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

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 74416

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Phyllis" 
<erisedstraeh2002 at y...> wrote:
> Marina wrote:
>  
> > It does kind of make me wonder about the wizarding world's 
(and  Dumbledore's in particular) understanding of psychology.  
When  Harry returns from the graveyard in GoF, Dumbledore 
acted as  someone familiar with the concept of trauma.  <snip> 
Yet his attitude toward Sirius makes me wonder if he simply 
made Harry talk  because he wanted the information right away, 
and not from any  concern for Harry's mental state.  Because in 
OOP, Dumbledore  behaves as if he thinks there's nothing 
wrong with Sirius that a bit of willpower and common sense 
couldn't cure.  <<

IIRC, we never see Dumbledore and Sirius interact in OOP, so 
how can we draw conclusions about how Dumbledore behaved 
toward Sirius?
 
 Phyllis:
> It strikes me that, with respect to both Harry and Sirius, 
Dumbledore makes it clear that their survival is more important 
to him  (Dumbledore) than their mental health. <

Well, yes. It's possible to recover from emotional wounds, if not 
as well or as quickly as Dumbledore hoped.  It's not possible to 
recover from being *dead.*  

Phyllis:
>So he sends Harry back to Privet  Drive the summer after 
Voldemort regains his body because it's the  only place he's truly 
safe from Voldemort, but doesn't bother sending  any of the 
members of the Order to visit or sending any communication 
in order to allay Harry's fears and help Harry cope with the 
 aftermath of the events of the graveyard. <

Mrs. Figg was asking him over to tea so often that Harry couldn't 
understand why she was being such a nuisance to him. Do you 
think the Dursleys would have tolerated it if Tonks and Mad-eye 
had come to call? How about Lupin? Well, the Ministry knows 
he's a friend of Sirius Black's and he's a werewolf...now he's 
sniffing around the Potter kid. Oh, better not take chances, let's 
put him in Azkaban. Ron and Hermione? You think the Dursleys 
would let anyone from that freak place visit their home again? 
And Pettigrew will have told Voldemort who Harry's best friends 
are. They're DE bait for sure. *They're* not safe at Privet Drive.

Phyllis::
  And to top it all off, Dumbledore allows Harry's two best friends 
- Ron and Hermione - to spend the summer at  the headquarters 
of the Order while Harry is locked up without communication at 
Privet Drive.  Talk about rubbing it in!<

Sirius, Ron and Hermione were communicating with Harry. 
Vernon complains about all the owls. They just weren't  allowed 
to give him any news about the top secret  Order of the Phoenix. 
You know, if you have a security clearance from our Muggle 
government, you're not allowed to discuss stuff with your friends 
and family, much less write it down and mail it. 

> With respect to Sirius, Dumbledore merely tells him to stay in 
the  house without taking the time to help Sirius sort through his 
emotions at having to be cooped up in his parents' old house 
with  their house-elf, who obviously hates him, and with his 
mother's  portrait continually screaming derogatory remarks at 
him. <

Again, how do we know this? The only time Harry and 
Dumbledore discuss Sirius is at the end of OOP. Harry has just 
been through a horrible loss. Both he and Dumbledore have 
both been up all night. The  purpose of their conversation 
is for Harry to understand that he need not blame himself for 
Sirius's death, not for Dumbledore to justify himself or explain 
what he tried to do to help Sirius. Whatever it was, wasn't 
enough, but that doesn't mean nothing was ever done for him.

Pippin