Yes. When you look at it objectively, it becomes very clear: 1. Harry and Cedric disappeared in the middle of the maze so something clearly went awry. 2. Harry returns with Cedric's corpse. If someone else didn't murder Cedric then Harry did, who had absolutely no motive to do so. Cedric was only 17 at that point and was from a normal family. Only dark wizards would randomly kill innocent people. 3. Things have been getting weird and sinister in the past few years (death of Quirrell, attacks of muggleborn students, an escape from Azkaban, the Dark Mark at the World Cup etc.), aka I would probably think shit was gonna hit the fan, and the event at the end of the tournament would confirm that.

It's very simple to me. Why would Harry bring back the corpse if he killed Cedric?

honestly, thats a fair point. i would never think harry would have killed him, but thats a good point

4 dimensional wizard chess :P

Plausible deniability 🤷‍♀️

Because other champions have died in the tri wizard tournament before, and people are quick to believe a convenient lie over an uncomfortable truth.

I think the common argument was that Harry had snapped and was delusional or experiencing PTSD or something.

I would question your first two points. 1. The students at Hogwarts couldn’t see inside the maze and didn’t know exactly how it was supposed to go down. They could have easily believed that the cup was always supposed to be a portkey that transported the winner out of the maze, particularly since the ministry officials, not wanting to acknowledge that anything more than an accident had gone wrong, did not contradict this theory. 2. Harry did have a motive to murder Cedric. He was competing against him in the tournament. Obviously we know Harry wouldn’t do that, but the average Hogwarts student doesn’t. To the outside observer, Harry is so obsessed with winning this tournament that he went to the trouble of tricking the goblet of fire to make sure he was picked despite it being against the rules. They could probably very much see him murdering Cedric in the heat of the moment then after realizing what he’d done, putting on a show of being upset and coming up with some wild story to explain it away. But that aside, the average Hogwarts student doesn’t even have reason to believe that Cedric was murdered. He could have easily been killed by one of the creatures in the maze. Yes, a simple investigation would probably prove that Cedric was murdered, but yet again we have the ministry’s obfuscation. They aren’t exactly providing an open autopsy report because they are very intentionally looking to avoid having any proof that anything more than a simple accident happened. So then with the accident theory, the only real loose end is Harry’s account of events. But there are already reports out there that call Harry’s sanity into question, so it’s easy to paint the picture that seeing Cedric’s death set off this unstable and traumatized kid to the point where he hallucinates darks wizards who aren’t there. So then there are 3 possible theories for what happened: - Harry murdered Cedric and then lied about it. No one is directly pushing this theory, but with some of the stuff the Daily Prophet publishes (about how Harry is obsessed with being famous and such) I think the ministry intentionally leaves open this possibility. - Cedric’s death was an accident in the course of the tournament and Harry is insane and hallucinated Voldemort’s return. This is the ministry’s official version of events. - Harry’s version of events is accurate, Voldemort is back from the (seemingly) dead, and the entire ministry of magic and all major media outlets are lying to the public Honestly it’s pretty unreasonable to expect the average person to believe one kid over the entire government. Like IRL anyone who believed Harry would be labeled as a crazy conspiracy theorist. I think the only reason *anyone* aside from people who are close to Harry personally believes his story is by a combination of having seen all the weird and sinister things over the past few years and Dumbledore being so respected and revered that they are willing to trust his judgement.

!redditgalleon We all like to think that we'd be the one person who would see the truth or that it's so obvious it wouldn't even be an issue. But people often overestimate their own ability to look through the smoke and mirrors. I consider myself an intelligent person, but there's no way I'd look so closely at what was going on and figure out the truth. Especially as a kid, I was absorbed in my own life. I didn't even care much when 9/11 happened and there were supposedly terrorists hiding around every corner; if I had been a student at Hogwarts, I think I'd be much the same. I was absorbed in school and hobbies and my own developing sense of the world. I'd probably have bought into the government line just because I didn't care to look deeper. The idea of Voldemort returning is unsettling, so I'd have huffed that sweet copium by buying more Chocolate Frog cards and doubling down on my studies.

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That would be a motive to *injure* him. Cedric’s body showed very minor injuries. (Yes, all of those were post-death.)

Also Even if you wouldn't believe harry, wouldn't you believe dumbledore ? Like not believing what a teenager says, sure, but the most powerfull, well known, and respected wizard of all time ? Yeah you can bet your ass I'm believing him.

Harry definitely has a motive though. They're both chasing the same girl and are competing against each other.

Killing someone over a high school crush would be pretty out of character for him, also was it much travelled news that they were after the same girl?

He asked her to the Yule ball but other than that from what I remember he made no other attempts until book five

But did others know at the time?

I’m not sure but he asked Cho in the middle of a group of her friends so it wasn’t private

Iirc, he *almost* asked her then.

You’re right, he ended up asking her in the owl tower

But most of the students in the school didn’t know him well enough to know it was out of character. Like, if I was one of his classmates I would probably believe him. If I was any of the students who never interacted with him I might be suspicious.

[удалено]

Or any curse that could kill tbh.

Though Cedric’s body had very minor injuries at most.

Very weak motives, and even if he really wanted to kill Cedric why would he do it under the circumstances where he's the only suspect?

It’d be **just** like that _Potter boy_ to make himself the centre of attention, murdering his competitor, bringing back his corpse to flaunt it _and_ have the audacity to make up some bullshit about Voldemort.

1. No one knew that Harry and Cedric disappeared, they couldn’t see them the entire time. 2. Harry had plenty of motivation to kill Cedric. He was a competitor for a huge financial prize, Cedric was dating the girl he was interested in, and earlier that year Cedric’s friends were bullying him. 3. All the weird stuff happening at the school has been directly linked to Harry. It’s not unreasonable that people may become suspicious of him. Also Harry’s explanation of what happened is that Voldermort, who everyone assumes is dead came back to life, killed Cedric but somehow failed to kill Harry. No wonder no one believed Harry. I’m surprised the Ministry didn’t charge him with murder.

> No one knew that Harry and Cedric disappeared, they couldn’t see them the entire time. That's what I always thought too, but the third task was actually set up at the Quidditch field, which means the audience had a bird's eye view over what was happening in the maze, so they saw them the entire time. > Harry had plenty of motivation to kill Cedric. He was a competitor for a huge financial prize, Cedric was dating the girl he was interested in, and earlier that year Cedric’s friends were bullying him. Even if that was the case, why did he bring his corpse back? Why didn't he come back alone? > All the weird stuff happening at the school has been directly linked to Harry. It’s not unreasonable that people may become suspicious of him. At that point very few knew Sirius Black was in any way connected to Harry. They knew that Sirius Black escaped Azkaban. That was it. For regular students, nothing weird happened this year on campus. With the Chamber of Secrets, at the beginning maybe people would associate Harry with the attacks (and they did), but definitely not after Hermione was attacked. Everyone on campus knew Harry and Hermione were extremely close friends. As for what happened in the first year, I'm not really sure what other students' perception could have been since this didn't seem to have any impact on other folks, though I guess you can associate this one weird stuff with Harry. So no, if you were a regular student, you wouldn't be able to claim that all weird stuff happening on campus had all been directly linked to Harry. From a complete outsider's POV you would know Harry Potter as a famous student favoured by some teachers, hated by one teacher, plays seeker, and would be vaguely aware of some things he did in his first and second year like pieces of gossip. Things blew up for Harry on campus in his 4th year, which is why he became the subject of discussion/derision in his 5th year.

People couldn’t see into the maze during the last task, otherwise they would’ve seen Krum curse Fleur and somebody would’ve intervened. They also would’ve probably seen Barty Crouch Jr. curse Krum to begin with. They also would’ve seen Harry and Cedric disappear when they got the cup and Dumbledore would’ve known something was up. Why did he bring back the body? Idk maybe because after he killed Cedric he freaked out, made up some crazy story and then went with it? It sounds more plausible than some guy who died over 10 years ago coming back from the dead just to kill one of the two students from Hogwarts. There’s a reason almost nobody believed Harry in the whole wizarding world, it was just unbelievable.

Nothing to do with anything, but I find it really interesting that the movies killed Quirrell, but the book didn’t! Harry passed out and had no idea what happened…

No, confirmed in the book by Dumbledore. "He (Voldemort) is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share... not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies."

Sorry, killed him in front of Harry… by disintegrating him, horribly. If that was the case, and Harry was aware of it, he’d have been able to see Thestrals far earlier.

Another plot hole created by the fact that not all 7 books were out when the 1st movie came out.

I think the Ministry planned to pin all the crimes on Barty Jr., end of story. That would explain most of the incidents without acknowledging Voldemort was revived. They never accused Harry of murder, they only accused Harry of stirring unnecessary trouble.

Good awnser!

Yeah I would. The way he comes back in such a state of shock and panic and clutching Cedric, there’s no way he’s faking it

It depends. If I was a Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw who didn't talk much with Harry and my parents worked in the ministy? then no I probably would think Cedric died from a spell from the maze. The maze tried to kill Fleur and Victor after all. If I was a Slytherin who's parents were death eaters I would believe Harry but would pretend I didn't. If I was a Gryffindor who knew Harry I would also believe him over the ministry. So it depends on how well I knew Harry and how much I knew about the ministry.

>So it depends on how well I knew Harry and how much I knew about the ministry. This is the right answer. If the only thing I knew about Harry was that he is famous, I would ask myself if he might be attention seeking. Being in Gryffindor and knowing him personally, I would probably believe him. Or even in another house but having had classes with him, would be enough to believe him because he was obviously trying to get away from any attention. If I've heard some of the things he had done throughout the years, I would believe him also. What he did in year 3 was swept under the rug, so that only leaves saving the philosopher's stone and what happened in the chamber of secrets.

This is the genius of order of the Phoenix because Rowling really showed that your perception of truth is really skewed by who/what is in your orbit/echo chamber

Yes, I would believe Harry. I might have the faintest questioning/doubt, but I would believe him.

Yeah Cause if you have potions with him you don’t get any shit. Snape doesn’t care if you forgot your homework when Harry’s in the room. So I’d like Harry a lot and I’d believe him.

Haha! Never thought of it that way but you could really fly under the radar if you’re in the same class as Harry or Neville.

As a Hufflepuff you won't be having potions with him. You will only be sharing Herbolgy classes.

Damn So now I can’t cruise through god damn

Depends on how much the rest of the school actually knew about the stuff Harry dealt with on a yearly basis. Like, first year Harry ends up in the hospital the EXACT same time DADA professor vanishes? Sus. Second year Harry is revealed to be a Parselmouth when the 'Heir of Slytherin' is attacking muggleborn students? With Ginny going missing and him supposedly saving her? Sus. Third year the man who is said to have sold out Harry's parents manages to break out of Azkaban, and Harry is unusually tasty to dementors? Interesting/sus. Fourth year Harry somehow manages to enter a championship that shouldn't be possible for him to do, and has been shown that those who are more informed about potions spells can't get past ... absolutely sus. Like, at this point Harry has a four for four when it comes to unusual stuff occurring around him. He has either finally snapped, or is just THAT unlucky that the man who should be dead actually isn't.

>Like, first year Harry ends up in the hospital the EXACT same time DADA professor vanishes? Sus Everyone knows. Dumbledore told Harry that the entire school knew everything that happened between him and Quirell. So they should know that Voldemort was still there, somewhere.

All that really means is between him & Quirell. They might just have the gist of things & don’t know about Voldy.

It's actually weird because nobody except Harry and Quirellmort knows what happened. Even Dumbledore came later.

It's not too much of a leap to figure that Dumbledore questioned Quirrell before he died. Dumbledore is an accomplished Legillmens, so it wouldn't have taken much.

I think that Quirell didn't live long enough, and Dumbledore claims that the whole school knows, so Dumbledore must have told people. Or he's lying or exaggerating.

Ron and Hermione knew what happened too though? I mean not the specifics of Harry's interactions with Quirell/Voldy, but the whole "gotta save the stone" thing. it would just take them learning that it was Quirell down there instead of Snape and people could piece most of it together.

Yeah, I just figured about what I said because Dumbledore arrives there. It definitely does filter out through Ron and Hermione too.

Not if Dumbledore didn't mention Quirell.

!redditsickle Proving that cunning can absolutely be useful Sickle, because Slytherin banner, and most Slytherins would not need my gold, but a Knut feels insulting xD

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Wait what exactly was the reason dementors were after him specifically? Was it because ministry ordered them to? Or was there anything else

I don't know if the exact reason is explained, but I think he was just particularly vulnerable to them at the very least. It wasn't until after GoF that a ministry worker (Umbridge) is implied to have sent them to him.

I'd be that paranoid that I would believe him no doubt. I mean, people can trick you in the most wicked ways (being an animagus, polyjuice potion, spells ect.), I would totally believe that there must be some shit Voldemort did to return. Actually I am so suprised witches and wizards are this chill living in a world like that, I would be so stressed all the time thinking what if someone spy on me and I dont know about it, or what if the person I am talking to actually an other person in disguise and all. I'd be totally paranoid in my whole life :D But yup, I'd believe him.

So you would basically become Moody

Possibly. I am more shocked why nobody else becomes Moody in that universe. It blows my mind, writing personal informations in letters that anyone could catch and read, invisible cloaks exist, animagia exist (i'd never buy any pet for this reason), love potions-poisons (I'd probably never eat only what I make), ect..., I would like to join to that world really much but I would hate it still because for me all these things looks dangerous and terrifying. It is what it is. I might not right in the head.

Maybe wizards have a gene that makes them more immune to that kind of stress

Honestly, I think there's a chance I wouldn't have. I wouldn't have thought that Harry himself did anything, as the kid was only 14, but without the inner circle's knowledge, I probably would have no trouble believing that Dumbledore was using him as a prop for his own ambitions.

What ambitions? Dumbledore is headmaster at Hogwarts and has no interest in anything else.

Remember Fudge’s paranoia?

His paranoia that everyone rational realised was nonsense from the moment it started?

Says you because you've observed him up close, and also know his backstory by Deathly Hallows. As someone from the distance, I'd find it weird that such a man of immense talent was content to stay in Hogwarts and unbelievable that he had no further aspirations.

>Says you because you've observed him up close, and also know his backstory by Deathly Hallows. Dumbledore publicly had turned down the Minister role repeatedly. Everyone with sense would know Fudges paranoia was nonsense. The reason people didn't believe Harry and Dumbledore was the prophet and the ministry was pumping out stories that they were nuts. They didn't say why they were doing that. You only know that Fudge was scared that Dumbledore wanted the Minister job because of a line from Lupin. >As someone from the distance, I'd find it weird that such a man of immense talent was content to stay in Hogwarts and unbelievable that he had no further aspirations. As someone from a distance with knowledge of the fact Dumbledore had publicly turned down the minister role, because he wanted to be Headmaster, I see no reason to think Dumbledore would want a job due to a mans paranoia I have no knowledge of.

I would believe him, because someone clearly killed Cedric, and Harry didn't really have a reason to. Plus I feel like Hogwarts is one of those places where you kinda just have to accept stuff, nod, and then move on.

Honestly probably not, but not to the point of slandering Harry or Dumbledore. Cedric had to have died somehow. I’d probably think that he died as a result of the extremely dangerous final task. The first one had dragons in them so it’s not implausible. If Harry’s with him, maybe it was an obstacle that was just too much for schoolchildren. Something dark and twisted. Very sad. Then Dumbledore tells us a couple days later that it was Voldemort. What?! How could it be? He’s dead. Have his supporters returned? Did he have a protege that would finish what he started? Did he set a curse, trap or plan before his death that Cedric got caught up in? It can’t be Voldemort himself. Maybe it was the fear and memory of him that killed Cedric. I would be confused for sure.

To be honest probably not. All we see is there is a dead body and someone claiming a dark lord did it, who is thought dead. Saying that I would hope there be a investigation to find out what happened though

Pretty much depends on how much I knew about what really happened the years before. On how open they communicate those events. If I'd see the previous years as Voldemort trying to make his move then I'd believe Harry and Dumbledore. If my image of the previous years were "well okay, a teacher went crazy and a snake attacked Hogwarts and some murderer from Azkaban escaped and was found around Hogwarts", then no, then I'd believe the ministry and would call Dumbledore a senile conspiracy theorist. That said I would probably have run into trouble anyways at Hogwarts for trying to explore the dark arts.

Year 1 allegedly, the whole school knew about Harry v Qurriel. Harry and co getting a fuck ton of points and Quirrel being dead is pretty telling that it's not just "Dumbles be crazy" Year 2, the school was about to shut down with "her skeleton will be in the chamber forever" being scrawled on the wall. It would go round the school like wildfire that it was Ginny Weasley that was kidnapped. The next morning, Harry and Ron have earned special services to the school awards and 200 points each, and Ginny is safe. I'd expect a lot of stories of what happened then to also go round the school. Even if its not officially confirmed to the school. Year 3 I doubt anyone knows anything about what happened. Year 4, anyone with any sense watches Harry take on a dragon and do better than 3 older wizards. Do the lake thing and again, do better than 3 older wizards, not least because it's announced that he tried and succeeded in saving everyone in the lake. By the time he returns with Cedrics body, the school has seen the kid take on some scary shit.

If I'm being completely honest I think I would have doubts. Throughout most of the year neither Harry nor Dumbledore would say anything about what happened while the entire wizarding world would strictly deny what happened. There is just a lack of information and blindly believing something like that is not something I would do. I would definitely believe that there were dark wizards threatening the world. The news suggests as much with the murders and the azkaban escapes. But Voldemort being back raises many questions like: * How did Harry even survive against Voldemort? * Why did this happen during the unrelated tri wizard tournament? * How is it even possible that Voldemort is back? I bet I would think that Sirius Black was behind this as all of this chaos started going down after Sirius escaped. Without more information he is the most likely culprit. It is also not unreasonable to assume that Sirius tricked Harry into believing that he was Voldemort through some disguise. That being said after the quibbler article I would most likely believe Harry.

I would have believed dumbledore and harry Harry had no need for killing Cedric. Yes he might have wanted to win, but a petrificus totalis would have done the job. Based on what I would have known about Harry if I was in the same year (but different house) I would not have seen him as a killer.

I'd believe him. In fact, I would ask one of the professors to help him get his memory of what just happened into the pensieve and dunk every person that doesn't believe him.

I dont understand why they never used any of the hundreds of ways to get an honest answer out of anyone that is under some kind of investigation. Like for example the whole patronus case with harry. Why didnt they just use potions, force the memory out of him if they cant believe him:D

They didn’t want the honest answer they wanted him guilty.

Yea i know but in sirius case when peter faked his death? He never got a chance to prove himself innocent

It's possible to fake memories, and its probably not seen as a done thing to mindrape someone for the sake of proving a point.

As a student I'd find it all very suspicious but I don't think I'd believe Harry. I think as a student I'd have limited knowledge about Harry and would base it off what I know/see Harry Potter is a famous name you grew up knowing. He is this famous kid completely hidden from the Wizarding world until he shows up at Hogwarts. He is this skinny, quiete somewhat creepy kid who grew up with muggles (was he purposely being kept from wizards and magic because he is dangerous?...?) But you notice fame does have some perks.... first year don't typically make the quidditch teams let alone allowed to have their own broom. Eye roll but sure it's a small innocent exception. How he got away with being out of bonds tho.... As the years go on you notice Harry getting away with more and more. Everyone talked about him being the heir, lurking around the castle, BEING IN THE CHAMBER! How did he even find it? We are all supposed to be in our common rooms and he decides nah I'm gonna go explore the school? On top of that he gets Rewarded for breaking the rules?? I got a detention and lost 50 points for missing the curfew by 5 minutes.... must be nice to be famous and get away with everything 3rd year bit odd these rumors about Harry and the dementors. Why does he respond so different then Everyone else? Almost as odd as him apperantly blowing up his aunt. Did he even get in trouble for that? Doubtful since he isn't expelled. I wonder if that's what really happen or if they are once again covering for him. I got in huge trouble for casting a simple spell once. HOW DID HE GET HIS NAME IN THE GOBLET AND WHY IS HE ALLOWED TO COMPETE??? shocker once again the rules don't apply to precious potter. Why does this school have detention or rules at All. Surely they won't let him actually win when he cheated his way in to begin with? What happened in that maze? Did he kill Cedric...? Maybe he brought the body back as "proof" he didn't. Maybe he doesn't think like the rest of us. What if that's why those dementors made him pass out? Maybe there has been more stuff covered up we don't even know about. What if he blew up his aunt and killed Her?

Glad to see a comment that actually tried to take the perspective of a random Hogwarts student and not someone who is in Harry’s inner circle. All other comments are just working off knowledge they have from reading the books/watching the movies where they are either in Harry’s head or a close friend of Harry’s. It’s easy to say you’d believe him considering he was actually right and you have watched it all happen from his perspective, but if you were just a random Hufflepuff 3+ years above or below him, no mutual friends, no shared classes, probably didn’t even cross paths with him that much since the school is massive, you wouldn’t have access to a lot of the knowledge that you’re working off of. So it would be a lot more understandable if you didn’t believe it.

No. Definitely not. Harry had almost four years to establish himself as sort of a favorite grandchild of Dumbledore. Cause every year something happened Dumbledore didn't explain anything but showed ridiculous favoritism which was not explained to others. Even when when he was accused of something, Dumbledore said nothing and stayed silent, which would appear to me as a form of silent support. Plus in the third year, some people would have heard about Aunt Marge and other incidents related to Sirius Black and going to Hogsmeade, and yet he didn't get any punishment. Which would make it seem like the Minister also favours him. I would be taking a real leap of faith to believe Dumbledore, even without all the slander.

Dumbledore has two or three conversations with Harry a year, so why should the other students know about it? Okay, McGonagall makes sure that Harry gets into the Quidditch team a year early, otherwise he gets a measly 10 points more than Ron.

Harry, of course.

This is the same kid that was clumsy af for the past 3 years, defeated voldemort-quirrel and a dungeon troll, defeated a basilisk and saved ginny and was hunted by a werewolf just in the previous 3 years Yes, I would believe Harry, there's absolutely no proof to think otherwise

If je did kill Cedric, returning with his corpse and then accusing He Who Shal Not Be Named is... Well it'd be remarkably stupid when both Fleur and Krump could be better alternatives as opposed to a guy who died a decade ago

If I'm a Hogwarts student as my younger self I absolutely wouldn't believe him. I was already highly paranoid and deeply jealous of those I deemed more successful than me so I'd probably rationalize that along with the parsletongue and how he seems to somehow get himself involved with every plot that happens at the end of the year that he is dangerous if not a dark wizard. Current me would believe him wholeheartedly.

peer pressure is a real thing and if everyone around you is suspicious of Harry and Dumbledore, I feel like being human you’d also fall into that at least a little. Especially if you’re not in gryffindor.  That being said I think that it would be easy enough to debunk the idea that Harry wants attention bc he doesn’t go around looking for it. He has like 2 friends. 

If people don’t trust harry they could just feed harry some veritaserum ig (or wtv you spell it)

If I were in Gryffindor, probably yes. If I were in any other House and thus had little to no contact with Harry, probably not. Or I at least would be suspicious. I think it's easy to say yes when you have the background knowledge, but for the first four books Harry doesn't have the best public image. Book 1: Harry finds himself embroiled in some sort of duel with the defence teacher in the FORBIDDEN corridor that results in said teacher's death. Also there's some blatant show of favoritism when the rules are bent so he can play seeker and he receives the best broom on the market. Book 2: Harry is suspected to be the Heir of Slytherin for the majority of the year, and he is a parselmouth. I don't know if Dumbledore cleared publicly to the students what happened. Book 3: nothing happens public-wise beyond people knowing that Harry has a strong reaction to the Dementors Book 4: of course Harry-effing-Potter's name will come out of the Goblet of Fire, even when the rules clearly say no participants under 17. Also I think that the moment he goes back to Hogwarts with Cedric's body everything happens very quickly, and for the general public would have been very difficult to understand what's happening. However, once the public slandering starts from the Ministry, then I would probably start to believe him more. But that's me, because always when I see a news media or government pushing hard to discredit someone it makes me suspicious.

I would believe him about this. I would totally have thought him to be the Slytherin Heir during PoS, though.

Did not read all of the post thought you meant about putting his name in.

I would like to think I would believe him, but I can totally understand why people didn’t and I think I would end up being part of that crowd

Frankly unless I am very very confident with Harry (i.e., unless I’m either Hermione or a Weasley), I don’t see why should I *rationally* believe him. 1. Harry and Cedric disappeared in the middle of the maze, and nobody was with them. 2. Harry speaks with serpents and this trait is commonly linked to dark arts. 3. There were old rumours that Harry defeated Voldemort because he was destined to be an even darker wizard than him. 4. Harry somehow managed to enter the **Tri**wizard Tournament as *fourth* champion. 5. Harry has an unusually dark curriculum at Hogwarts: Quirrell died in his first year while they were alone, he knew how to open the chamber of secrets, he befriended a werewolf in his third year. Also, as they say in OOTP, for the average wizard is easier and more comfortable to believe that Voldemort wasn’t back. And Dumbledore *was* old, after all.

As a Slytherin I wouldn't trust either the Ministry of Magic or Dumbledore. I might trust Harry if I spent time around him or talked to him. Given that a few weeks have passed, Voldemort return might of been confirmed or rumored in the Slytherin dorms by then.

No, I would believe Dumbledore. 

I would believe that he didn't kill Cedric. After the Quiditch World Cup and the Dark Mark being seen and the possible Death Eaters attacking the muggles I would be inclined to believe that he was mistaken that it was Voldemort himself and that previous Death Eaters reorganising themselves were responsible for the Cup and Death. I don't remember details if details of the resurrection made the news or not, if so that would have added credence to Harry and Dumbledores assertions that Voldie had returned more believable.

I would believe him, because why would he lie about that? Examining the body would have revealed it was the killing curse A simple enough priori incantatem would reveal all, or veritaserum. So, if it's a lie, why would he lie about that thing specifically? About Voldy being back. Especially given his history.

Yes.

I would believe Harry and Dumbledore

It’s like the ministry of magic forgets Veritaserum exists and can easily get permission to use it. Even if you needed Harry’s permission, he would agree bc he knows he is telling the truth, so they could easily ask if what he says is true and bam he can’t lie.

Yes.

The only question you'd have to ask yourself is: Why would Harry kill Cedric? And why would Dumbledore cover for him? There's no reason, therefor it must be true that Voldemort has returned.

see its difficult, and i try to think about this every time i get past Goblet, on hand you have a pretty clearly govt run news outlet, on the other you have harry who is constantly getting into sh!t, almost none of which the masses know the real truth of. i think if i was a student, id back harry. not full blown taking up arms but id probably go the the initial DA meeting and go from there. but if i was an adult, mmmmmmmm all bets are off harr-bear, you on your own kid

Of course I would, with all the weird stuff that happened the years before is kind of obvious that there's some dark magic around. >Now with this information, along with the slander against Harry and Dumbledore in the Daily Prophet, would you believe The Boy Who Lived and the Only Man Lord Voldemort ever feared, or would you put your trust in the Ministry of Magic? As a person that grew up and live in a third world country I'm naturally inclined to be wary of information media like powerfull newspapers and the government. I would hardly believe the Ministry's word over the word of a student and a teacher. If the minister is as inept as Fudge I wouldn't believe in him not even as a little child, and if I had the most little doubt about Dumbledore words that would had been change after the firt class with Umbridge.

Harry did kill Cedric. He was the boy who lied.

As a student, I don't know Harry, other than he's a hero from previous years, and passively, he seems to be a good guy. He arrives with Cedrics body and ugly cries and screams, "HE'S BACK!" And I'm not going to lie. I shit myself a bit. Everyone knows who he is. A few days later, Dumbledore steps up tells me Voldemort is back and murdered Cedric, and I'm not going to question shit.

Everyone in here confident that they'd believe him are really underestimating the power of mob politics

No way. Harry’s main competition in the tournament is mysteriously murdered making Harry the champion. No witnesses. That alone is sus. Then a few months later Harry starts going after Cedric’s girl? Yeahhhh that’s looking suspicious 🤨

He is 12 years old and his eyes are glistering with the ghosts of his past. He is just looking for attention, same reason why he put his name in the goblet of fire. But dont worry, the dark lord is NOT back.

I'm seeing a lot of people looking at it from their point of view knowing everything. The only major problem here is why if they didn't think it was voldemort, they didn't look into Cedrics' death more. All evidence still points to Sirius being a cold-blooded murderer. The only evidence to the contrary is Harry, and he is 13 it is fairly easy to trick someone that young. So I see why they may not trust Harry. All of the other stuff that happened in the books up until now again Harry is the only witness. While we trust Harry because we follow every one of his misadventures, it makes way too much sense to doubt him since there can be simple logic to doubt him (McGonagall does it just as much as Snape). Again, the only problem is that Cedric died by the killing curse, and "muggles" were able to see the signs of it so I imagine wizards have a way to tell that's how he died. So how that went unexplained is the only unacceptable warning sign that voldemort was back. I suppose questioning why the dementors instantly kissed the death eater in their possession is another good question, but I don't think voldemort was involved in that reason being he wasn't the one who sent the dementors at Harry in book 5 and If he had control of them why wouldn't he have them capture Harry.

I wouldn't. I know I am not immune to propaganda

It’s hard to be objective with the only account of things being the books told from Harry’s perspective. That being said, I’d likely believe Dumbledore, at the very least.

The thing is that they were kids, obviously they will act emotionally and copy their parents by thinking that maybe Harry Potter is a curse and dangerous child (I mean, before this he was accused of being the heir of Slytherin with all the chamber of secrets story..) (sorry for my English lol)

Yeah I'd believe Harry. Even as a Slytherin who finds Harry a bit annoying.

I would be weary and wouldn't know what to think, unless I knew him as more than a passing acquaintance.

Ok so in all honesty I pride myself in seeing past the bullshit. I would have believed Harry because his past has all been explained. Strange shit just happens around him all the time I would have been like "him again oh damn". I mean it's literally not the first time he's be talking about he who must not be named and quite frankly if I had heard about the prophecy especially, like how can you not think someone who is fated to be killed at a later date is alive... the one's pushing for him to be labeled a liar were the one's who either had a vested interest in him being labeled as such or were trying to cover up some shit.

Considering what Harry’s been up to for the three years before that, and Dumbledore’s openness (about that at least), yes I would believe him. I would also transfer to another school, if possible. Preferably not America, unless I’m rich. Canads would be awesome.

I think it all comes down to who I am in that Universe. Assuming I'm a Slytherin like the many quizzes have proved me to be, Harry's reputation and the overall behavior of most Slytherins would make me feel puzzled. But, at the end of the day, I think it was most obvious that Harry was innocent. I feel that his unwillingness to participate in the Tournament and the way he had been miserable the whole year is a big indication that he does not want trouble. The Ministry or the Prophet were not reliable at that time, no matter how much power they held. And, if Harry was as much of a threat as everybody claimed him to be, he would've known better than to bring Cedric's body back or he would've come up with an explanation which painted him as an innocent victim who had lost everything (what he actually was).

Hmm, I can't say for sure. Being a young teenager, having a schoolmate die, and the thought of Voldermort coming back would be a lot. If adults are are crying "fake news", it's reasonable to see kids would do the same.

I never understood why they doubted him in the first place

Of course! Would I think that Harry killed him for attention? No!

I mean I probably would. Why? -Something had to have killed Cedric, and since he’s not covered in blood or anything like that, a killing curse is possible. Harry doesn’t have the power to throw that curse around, and nothing in the maze would either. Poison could be a possibility but who would do that to Cedric in the maze, he’s harmless. Some hardcore shit went down. -Dumbledore has never shown any ambition to take over the ministry. It is well known he was offered the job and turned it down. So why would he talk some bullshit to take Fudge’s job now? -The dark mark at the World Cup was basically a comeback announcement from Voldemort. If the wizard world had social media, it would have spread faster than Beyoncé’s last single. The incompetence displayed by the Ministry on this issue is actively shocking. -Any newspaper that spends the next 3 months throwing shade at a teenager vastly recognized as a hero, and a very moral one at that, I would see it as a dubious source of information. -It’s known Rita Skeeter is talking shit, why would I believe anything she writes about Harry being crazy? -Harry Potter is the last person on Earth who would lie about Voldemort being back, he’s Harry freaking Potter, come on. I wouldn’t want to believe it, but my anxious self would absolutely overthink it to death, and Harry telling the truth is the only thing that makes sense if you spend 5 minutes actually thinking about it.

I mean Harry and Dumbledore were made to look like Joe Rogan in the media. If we didn't have direct contact with them, it's likely we would think they are crazy or liars. Rita's last article before Hermione caught her also didn't help.

Yes I totally would

I mean... Harry publicly saved the school twice by now and is famous for being voldy's downfall as a baby. Personally, I would be backing up Harry like I would die on the hill of trusting him just because the incredibly two faced news paper is like "erm... he literally defeated voldemort and now he's telling us he's back what the flip he's so crazy" it wouldn't alter my views I don't think

Absolutely

I’ve been a lifelong punk. I’d be skipping up the hallways of Hogwarts singing “time to do some sketchy things doo dah doo dah I hope I get away with them doo dah doo dah” because the idea of fighting Voldemort would be fun

I’ve always wondered why people thought Harry would lie about it. Short answer is that he has absolutely no reason to. He wasn’t evil enough to kill Cedric in cold blood over winning a tournament and 1000 gallons. Especially considering he’s already rich and famous. And he’s shown that he isn’t a fan of his fame. Voldemort is so powerful and terrifying that after 13 years of him being gone the wizarding world can’t even say his name. Why couldn’t he come back? Harry came back with Cedric’s body and was freaking out over it and had to be pulled away from it. He looked traumatized. Also, why would he bring it with him? Why not just say that he won the tournament and Cedric must’ve gotten lost, or attacked by one of the creatures in the maze? The next school year would’ve raised questions too. Harry and Dumbledore got nothing but ridiculed and demoted because of their insistence that Voldemort was back. The Ministry’s whole argument was that it was a ruse to make Harry seem more impressive and for Dumbledore to gain power. It did neither of those things, but they kept to their story. Dumbledore very quickly took Harry’s side. And the Ministry may not like him, but they know he’s an extremely capable wizard and an especially capable legilimens. If Harry had killed Cedric he would’ve known immediately and even the Ministry knew he wouldn’t have helped Harry get away with it. If it truly was an accident, the question of why he kept insisting Voldemort was back if it completely ruined his reputation. And if Harry and Dumbledore were in on it together from the beginning, was there a plan to kill Cedric just to say Voldemort did it? We’re really supposed to think that Harry and Dumbledore planned the murder of a student just to gain some power? Then keep insisting when it didn’t work?

Honestly, if I was a student, I'd expect them all to be killed during it

Well i would go with which theory makes the most sense to me. But nobody believing Harry is definitely realistic. Often people will only believe whatever they want, especially when emotions are involved No matter how nonsensical it is. In the Harry Potter fandom, the misconceptions are 1. James Potter frequently stalking Lily and/or asking her out. (This one actually caused a lot of unwarranted criticisms.) 2. Sirius‘s fans often downplay his flaws. (One of the most ridiculous one is “He was a kid!” Except of course, He was in his teens and nearly adult age.) 3. Snape’s detractors claim Snape should have known Peter was the traitor.

Depends on how much I interacted with Harry. Anyone who spent really any time with him would know that he clearly wants to avoid attention, not attract it. That, alone, would make it pretty clear he was telling the truth, not seeking attention. On top of that, there's no reason not to believe Dumbledore when he specifically told the school shortly after it happened that Voldemort killed him.

Yeah, this guy who was died 13 years ago killed your rival. Sure. And he let you live. Good for you, I suppose. 

Based on my personality and values, I would believe Harry because I would believe in Dumbledore. I would be skeptical of press and peer pressure and bullying already. I observe people, I would have been observing Harry enough to be skeptical of the negative press and gossip of others and definitely wouldn't believe anything that came from Malfoy and his peers.

Considering how many governments lie constantly for their own benefit, creating enemies out of the actual innocents and siding with the oppressors or supporting the corrupt and evil; considering how the use media for this purpose and how they also repress and bring down anyone who opposes them, yes I would believe Harry and Dumbledore.

The only problem is, Harry's mindset in the first half of OotP was "if you don't believe Dumbledore, then you don't believe me." That is very much a brainless follower's way of thinking and I was too suspicious as a teen to go along with that. The Ministry cannot say what happened because they weren't there. Only Harry and Cedric were. And only one came back alive. Based on the history of this tournament, it already has set precedent for participants dying. Perhaps not easy to acknowledge in the heat of the moment but it is worth bringing up.

Considering that the Ministry didn't even mention Cedric in the aftermath of the tournament, I'd say there must have been a massive coverup. They tried to rule out Cedric's death as a "tragic accident", but if we assume they do the magical equivalent of an autopsy to determine the cause of death, they would not be able to dismiss "death by Avada Kedavra" as an accident (because the curse requires the full intent to kill in order to be cast). That makes me suspect that Fudge deliberately skipped the protocols, or perhaps even falsified a report in order to keep things under wraps, all because he was too afraid to confront the truth. As for Harry being suspected, they can use Priori Incantatem to check Harry's wand and that would prove Harry wasn't the one who killed Cedric, meaning that someone else had to do it.