OoP: What was the Point of this Death?

[Renee Daniels]

No: HPFGUIDX 63262

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Grey Wolf" <greywolf1 at j...> 
wrote:

> The point of Sirius's death is that it *is* pointless. 
> 
>SEVERE CUT
>
> Grey Wolf, who does predict that Sirius's death will be discussed 
> endlessly between now and book 6, and probably beyond it (unless 
> the blood bath is so brutal that Sirius's death is just an 
> appetizer).

Me:

IMHO, Sirius' death has a point in the development of a major char, 
but that char is not Harry, it's Dumbledore.

Dumbledore has to accept Harry as an intellegent and independent 
entity, something he could not do. In the previous novels DD is 
hampered by his wish to keep Harry an innocent, aka a *child*. He 
does this, in a sense, by feeding Harry the information/equipment he 
needs to complete the task at hand. His aid may be obleque, but it is 
usualy a suggestion by DD which gets Harry to an through the 
previous 'final' confrontations. As long as this is true, Harry is a 
child, in a scary situation, but taking his parents lead and doing 
his best to live up to expectations.

At the same time, DD's 'here's a hint, go save the day' approach to 
Harry's involvment helped build his 'Hero Complex.' I mean, what 
reason is there in PoA for DD not to have taken the Time-Turner, gone 
back, and saved Sirius himself? The thing that's missing in this case 
is Dumbledore's 'hint' because DD isn't talking to him. Harry however 
knows from past experence that its his job to save the day, so he 
forgoes the hint and acts on his own. In a sense, DD's trained him to 
*always* attempt to save the day, weather he's the best man for the 
job or not. 

But now, in the wake of Sirius' death and the devastation caused to 
the boy DD was trying to protect, Dumbledore must re-evaluate his own 
emotions and motivations, come to grips with his inablity to micro 
manage the human mind and affection (sans magic) and recognize Harry 
and his classmates as players instead of items to be protected.

~Calimora (Who was angriest at Dumbledore. Nobody can bear bondage 
without breaking.)