Sirius revisited

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 103805

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Barry Arrowsmith 
<arrowsmithbt at b...> wrote:

snip.

 Alla: OK, here we go.  

Kneasy:

snip.

However much he tried to isolate himself from 
> them, early family influences still remain - the blustering, 
bullying 
> attitude, the self-justification that is almost stereotypical of 
those 
> from a privileged  background. Nurture or nature? Do bloodlines 
define 
> the person in the Potterverse, or is it up-bringing? Or both?


Alla: 
Of course, Sirius will have some family influenced qualities in 
himself. he lived there for sixteen years after all. But it speaks to 
the strength of his character that he managed to leave his "wonderful 
family" behind. At least he tried to get away from Dark Arts.

(Note : For a long time I was not sure what JKR's atitude to Dark 
Magic is. It is possible that I was influenced by too many fanfic 
stories, which said that if Dark Arts are used with the noble intent, 
it does not make witch or wizard who uses them to be evil

I don't think so anymore, although it is subject to correction, of 
course. For now I am convinced that  whoever practices Dark Magic 
in "Potterverse" is evil, period)

With that attitude in mind, I give Sirius major credit for breaking 
away from them.

Kneasy:
> Whatever, his personality is set. At Hogwarts he's known to indulge 
in  
> bullying and will without compunction put the lives of others at 
risk 
> out of spite - with little evidence of regret or  remorse 
afterwards. 


Alla:


Just a quick question. Who are those "others"? I am afraid I can 
remember only one name, whom Sirius bullied in Pensieve Scene.

If you know any others, let me know, please.


And about regret or remorse, I know we will never see eye to eye on 
this one :), but I firmly maintain that Sirius was never in the right 
state of mind or in the apporpriate situation to express his regret 
or remorse to the said person.

Kneasy:

> The fact that there was no punishment for his behaviour is 
unfortunate; 
> lack of sanctions would tend to bolster his self-esteem and his 
> conviction of being justified in his actions.


Alla:

We don't know whether Sirius was punished or not. We only know that 
he was not expelled. It is a pure speculation that he would 
definitely told Harry if he was punished. Maybe the punishment was so 
embarrasing for him that he did not want to mention it to Harry.

I understand that for person, whose initials are SS any punishment of 
Sirius short by death would not have been enough, but who knows maybe 
Dumbledore saw some mitigating circumstances in the Prank. (Could it 
be? :))


Maybe dumbledore decided that... I don't know a year of detentions in 
Forbidden Forest with Mr. Filch will be enough for Sirius.

Kneasy:
> 
> The 'Secret Keeper' fiasco has been pored over  often. It's 
difficult 
> to imagine what he thought he was up to. He is the SK; the Potters 
can 
> only be contacted through him. So he hands over the responsibility 
to 
> Peter, citing the reason that Voldy and his pals would chase him 
> (Sirius) as a known friend of the Potters, thus foiling their 
dastardly 
> plans. Tripe.  Rubbish. What a load of old cobblers. Think about it.
> 

Alla:

This is the only moment, where I confess I am not quite clear about 
something. No, I am not questioning Sirius' motives. I suspect it has 
more to do with Rowling's not fully explaining the situation yet.

Why, why why was he so sure that Voldemort will never come after 
peter? Did he consider Voldie to be stupid? 


Kneasy:

snip
 Does he proclaim his innocence? No. 
snip.
Why? There is *no* reason to. Shock? Unlikely. 


Alla.


Two of your best friends were just killed. You learn that your other 
friend just betrayed them to Voldie.

Yes, shock is the most realistic reaction I would think of.


Kneasy:
> 
> I've covered his 'escape' from Azkaban in some detail in post 
79808, no 
> need to go through it all  again -  suffice it to say that his 
story is 
> full of holes and a good case can be made for his 'escape' being 
the 
> result of a deliberate conspiracy (probably by Fudge). 

Alla:

Oh, could it be that Sirius as one of the brightest students in his 
class, who managed to become animagus at fifteen or sixteen , indeed 
escaped by himself.