A Case of Sirius Neglect? (was Re: Sirius - who is right?)

[darkkitten2]

No: HPFGUIDX 74273

I've also been reading this thread with interest. Fantastic discussion!

Re the issue of abuse/neglect of Sirius (Warning - long!):

IMO, Sirius has been rather neglected since Dumbledore etc. first found out he was 
innocent in PoA. Saving Sirius from getting his soul sucked by the Dementors at the 
last minute was a wonderful thing indeed, but if you're going to damage a character 
as badly as JKR has Sirius, he's going to need a little following-up afterward. Consider 
the condition Sirius is in, mentally and physically, at the end of PoA. I don't have my 
copy with me at the moment, but as far as I can recall:

- Sirius has been out of Azkaban for some months but has spent almost every bit of 
that time in dog form, and he's terribly emaciated
- He's a bit out of his mind already, willing to do almost anything to get to Peter 
(breaking Ron's leg, manhandling Harry, slashing the Fat Lady etc.)
- He drags Ron/Scabbers under the Willow in a big scuffle, then gets attacked by 
Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry succeeds in throwing him against a wall and hitting 
him in the face several times, so that he's bruised and bleeding
- He and Lupin then perfom a number of spells (more effort) and have a very 
emotional confrontation with Peter
- Lupin transforms, and Sirius takes what appear to be some fairly serious wounds 
from Lupin's werewolf form while defending Harry and company
- Peter escapes and Sirius chases him, can't catch him and therefore fails in the entire 
purpose of his life for the past 12 years
- He then gets exposed to a mob of a hundred Dementors who are out to suck his 
soul.

This adds up to a pretty rough day for Sirius. It seems a bit much to ask him, within 
the hour, to get on the back of a hippogriff (in an earlier scene we see Harry find out 
that riding one isn't the easiest thing in the world), fly off to parts unknown, and hide 
out alone from the forces that are still trying to kill him, for an indefinite time period. 
I mean, is he even going to be able to stay on Buckbeak's back? At this moment, 
Sirius is in no condition to be responsible for his own safety.

PoA says that Dumbledore talks to Sirius and listens to his story, but it isn't noted 
that anyone ever bothers with a healing spell or two, or even a bar of chocolate. A 
hundred dementors is an awful lot, especially for someone just out of Azkaban! How 
about a loaner wand at the very least?  Yes, the timetable was short and Sirius was 
running for his life, but surely someone could arrange a little assistance, even if it 
took a planned meeting someplace later?

I do love the escape scene, and I understand that fussing with practical details like 
this in the middle of it would have messed up its rhythm. Still, JKR never goes back 
and fills in the gap. Probably we are supposed to assume that Dumbledore or 
someone else cast a couple of healing spells on Sirius and at least gave him a glass of 
water. But it's never actually stated.

More significantly, the "neglected Sirius" theme continues in GoF. At the end of PoA/
beginning of GoF, Sirius has (rather amazingly, considering where we left him!) got 
himself together enough to purchase godfatherly gifts, send them off via pretty 
tropical birds, put on some weight, and wash and cut his hair. (The state of Sirius's 
hair seems a pretty reliable barometer of his mental health, perhaps that's what 
everyone ought to have been paying attention to?) (g)

But whatever solution Sirius has found (offscreen help? who knows?) is not a 
permanent one. This is the best we ever see him looking, and it doesn't last all that 
long. When Sirius finds out about Harry's scar hurting, he instantly abandons his 
current hiding place and returns to the Hogwarts vicinity. And by the time Harry, Ron 
and Hermione visit him, midway through the book, Sirius is pretty much back where 
he started in PoA, living in a cave half-starved, wearing the same gray robes he had 
on when he escaped from Azkaban, spending most of his time in dog form, still 
apparently wandless, and most telling of all (g), his hair is back to being long and 
hopelessly tangled.

And although Sirius is in this state in Dumbledore's backyard (Dumbledore knows 
he's there and has even recommended that particular cave), no one at Hogwarts or in 
the Order appears to be sending as much as a basket of food scraps Sirius's way 
(except Harry).

Yes, Sirius is back at Hogwarts almost certainly against Dumbledore's wishes. Yes, he 
periodically acts like an immature git. Yes, lurking in the forest eating rats turns out 
to be less than effective in terms of actually protecting Harry, makes Sirius's own 
situation worse and generally wasn't the brightest of ideas. And yes, Sirius can be 
annoying and extremely difficult to help. But his situation is pathetic enough that it 
seems unconscionable not to try. (Where the heck is Lupin?!)

Sirius looks at his most fulfilled (if still not at his physical best) at the end of GoF, 
when Dumbledore includes him in re-forming the Order (irritated as Sirius is to find 
Snape a part of it) and gives him his mission to alert everyone. And at the beginning 
of OotP, unhappy and unstable as Sirius seems, he's at least in human form, being 
included in Order meetings, having conversations with people and even eating once 
in a while (though combing his hair still seems to be optional). All of this is, IMO, 
something of an improvement over living in a cave.

I really thought things were going to improve for Sirius there for a while at the 
beginning of OotP. As someone else pointed out (Marina, I think?) it really wouldn't 
have taken all that much to make Sirius less unhappy, just some kind of useful task 
he could do for the Order without leaving the house, not to mention some 
companionship. But again, Sirius is neglected. Not maliciously; he's just overlooked. 
No one has time to notice (with the continuing exception of Harry perhaps) that Sirius 
is still in no shape to manage his life entirely on his own. Sirius has been through 
awful physical and mental trauma, and no matter how much he hates the fact, he is in 
need of help before he can strengthen and repair himself. Sadly, he never gets it.

darkkitten