Who's to Blame/Ending Occulmency was Re: [HPforGrownups] Harry as Kreacher

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 100632

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "rowena_grunnionffitch" 
<rowena_grunnionffitch at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "" <sherriola at e...> 
> wrote:

Sherry Gomes:
>    Harry neglects opening the package from Sirius and so 
discovering 
> the mirrors which would have quickly established that S was safe. 
He 
> forgets that Snape is a member of the OoP and doesn't turn to him 
> until it's too late. Nor does it occur to him to try to find Snape 
> after their escape from Umbridge and to discover if Snape got his 
> message and what he had learned.

Geoff:
yes, but let's look at the situation.

'"I want you to take this," he (Sirius) said quietly, thrusting a 
badly wrapped package roughly the size of a paperback book into 
Harry's hands.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"A way of letting me know if Snape's giving you a hard time. No. 
don't open it in here!".......
..."I doubt if Molly would approve - but I want you to use it if you 
need me, all right?"
"OK" said Harry, stowing the package away in the inside pocket of his 
jacket, but he knew hewould never use it whatever it was.'

(OOTP "Occlumency" p.462 UK edition)

' Harry pulled some crumpled robes out of the very bottom of his 
trunk to make way for folded ones and, as he did so, noticed a badly 
wrapped package lying on a corner of it. He could not think what it 
was doing there.'

(OOTP "The Second War Begins" p.755 UK edition)

OK, so Harry doesn't want to use in case it endangers Sirius. But, it 
is pushed into his hands at a time when everyone is going round in 
ever decreasing circles because of packing and leaving etc. Sirius 
stops him looking at it there and then and it gets stowed away into 
his trunk in the rush of unpacking at Hogwarts. Is it ilttle wonder 
that he forgets about it? Never done something similar? I've have. I 
think that to suggest that Harry later on deliberately ignored the 
package is unfair. His thought was probably "Oh, yes, Sirius' 
package. I'm not going to use whatever's in it but I'll have a look 
at it later when I've got a bit of time..."