Sirius confusing Harry and James

[susanbones2003]

No: HPFGUIDX 75871

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Rebecca Stephens 
<rsteph1981 at y...> wrote:
> 
> --- ffimiles <ffionmiles at h...> wrote:
> > Marianne:
> > > Did any characters make this accusation other than
> > Molly? I don't 
> > > recall if this sentiment was also echoed by
> > Hermione. 
> > > 
> > > I never felt for an instant that Sirius looked at
> > or talked to 
> > Harry 
> > > and thought he was interacting with James.  I do
> > think he made 
> > > comparisons in his mind between the two, and I
> > also think he was 
> > well 
> > > along on the down-side of the scale of depression,
> > but I don't 
> > think 
> > > he was delusional. 
> 
> 
> I don't think Sirius was delusional.  I think by
> "thinking Harry was James" he was thinking that
> despite their different backgrounds, Harry would
> think, act, and react exactly as James would.  He
> didn't think the kid standing in front of him was
> James, but he thought he was a younger James named
> Harry.
> 
> In the Harry/Sirius relationship, it always seemed to
> me that neither chose the other for the right reason. 
> Harry's affection for Sirius came when he didn't even
> know him, soley because Sirius was his father's best
> friend.  He finds that out and "poof" he loves the
> guy.  And Sirius, even in the end, seemed to care more
> because Harry was James' son than because Harry was
> Harry.  It wasn't based on what they were to each
> other so much as what they were to James.
> 
> 
> Rebecca
> 
> ps, sorry if this comes through twice, I had trouble sending
>
Jennifer must respond:
You certainly know how to reduce things. You forget the entire 
Shrieking Shack scene was complicated and took a while to play out. 
Harry found out a load of things, not just that James and Sirius were 
best friends. And why do you assume he loved him? And if you want to 
call it love, I find it to be more like gratitude. Sirius offered him 
a home, not just a connection to his father. That thought was what 
initially made Harry so happy, happy enough to try to use the memory 
to bring forth a patronus. When he said good-by to Sirius at the top 
of the castle, it didn't seem he was saying good-by to someone he 
loved, but the hope of escaping the Dursleys. He mentions that for 
one hour he thought he'd be free to go live in the Wizarding World. 
The relationship with his godfather developed. Through letters over 
the summer. Through Sirius being there when he had no one else to 
confide in or get help from. Not in the hour plus he spent in the 
Shrieking Shack learning the truth about Sirius and Peter. I find it 
immensely hopeful that Harry was able to bond with someone after the 
life he'd lived, even if it seems rather too quick for you to believe.
Jennifer