Why couldn't Harry live with Sirius? (was Dursleys)

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 21622

Melanie wrote:

> Also, I am not really sure if in fact Harry would have been able to 
>live with Sirius after POA....I Mean it seemed like wishful thinking 
>on their parts.  Of course, that remains speculation because 
>obviously Sirius was never cleared.

Now that's interesting.  Why do you think it seems like wishful 
thinking?  Is there a reason besides Sirius's not being cleared and 
Dumbledore, as we later learn, possibly objecting for reasons of 
Harry's safety?

The dream of the cool godfather actually being able to adopt one away 
from one's nasty foster family would be unrealistic for most kids, 
but the Dursleys really would be happy to get rid of Harry.  I don't 
think he would have met with any resistance from that quarter.  

Likewise, most kids may dream of leaving home, but very few would 
actually say yes to someone they'd just met, knowing next to nothing 
about him.  But that, too, fits with Harry's extreme misery at Privet 
Drive.  A pleasant-seeming alternative walks into his life and he 
says "YES!" without really knowing anything about the man.  Also, 
what Harry does know about Sirius is that he was his parents', in 
particular his dad's, best friend, and Harry longs for a connection 
to his parents and in particular his father.  And finally, the other 
thing he knows about him, the importance of which can't be 
discounted, is that he's a wizard.  Hermione might not greatly care 
that she spends 2 months a year in the Muggle world, but for Harry 
it's all but intolerable because the Dursleys don't acknowledge that 
part of his life--i.e., who and what he is--at all.  (Next to people 
insulting his parents, one of the things that riles him up most is 
Vernon's ignorance of Quidditch in GF.  I think that's significant.)

Amy Z