Sirius Black spent 12 years in Azkaban prison for crimes he didn’t commit, but could Dumbledore have saved him from this fate in Harry Potter? In the Harry Potter series, it is revealed that in an attempt to hide the Potters from Voldemort after learning Harry Potter is the Chosen One, Dumbledore made Sirius the secret keeper of the Potters’ location. However, James and Sirius switched it to Peter Pettigrew, leading to their betrayal and deaths, Sirius being framed as a traitor and thrown into Azkaban.
Audiences have often asked why Dumbledore didn’t use his power and influence in the Wizarding World to help Sirius, a member of his Order of the Phoenix, especially since he had done the same for several others in the past who had been falsely accused of crimes. However, more of Dumbledore’s personality and strategies were explored in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore confirming that Dumbledore has a plan for almost everything. A closer look shows that not only did Dumbledore have the opportunity to help prove Sirius' innocence, but his ability to manipulate people into following him out of loyalty paints a dark answer as to why he didn’t help Sirius.
Harry Potter Theory: Dumbledore Could Have Saved Sirius
Dumbledore could have helped exonerate Sirius in a few ways. First off, Dumbledore was the head of the Wizengamot, otherwise known as the Wizard Britain’s high court of law. Dumbledore could have insisted Sirius be given a trial to prove what really happened. However, he never did and instead allowed Sirius to be taken straight to prison with no trial. Dumbledore was also the Supreme Mugwump, revealed in Secrets of Dumbledore to essentially be the political leader of the Wizarding World. Even if a trial was undoable, with this position Dumbledore could also have demanded that Sirius be given Veritaserum, the truth potion, so Sirius could explain exactly what happened without the ability to lie.
Dumbledore’s lack of belief that Sirius is innocent is also suspect. Sirius was a member of the Order of the Phoenix which fought against Death Eaters, but Sirius also was as close to James as a brother, the Potters even took him in when he ran away from home. It was highly improbable that Sirius would be the Death Eater spy due to his disdain for the Black Family, who were Voldemort supporters, and his lack of interest in the Dark Arts. At the time of putting the Potters into hiding and Dumbledore suspecting someone close to the Potters was a traitor, he had also enlisted Severus Snape to be a double agent. Dumbledore could easily have asked Snape if Sirius was a Death Eater to confirm and would have been told that Sirius was not, but he never bothered to ask.
Dumbledore Has Helped Other Accused People
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It is extremely out of character for Dumbledore to not stick up for someone he trusts when they are falsely accused. Dumbledore has gone to bat for several characters in the past and throughout the series, even when no one else agreed with him. Back when the Chamber of Secrets was first opened and Hagrid was framed, Dumbledore was the only one who stood up for him. He insisted Hagrid was innocent and gave him a job as Gamekeeper since he didn’t have political influence at the time. Fantastic Beasts revealed that Dumbledore argued strongly against Newt Scamander being expelled when he took the blame for a beast attacking students at Hogwarts, and he also helped Harry when he was put on trial for using the Patronus charm outside of school.
Most interesting, however, is Dumbledore’s willingness to stand up for Snape after Voldemort’s first defeat. Despite Snape committing several crimes, Dumbledore persisted in telling people that Snape had turned spy for their side, ensured he would stay out of Azkaban, and even gave him a job. One reason why Dumbledore singled out Sirius could be because he sees him differently than the others. Dumbledore collects outsiders like Hagrid, Snape, Newt, and Harry and will give them acceptance which earns their undying loyalty. Sirius, while an outsider from his family, is more of a rebel and would never have been under Dumbledore’s control as his main allegiance is to Harry Potter and the Marauders. However, the most likely reason Dumbledore did not help Sirius like he helped the others is much darker.
Saving Sirius Would Ruin Dumbledore’s Plans For Harry
Upon looking into Dumbledore’s manipulative ways and his intense plans, the most likely reason Dumbledore did not help Sirius is that the result would have interfered with his plans for Harry. Had Sirius not been sent to Azkaban, he would have been Harry’s legal guardian instead of the Dursleys. Dumbledore, despite growing to love Harry, was raising him to be a soldier for war and having him grow up in an abusive home with the Dursleys would ensure Harry would be more vulnerable to Dumbledore’s manipulation as Hogwarts would be Harry’s first loving home.
Had Sirius been exonerated, he would have refused to allow Harry to be raised by the Dursleys and would have given Harry a loving home, lessening Harry’s unconditional loyalty to Dumbledore. With these actions, Dumbledore could be seen as a Harry Potter villain who knew exactly what he was doing, and who was willing to sacrifice Sirius’ freedom to get Harry in a position advantageous to Dumbledore. Even after Sirius escaped from Azkaban, Dumbledore did little to help Sirius while he was on the run or when he rejoined the Order. If Sirius had Dumbledore’s help, he may have been able to spend more time with Harry in the few years they had together.
While Dumbledore was a good man fighting for what he believed in, he had a lot of faults as well and made many mistakes in his quest to take down Voldemort. However, abandoning Sirius Black to a cruel fate and refusing to help him like had helped others are among some of his worst. Perhaps if Dumbledore had truly been the greatest wizard in Harry Potter as many claimed him to be, he would have followed his own advice and done what was right and not what was easy.