two way mirror of sirius

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 92863

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "kashelkar" <kashelkar at y...> wrote:
> Kashelkar writes:
> 
> At the end of Christmas vacations, Sirius hands Harry a badly 
> wrapped package.  It contains a two-way mirror, Sirius having the 
> other one. So if Harry talked into it, Sirius would be able to see 
> & listen him  and vice versa.  How come Sirius never uses it 
> himself?? 
> ...edited... 
> Also, if it was never to be used why did JKR introduce this 
> item in the story at all???

bboy_mn:

Last question first, JKR frequently introduces concepts (or objects)
in one book, that aren't fully utilized until a later book. 

Example: Sirius gave Harry a knife the would unlock any lock and untie
any knot. Harry doesn't remember it until he is at the bottom of the
lake; seemingly a lost opportunity; yet, he made great use of it in
the most recent book.

Another example, the pointless use of Polyjuice in CoS, when Harry and
Ron sneak into Slytherin Common Room to talk with Draco. But, it's
pretty much a bust, they really don't find out much useful information
from Draco, and certainly don't find out what they were hoping to
find. So, in another smaller way, we have a pointless plot item.

But suddenly at the end of GoF Polyjuice becomes very siginficant when
we find out that Moody is really Crouch Jr in disquise. 

Conclusion, that mirror absolutely will appear in the story again.

Next, let's look at when Sirius gave Harry the mirror. Everyone was
very hurried that morning. There wasn't really much time for Sirius
and Harry to discuss the mirror and it's use. Fearing that Sirius's
ever increasingly depressed state of mind might lead him to do
something dangerous, Harry swore to himself that he would never use
Sirius's gift. He would not allow himself to be the person who drew
Sirius into the open and got him captured or killed. So, that is a
huge mindset against using the mirror right there.

Also, Harry doesn't know that the gift is a mirror. All he knows is
what Sirius said, "A way of letting me (Sirius) know if Snape's giving
you a hard time." That statement is pretty vague and I think JKR did
that intentionally. If Sirius had had time to explain to Harry exactly
what the gift was, then Harry would have understood that it was safe
to use. But Harry at the moment is extremely worrried about Sirius,
and vows not to do anything that might encourage him to do something
dangerous.

As far as the conversation in the fire, between Umbridge's office and
Grimmauld Place, it starts with Lupin and Sirius in a panic because
they assume something serious must be wrong for Harry to contact them
by Floo. Once the conversation starts they are all distracted by good
and bad memories, and good and bad feelings regarding the event that
Harry saw in the Pensieve. Before the can get into an extended
conversation, they are interupted and the conversation is cut short;
no opportunity to mention the mirror.

Final question, why didn't Sirius use the mirror? Maybe he did, but
the mirror is in the bottom of Harry's trunk, and Sirius would
therefore have to yell extremely loud for anyone to hear him. If he
did that, the circumstance would be compounded by the chance that
someone other than Harry would hear Sirius shouting. A bit awkward if
Seamus heard the shouts and looked in the mirror. So, while Sirius may
have tried it, he would have had to do so cautiously.

Just a few thoughts.

bboy_mn