OOP: Sirius, bullying, secret-keeping

[Marianna Lvovsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 64108

<<<

This would be absolutely fine, if, as I keep saying,
Peter had shown 
the slightest enthusiasm for being Secret Keeper. But
there is no 
suggestion, (under conditions where Sirius would have
every motive 
to so suggest), that he did show any desire whatsoever
to be Secret 
Keeper.

It suggests a few things about Peter as well. Possibly
he really did 
feel he had genuinely no choice but to betray his
friends and would 
have been delighted if someone else was the Secret
Keeper. It would 
have meant he *couldn't* betray them to their deaths.
>>>


I don't think Peter was a poor bullied boy here. In
PoA, it is mentioned that Peter has been passing info
to VM for a year before the Potters' death (who forced
him then?). He is hardly an innocent who's been forced
into a position to betray and does so out of fear.
Leaving aside the Sirius-forced-him issue, nothing
would excuse Peter's behavior (bullying or not, if he
did not want to be in a position to be secret-keeper
and thus have to betray them, he could have said no). 

As on Sirius forcing him: I severely doubt it. For
one, Sirius is not stupid. If someone is reluctant to
do something like this, he would not be a good
secret-keeper. And don't forget, "compassionate" Lily
was in on it. I doubt she would be OK with forcing.

I don't know if Peter quivered with eagerness when
offered the chance, but given what he know of his
personality, the fact that he was passing info to VM,
his servility & cringing, the fact that he AK'd Cedric
and done all sorts of unspeakable things, all goes to
show that he probably *was* eager to betray and did
not object over much.

As to Sirius putting poor, poor Peter in danger. 
1. I do think Peter-the-spy agreed quite eagerly but
also
2. Don't forget that Sirius is only asking Peter to do
what he himself has no hestitation in doing. To risk
his life for his friends. Don't forget that in
PP-as-secret-keeper scenario, VM will go after Sirius
first. I do not think his methods of extracting info
would be gentle. And whether or not Sirius will reveal
anything to VM, as soon as his usefulness is over, VM
would undoubtedly kill him. Sirius is not offering
Peter as a sacrificial lamb to save James. He is
offering himself first. He is willing to die for his
friend and thinks Peter is also. 

The argument that we did not hear him in PoA say that
PP "was eager" proves nothing. We also did not hear
him say "aha! I should have known when you hestitated
and we pressed you." All of this is pure conjecture,
which you'll interpret differently depending on your
opinion of Sirius or Peter respectively. 

<<<Sirius sees some people as less important than
other people. Peter 
is less important than James. Kreacher is less
important than 
Sirius. Sirius's feelings about the house are more
important than 
Kreacher's feelings about the house. James and Lily's
life is more 
important than Peter's.>>>

Was Peter less important than James? I did not get
that. I got that James was the one VM wanted, so his
other friends had to protect him. At that time, James'
safety was paramount. But they would have done the
same for Peter. Sirius' one overwhelming
characteristic is loyalty. I believe him when he
states in the Shrieking Shack that they (Remus, James,
Sirius) would have died for him (Peter). After all, it
would be a perfect moment to say that they (R,J,S)
never cared for Peter as much. And Sirius does live up
to his statement. He died "for" Harry. 

As to Kreacher less important than Sirius to Sirius. K
hates him for being a blood traitor. The hatred is
mutual. That is all there is. I do not see what is
wrong with it.

Kreacher's feeling about the house v. Sirius' feeling.
Well, I have to point out that: a. It is Sirius' house
and b. Kreacher is a bigoted, horrible person who
wants to keep as many of DA objects as possible. Why
does Sirius have to take into account the feelings of
someone with horrible ideas who hates him and is loyal
to an evil portrait and evil, dark magic house and
wants to keep the evil going? 

<<<And then he gets all surprised when the people who
he sees as less 
important object. And betray him.

Pip!Squeak>>>

Well, as my above message indicated, I do not think he
is unjustified in his views. Is Sirius flawed? Yes.
Was he a good person? Yes.

People are willing to give all sorts of breaks to
Snape because he came from a horrible home and had a
hard life. Why not give the same benefit to Sirius?
His home life must have been horrid, and I think his
life was much worse than Snape's. After all that time
in Azkaban and then being stuck in the house full of
awful memories for him, I am amazed at how well he
holds himself together in OOP. I'd be a gibbering
wreck.

As for some people being less important than others to
a person. They are. My parents or my fiance are more
important to me than a random person on the street. A
well-being and safety of group of good people is more
important to me than comfort/well-being of my enemies.
If I could save only one person out of two, and one
was my child and another a stranger's, I would pick my
own. I have not yet achieved the state of
philosophical detachment necessary to do otherwise, to
truly value everyone the same, and I doubt many of us
have. 

Marianna,
the unrepentant Sirius apologist.

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
http://sbc.yahoo.com