[HPforGrownups] Re: Chapter 24: Occlumency

[Magda Grantwich]

No: HPFGUIDX 109207

> imamommy:
> If your child had a math teacher who was as horribly unfair to him
> as
> Snape is to Harry, would you say, "Well, he's a wonderful
> mathematician, and you need to learn math to succeed, so it doesn't
> matter that he makes you so paralyzed with fear you can't learn a
> thing in his class"?  Sirius is acting like a parent; Lupin has the
> luxury of being a bit more detached.  Sirius is still really upset
> when he finds out that the lessons have stopped.  Sirius really
> doesn't have a lot of freedom here.  


No, he's not acting like a parent; he's acting like a Marauder again
and he's expecting Harry to react like James would have ("A secret
way to communicate that no one else knows of?  COOL!!! Let's try
it.")
It's not true that Sirius sees Harry as James but he does assume that
Harry will react the same way as James did.

He does this a few times in OOTP.  When he suggests to Harry that he
might come up to Hogsmeade for a weekend as a dog and Harry begs him
not to as it wouldn't be safe, he's doing the same thing he did in
the Pensieve when he announced "I'm bored" and James immediately came
up with a diversion.  

So he reacts to Snape the same way he did when he was a kid: the
guy's a greasy git, end of conversation.  He also acted like a lousy
host when Snape came by at Christmas to tell Harry about the lessons.
 

This is in contrast to his treatment of Mundungus "good old Dung"
Fletcher who's inconsiderate stupidity almost got Harry and Dudley
Dementored, plunged Harry into a trial at the MoM that gave Harry
weeks of tension, stress and grief, and forced Dumbledore to openly
confront Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge.  And yet rather than
taking Dung apart limb by limb for what he put Harry through, he
treats him like a welcome guest.  Does that sound like Sirius is
acting like a parent?  Would you treat someone that way who'd done
that to your kid?

And Harry is not afraid of Snape.  It's an inconvenience and promises
to be a lousy time but he's not afraid of him.  

Sirius had more than enough freedom to act like a responsible
parent/older brother to Harry.  What he didn't have - what he's never
had - is the self-control to put his own emotions and prejudices on
ice while putting Harry first.  Over and over again he does short
sighted things because he's never learned - never had to learn - that
he doesn't come first.  

Magda (who really agrees with Carol's post, in case you can't tell)



		
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