side, and assumed he went and killed Peter for revenge. None of them would have told the good guys that Sirius was innocent. Why should they? He was in the Order.

But this does leave another question with an accepted answer sort of unanswered…

2

You have to remember that the Death Eaters never had all the information necessary. From how Voldemort has operated in other sections of the series, I think that it is pretty safe to say that only Voldemort and Pettigrew knew that Pettigrew had defected (and that Voldemort was going to attack the Potters next). Voldemort pretty much operated alone when he got down to it. The Death Eaters were part fan club, part cleanup squad, and part backup team. They spread general mayhem and propaganda, while Voldemort schemed on his own, and acted in a similar fashion.

In a similar vein, nobody but Voldemort, Pettigrew, and Sirius knew that Sirius had not defected. When Voldemort dies, the Death eaters themselves scattered. I doubt they really cared if Sirius was one of theirs, they had worse problems. I guess they would have just assumed that he was one of theirs and paid more attention to their imminent problems (the Ministry). Since the Death eaters were no longer an organized structure (no leader, most of them in hiding or arrested), their only source of information was the newspapers. They had no way of verifying anything.

I myself can't recall anything about any interaction between Bellatrix or Sirius, but I have a nagging feeling that there was one.

3
  • 1
    In Prisoner of Azkaban, they say that Sirius Black was even considered to be the next Dark Lord for the Death Eaters to gather around, but this is from the perspective of gossipers. How much information did the ministry have on what the Death Eaters thought? Or in Professor McGonagall's case, the Order? Is the reader supposed to assume any of the Death Eaters actually believed this? For your answer, I suppose they could have been busy with the ministry, but that only lasted until they were locked away or declared innocent. After that what did they think?
    – Sheph
    Feb 18, 2013 at 14:30
  • 1
    @Sheph: They thought that Sirius was one of theirs. The Order didn't know about Sirius either. (Remember, Snape treated him like an enemy, and he probably had the inside scoop from both sides--though this might be due to their childhood animosity) We have no way of telling if they wanted to rally round him, though. Feb 18, 2013 at 14:35
  • There may just be a lack of material on the subject, but I'm going to try to find the quote I thought I remember from Sirius about Bellatrix.
    – Sheph
    Feb 18, 2013 at 23:47

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.