Father figures revisited & McGonagall

[Cindy C.]

No: HPFGUIDX 27701

> > 
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Caius Marcius" <coriolan at w...> wrote:
> > We should not omit Sirius Black, the man legally and morally 
> > appointed to stand *in loco parentis* <snip, although I really 
liked the "fireside chat" scene as well>
> > 

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., bennyhillsangel at y... wrote:
> I think your assessment is right on the mark. I have a few 
different 
> ideas about Sirius, but I'm not sure if I'm just reading too much 
> into the character. <snip>

I enjoyed your remarks about Sirius, and I hope it is not too late to 
jump in on this discussion.

First, I've always been struck about how Sirius keeps the focus on 
Harry in the Shrieking Shack scene.  When Harry objects to killing 
Pettigrew, I half expected Sirius to say, "To heck with that.  I'm 
not avenging James and Lily.  I'm killing Pettigrew to pay him back 
for what he did to me."  But he never says anything like that, which 
shows that his devotion to Harry is deep indeed.  I do wonder what 
Sirius would do now if he met Pettigrew in a dark alley.  I think 
Sirius' loyalty to Harry on this point would save Pettigrew again.

Second, I have observed that, despite having McGonagall as a teacher 
for 4 years, Harry doesn't have much of a relationship with her.  He 
doesn't ask her for help with his problems, really.  I would have 
expected her to be a mother figure by now, but Molly Weasley has 
really stepped into that role.  Sure, McGonagall fulfills 
the "nagging" (for lack of a better word) part of a mother's role, 
but there hasn't been a great deal of counsel from McGonagall yet.  
There is still time, I suppose.

Cindy