Sirius confusing Harry and James

[jeffl1965]

No: HPFGUIDX 78250

Tara wrote:

> I was just wondering what you thought about Sirius seeming to 
> confuse Harry for James in book 5.  
<Snip>

  Ah, I'm glad that I saw this!! I was about to mention this as well. 
Both Snape and Sirius made this mistake, but as polar opposites. 
Snape hates Harry because he sees James in him, and Sirius *loves* 
Harry because of this,and yes, he wants his best friend back. I do 
suppose that thought is what kept him going all those years. He saw 
Harry as a baby,and while he might not have known James since that 
time, and didnt know that Harry might wear specs, I'm sure he *knew* 
that Harry would *be* like James. The fact that he isn't, shocked 
him. 

However, both Snape and Sirius apparently don't really 
understand how Harry was raised. He wasn't raised by James and Lily, 
therefore he *can't* be like them. Yes, he will have some of their 
genetic traits, but he grew up in a miserable enviroment. The fact 
that he isn't a serial killer is a miracle. It is also true that 
while most of us don't like how he's acting in the current book, its 
actually truer to how he should be acting all the time, considering 
how he was treated as a kid. 

  I'm curious to learn what all occured between Snape and James prior 
to the little scene, as I think they have a really involved 
backstory, and something must've set them off early on.

 Jeff