Sirius and Confusing and Befuddlement Draughts

[kiricat2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 93154

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "JoAnna" <pt4ever at y...> wrote:
> Silverthorne:
> > 1) He's hotheaded 
> > 2) He's a man of action as opposed to words 
> > 3) He is aggressive, to the point of bordering on being a bully 
sometimes 
> > 4) He usually does NOT listen to common sense unless Dumbledore 
is 
> presenting it, and even then, he chafes at the bit, wanting to do 
> whatever it is he wanted to do...you can even say he sulks about 
it. 
> 
> JoAnna:
> Good points, all.  It occured to me during PoA that there was one 
> way Sirius could have easily proved his innocence:  all he had to 
do 
> was owl a letter to Dumbledore either explaining the situation 
(i.e. 
> the truth about Pettigrew) or requesting a meeting so Sirius could 
> prove his innocence.  Then all Dumbledore would have to do is call 
> Ron up to his office and ask him to bring Scabbers along, and he 
> could find out for himself if Scabbers really was Pettigrew.  Once 
> that was found out, he could take Pettigrew to the Ministry, force-
> feed Pettigrew some Veritaserum, and clear Sirius' name.  
> 
> Sirius, however, either didn't trust that Dumbledore would be 
> willing to entertain the possibility of Sirius' innocence or didn't 
> think of it, prefering to do things "his" way (i.e., get to 
Scabbers 
> via Hogwarts, using violence if necessary).  And we all know how 
> well that turned out.  (He also should have revived the bound Snape 
> before showing Pettigrew, just so he could have another witness in 
> addition to three teenage wizards, an escaped convict, and a 
> werewolf, but Lupin didn't think of that either.)  Hindsight truly 
> is 20/20.


Marianne:

And why should Sirius have immediately trusted that a message to 
Dumbledore would have led to a cozy chat where all could be explained?
Dumbldedore knew where Sirius was for the last 12 years, yet we have 
no evidence that he sought to question Sirius about what happened 
with the Potters/Secret Keeper, etc.  Dumbledore was the leader of 
the Order the first time around, but apparently believed that one of 
his soldiers was indeed guilty of horrible treachery and didn't seem 
to have a problem with locking the guy away without benefit of a 
trial.

Sirius knows the entire world, including his former leader, believe 
him guilty.  Would it makes sense to put himself in danger of 
recapture on the off-chance that Dumbledore might just give him a 
listen when he's not giving a rat's ass for 12 years? 

To change focus a bit, in looking at the list of 4 Sirius character 
traits Anne listed, it all depends on what book you're reading. I'm 
listing a few things I'm grabbing off the top of my head, but the 
more I think about it, the increasingly inconsistent Sirius' 
character strikes me.

Hot-headed - 

PoA, Yes, but I'd cut him some slack because of residual Azkaban 
influences.  
GoF Can't think of an instance of hot-headedness.
OoP - Certainly there are some examples here, but what one person 
would describe as hot-headed, others may not, like the snarking with 
Molly about Harry. 

Actions rather than words:
PoA: As a wanted fugitive with the entire world on his tail, words 
were not necessarily going to keep Sirius alive. Action was what 
could deliver Scabbers into his hands. However, he did stand still 
for Remus' explanation in the Shrieking Shack, however begrudgingly, 
and he did use words to explain to Harry just what happened.
GoF: Much of the interaction between Harry and Sirius for the entire 
book contained a running verbal and written theme of warning from 
Sirius to Harry to be careful and not take risks. Which also flies in 
the face of the hot-headedness aspect. Sirius was much more word-
oriented than action-oriented in GoF, IMO.
OoP: Sirius was constrained from action for most of the book, and is 
not happy about it. Yes, he dashes off to the train station.  And 
then, as far as we know, stays locked up in the house for the next 9 
months. I'd be cranky, too.;-) But, I'd agree that OoP Sirius is 
certainly chafing at his enforced inactivity.

Aggressive:
PoA: I still am of the opinion that many of Sirius' actions in this 
book were heavily influenced by his years in prison. I simply cannot 
believe that anyone suffering physical deprivation, and 
emotional/mental torture for years can be expected to bounce back 
quickly to then become a model of decorum, polite behavior and 
completely rational thought. Was it a good idea to slash the Fat Lady 
or drag Ron into the tunnel? No, but I can understand why it happened.
Of course, this book is where we come across everyone's favorite non-
canon "P word." The Prank. Was that attempted murder, as Snape thinks?
That certainly would rank as aggressive. Or, since JKR has said that 
we'll find out more about that in the future, are we missing 
something important from the story?
GoF:  Breaking into a house to use the fire?  That's the most 
aggressive act I can think of.
OoP: The almost-duel with Snape. Snape's Worst Memory. Certainly an 
aggressive streak shows up here.

Not listening to common sense:
PoA: There is no interaction on which to base an assessment until we 
get to the Shrieking Shack scene. At which point Sirius does listen 
to both Remus and Harry.
GoF: Oddly enough, Sirius is the dispenser of common sense to Harry 
in this one.
OoP: Sirius resents Dumbledore's instructions to stay put. But, he 
does stay put except for the trip to the train station and the last 
journey to the Dept. of Mysteries. He's angry with Harry shooting 
down the idea of slipping up to Hogsmeade. But, he stays at Grimmauld 
Place. After that one trip out in September, I'd say Sirius pretty 
well adhered to Dumbledore's instructions. Except for when Harry and 
friends went to the Dept. of Mysteries.  Common sense would have 
dictated that Sirius stay behind.  Or would it? Common sense might 
also say that these kids were walking into what the Order members 
have guessed is a trap set by Voldemort and his henchmen and that any 
able-bodied witch or wizard able to wield a wand had best get over 
there before it's too late.

I don't know.  I can reconcile PoA-Sirius with OoP-Sirius. But GoF-
Sirius still strikes me as very different from OoP-Sirius. Maybe GoF-
Sirius was really Stubby Boardman...

Marianne