The Wizengamot’s response to the death of Draco Malfoy’s supposed assassin and Lucius Malfoy’s hated enemy will not, no matter the circumstances, be to flock to Lucius’ side.
I think you’re being generous to the wizarding public. Lucius Malfoy can probably prove — the Hogwarts wards can possibly prove — that neither Lucius nor Draco has been in Hogwarts for quite some time. It won’t be too hard for Lucius to say the better-written equivalent of
“Regardless of my personal feelings for Miss Granger, I would never besmirch House Malfoy by reneging in such brutal fashion on a matter of House honor. The question at hand is this: how could Dumbledore not have known the troll was in Hogwarts? And if he did know, where was he during the attack? If you would like to propose that Dumbledore and I were in collusion on the matter — well, I’m sure a simple show of hands will make clear how likely this assembly is to believe that.”
Not too hard for Lucius to talk his way out of. Very much harder for Dumbledore.
EDIT: I agree that not all of Hogwarts’s wards are necessarily available to Dumbledore off-campus. But the mechanisms of these two wards have been described identically: Poof, he appears, and says “I felt X”. I wouldn’t assume by default that two wards that function identically would differ in such an important aspect.
DOUBLE EDIT: It could easily be said that it makes political sense for Dumbledore to kill Hermione, as an attempt to frame Lucius. But then, if Dumbledore doesn’t actually speak up against Lucius…
It is complicated. But I still think Dumbledore is in trouble, just from the perspective of Eliezer taking a more serious, realistic look at events from canon.
Honestly, I think you’re the one overestimating the Wizarding public. The arguments from the wards aren’t bad ones, necessarily, but they’re technical ones. They won’t play well. At best, they’ll turn into conspiracy theories. Most of the public is going to look at the scene and see Lucius triumphant and Dumbledore with a black eye, and make the obvious conclusion.
It will still be basically the same in front of the Wizengamot. Having Hermione killed under his own protection means trouble for Dumbledore—it would be the second major security incident at Hogwarts in less than a month, and the first student killed in fifty years. It’s not an impossible black eye for Dumbledore to overcome, and he could surely take it if necessary. But… Dumbledore doesn’t have a compelling reason to take the hit. Framing Lucius is not an especially good motive, particularly considering that half of the Wizengamot cares not one whit about Hermione Granger’s life or death. And, if he did want her dead, he could have avoided the fallout by sending her home over Spring Break with a snake in her trunk.
The technical argument… is still a bit above the Wizengamot. They might understand, “well, because of the wards this should have been impossible,” but this will translate to “Lucius Malfoy found a way to trick Dumbledore’s magic” and not “Hmm. Should Lucius Malfoy and his hired help really be in the same weight class as the Founders’ wards?”
Finally, you’re assuming that Lucius wants to clear his name. I don’t think this makes very much sense, either. Sure, it’s bad PR in many circles, but Lucius already has a horrible reputation, and I don’t expect he’ll be terribly concerned. On the other hand, killing a student right under Dumbledore’s nose would be an excellent show of force, and it would impress people that he cares rather more about. It might be exactly what he needs, in fact—I imagine his credibility took quite a hit when Hermione Granger managed to escape punishment for an attempted assassination.
I think you’re being generous to the wizarding public. Lucius Malfoy can probably prove — the Hogwarts wards can possibly prove — that neither Lucius nor Draco has been in Hogwarts for quite some time. It won’t be too hard for Lucius to say the better-written equivalent of
“Regardless of my personal feelings for Miss Granger, I would never besmirch House Malfoy by reneging in such brutal fashion on a matter of House honor. The question at hand is this: how could Dumbledore not have known the troll was in Hogwarts? And if he did know, where was he during the attack? If you would like to propose that Dumbledore and I were in collusion on the matter — well, I’m sure a simple show of hands will make clear how likely this assembly is to believe that.”
Not too hard for Lucius to talk his way out of. Very much harder for Dumbledore.
EDIT: I agree that not all of Hogwarts’s wards are necessarily available to Dumbledore off-campus. But the mechanisms of these two wards have been described identically: Poof, he appears, and says “I felt X”. I wouldn’t assume by default that two wards that function identically would differ in such an important aspect.
DOUBLE EDIT: It could easily be said that it makes political sense for Dumbledore to kill Hermione, as an attempt to frame Lucius. But then, if Dumbledore doesn’t actually speak up against Lucius…
It is complicated. But I still think Dumbledore is in trouble, just from the perspective of Eliezer taking a more serious, realistic look at events from canon.
Honestly, I think you’re the one overestimating the Wizarding public. The arguments from the wards aren’t bad ones, necessarily, but they’re technical ones. They won’t play well. At best, they’ll turn into conspiracy theories. Most of the public is going to look at the scene and see Lucius triumphant and Dumbledore with a black eye, and make the obvious conclusion.
It will still be basically the same in front of the Wizengamot. Having Hermione killed under his own protection means trouble for Dumbledore—it would be the second major security incident at Hogwarts in less than a month, and the first student killed in fifty years. It’s not an impossible black eye for Dumbledore to overcome, and he could surely take it if necessary. But… Dumbledore doesn’t have a compelling reason to take the hit. Framing Lucius is not an especially good motive, particularly considering that half of the Wizengamot cares not one whit about Hermione Granger’s life or death. And, if he did want her dead, he could have avoided the fallout by sending her home over Spring Break with a snake in her trunk.
The technical argument… is still a bit above the Wizengamot. They might understand, “well, because of the wards this should have been impossible,” but this will translate to “Lucius Malfoy found a way to trick Dumbledore’s magic” and not “Hmm. Should Lucius Malfoy and his hired help really be in the same weight class as the Founders’ wards?”
Finally, you’re assuming that Lucius wants to clear his name. I don’t think this makes very much sense, either. Sure, it’s bad PR in many circles, but Lucius already has a horrible reputation, and I don’t expect he’ll be terribly concerned. On the other hand, killing a student right under Dumbledore’s nose would be an excellent show of force, and it would impress people that he cares rather more about. It might be exactly what he needs, in fact—I imagine his credibility took quite a hit when Hermione Granger managed to escape punishment for an attempted assassination.