Some Sirius Black Questions.

[serenadust]

No: HPFGUIDX 36345

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "eledhwen_0" <slinkie at n...> wrote:

 There is one thing that really 
> bothers me about his actions though. It is when Harry attacks him 
and 
> Sirius tries to choke Harry. If he went through so much trouble to 
> save Harry from Pettigrew, why did he tried to choke him? He might 
> not have meant to seriuosly hurt Harry, but even doing a bit of 
harm 
> to a boy that is supposed to be almost like a son to you seems a 
bit 
> odd. Maybe he thought that it was worth to hurt Harry a bit if it 
> meant saving him from the filthy traitor that murdered his parents.
> Who knows? If you have any theories please reply.
> 
 
I've seen this point brought up several times and it always sort of 
puzzles me.  In all the times I've read that scene in PofA, I've 
never been particularly bothered by Sirius choking Harry.  Does 
anyone *seriously* think that Sirius meant to really hurt Harry?  
The way I read this is that they are locked in hand to hand combat, 
(Harry having attacked him in a blind rage)and the only way he can 
get Harry off him is to grab him by the throat and squeeze until he 
lets go. Remember that Black is in a starved, wasted condition, and 
as such, Harry could *really* injure him if he continues to go at 
him.  Of course it's very upsetting to read but it's meant to be an 
very intense scene.
I also don't understand the idea that Sirius is supposed to be a 
terrible person because Ron's leg was broken in the process of being 
dragged down to the Shrieking Shack.  He was dragging him down there 
in desperate anticipation of Harry following them.  The only reason 
Ron's leg broke is that he had hooked it around a root to resist 
being dragged away, not because Black was really trying to hurt him.
Believe me, no one gets more upset than I do when anyone harms 
little Ronniekins, but in the Wizarding World broken bones don't 
seem to be any bigger deal than a bad hangnail.
It's really interesting to see all the different ways we all seem to 
read the same books.

Jo Serenadust