Sirius Black-What a Guy!

[marinafrants]

No: HPFGUIDX 44266

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Carol Bainbridge <kaityf at j...> wrote:

> bugaloo37 goes on:
> >Second, Sirius shows
> >wonderful care and concern for Harry, his best friend's child. 
IMO,
> >this is more than just a moral obligation he is fulfilling, I think
> >it goes deeper than that.  I think that Sirius genuinely loves
Harry -
> >perhaps because he sees James in him.
> 
> Again, I agree that Sirius offer to take Harry in is based more on
moral 
> obligation.  There is a genuine warmth in that offer.  It may be
because he 
> sees James in Harry, but I think it's more than that.  I think he
not only 
> loves Harry, but likes him and respects him as well.  I guess what
I'm 
> trying to say is that while Sirius might see James in Harry, he can
also 
> recognize Harry as a good person in his own right.  His desire, not
just to 
> take Harry in, but to create a family life with him, is something I
found 
> very touching.

I don't know about that.  I mean, I love Sirius, and I think his
attempts to act as a father figure for Harry in GoF are admirable and
touching, but at the time he makes his offer to Harry in PoA, he and
Harry barely know each other.  They've only just met, and there hasn't
exactly been time for a heart-to-heart session.  Harry knows Sirius is
innocent, and Sirius knows that Harry is brave and decent, and that's
pretty much it.  At that time, I think Sirius couldn't love Harry as
person in his own right, because Sirius didn't *know* Harry as a
person in his own right.

So what motivated Sirius' offer?  I think Sirius saw Harry as his
chance at redemption.  Sirius holds himself responsible for Harry's
being an orphan, and for not being around to take care of him the way
a proper godfather should.  Now he has a chance to make up for it, to
fix his past failure.  And from Harry's point of view -- he's
desperate for a father figure, desperate to get away from the
Dursleys, and desperate for any connection to James.  So it's
perfectly understandable that he and Sirius instantly glom on to each
other, but I think it was a connection based on each person's
emotional needs and symbolic meaning to each other, rather than a real
relationship.  The relationship developed later.

Marina
rusalka at ix.netcom.com