Am I the only one

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 96565

> Kneazelkid wrote: 
><snip> I'm saying that Molly is ever more increasingly 
> reacting on her need to control, rather than considering what is 
> actually best for her children and Harry. What is best for him is to 
> have the attention of the man that his parents chose to be his legal 
> guardian -- a person who also seems to not a have much of a family 
> and who could have given Harry all the attention he needs as well as 
> treating him like the adult he's going to need to be to lead a war.
><snip>

Carol:
In other circumstances, Sirius might have been a suitable guardian for
Harry. But James's great affection for Sirius may have blinded his
judgment. We know that the young Sirius (and he was still only 21 when
Harry was born) was capable of great arrogance and recklessness. And
since that time, the rashness has increased (going after Peter rather
than contacting Dumbledore to explain the switch in Secret Keepers,
going after him a second time with the undoubted intention of
murdering him, slashing the Fat Lady's portrait, returning to Britain
rather than staying safely abroad, transforming into a dog to
accompany Harry to Pltform 9 3/4, etc.). Would such a man, who berated
Harry for not taking the unnecessary risks that "would have made it
fun for James," really have made a suitable guardian for Harry either
as a baby or as a teenager? He had no experience with children and
didn't even have a wife to help him--not to mention that in OoP he was
confined to a house he hated and was driven to drink by restlessness
and loneliness.

By all means let Harry have Sirius's friendship, but I think Molly saw
pretty clearly that Sirius, who had spent most of his adult life in
Azkaban, simply lacked the experience and the skills--not to mention
the patience and the common sense--to be a proper guardian to Harry.
Maybe Molly was wrong about how much he needed to hear (and I'm not
convinced that she was) and it's unfortunate that her concern for
Harry led to an insensitive remark (though I could point out numerous
instances of Sirius doing the same), but I think she sees him pretty
clearly. IMO, Sirius would have loved nothing better than to be in
Ron's place, Harry's chosen companion on his great adventures, to
which Sirius's adventures with James were the prelude. 

Would Sirius really have given Harry all the attention he needs, given
his own problems and circumstances in combination with a tendency to
judge others harshly, a hot temper, and a reckless disregard for
danger? I don't blame Molly at all for opposing his efforts to take
over her role as surrogate parent, whatever James's wishes in an
earlier time and very different circumstances.

Carol