Sirius Black-What a Guy!

[Nicole L.]

No: HPFGUIDX 44327

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this thread,
bugaloo37!  I love Sirius and in the months that I've
been in this group I haven't seen him get nearly as
much notice as some of the other characters so I am so
glad for the chance to talk about him!  Now, let's get
to it!

Marina said:

> 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.

While I agree with you that Sirius couldn't love Harry
as a person at this point because he doesn't know him,
I do think that what Sirius felt for Harry was love in
a different sense.  If my best friend and her husband
were murdered and I'd been kept from their child for
12 years and then suddenly had the chance to take that
child in, I would do so out of love.  I would love the
child because they are the child of my best friends. 
I think this is how Sirius feels about Harry.  I don't
really see this as being very different from Sirius
taking Harry in as a baby.  He couldn't have loved
Harry as a person then either.  Either way, he would
have taken Harry in because of his love for his
friends and that love would extend to their child.

> 
> 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.

I don't think that Sirius was looking at Harry as his
chance for redemption.  In fact, I don't think Sirius
wants to be redeemed at all.  I think he holds himself
accountable for the deaths of the Potters and I think
that he feels he deserves whatever torture and
punishment that he gets.  I do think that he wanted to
make it up to Harry for his not being there throughout
Harry's life but I think that Sirius is more focused
on Harry's needs than his own.  To me, to say that
Sirius wanted to redeem himself by taking care of
Harry implies a certain selfishness on Sirius's part
that I do not believe exists.  Even though he is still
very little acquainted with Harry in GoF, he hurries
to Hogwart's at peril of his own life and freedom in
order to be near Harry and to do all he can to protect
Harry.  I think this is truly unselfish of Sirius and
shows that his main objective is in caring for the
safety and well-being of Harry.

Yes, Sirius is very impulsive at times.  I see this as
one of his character flaws.  However, his impulsive
nature is only truly evident when he is spurred by a
threat to someone that he cares about.  I see the same
thing in Ron at times.  When Draco says something
really hateful to Harry or Hermione, Ron often reacts
impulsively and without thought of his own safety.  I
think that both Sirius and Ron show a very admirable
loyalty toward their friends.  I'm not trying to say
that their reactions are the best because
impulsiveness can make a situation worse.  What I'm
trying to say is that it is the strength of their
affection for their friends that causes them to react
in an impulsive manner in order to protect said
friends.

As for Sirius's staying in prison, I totally agree
with the idea that he stayed there for as long as he
did because he felt that he deserved the punishment. 
I can only imagine the agony he must have felt over
Lily and James's death.  I'm sure he felt a lot of
self-hatred and that's why when he was hauled away to
Azkaban he didn't put up a fight.  In his mind, he
probably felt that he deserved an even worse
punishment.  After all, even though Azkaban is no
picnic, Lily and James are dead and their son
orphaned.

One thing that bothers me about analysis of Sirius is
that I feel that people often overlook his state of
mind.  He has just spent 12 years in a place that
basically sounds like hell on Earth and the only
reason he managed to escape was because he was bent on
seeing justice done with respect to Pettigrew.  When
he appears in PoA, he has had no human contact for 12
years and has basically been psychologically tortured
that whole time.  A person is not going to be normal
or of the most sound state of mind after something
like that.  To my mind, Sirius seems rather too
unaffected by the whole ordeal but I suspect that this
is because he is currently focusing all of his energy
on protecting Harry.  I think that if Sirius is still
alive after the final confrontation (please Jo, don't
kill Sirius!  Please not Sirius!), he will face his
years in Azkaban full on and I think that it will lead
a breakdown for him.  At some point I think he's going
to be suffering some serious PTSD.  I know I would be
if I were in his shoes!

~Nicole, willing to defend Sirius to the death.  :)

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