The length of the Pensieve Scene

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 118295


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214" 
<dumbledore11214 at y...> wrote:
> 
> Magda:
> 
> Sooo.....Sirius and Remus want to reassure Harry that his 
father was not a jerk so they tell part of the truth, the part with
the 
> insufficient, inadequate reasons ("he was 15" "school cool" 
"arrogant birks") and DON'T tell him the better reasons?
> Why would they do that?
> 
> 
> Alla:
> 
> For the same reason Harry does not ask questions about his 
parents  even though he stays in Grimmauld Place with Sirius 
and Remus for  quite  along periods of time, because JKR does 
not want to reveal  them yet.<
> 

Pippin:

Of course JKR has to hide things for plot reasons, but she 
always throws in a character reason too. Lupin does not want to 
talk about the past (PoA ch 12) , Moody's casual attitude to 
mayhem and destruction is upsetting, and Sirius has the sullens 
a good deal of the time when Harry is at GP. Harry isn't the sort to 
bring up something that might depress him, though he does 
regret it later.

Anyway, I think there is an interpretation being missed here. 
When Sirius says "I'm not proud of it," and JKR underlines that by 
having Lupin give him a quick look, it's because there's been a 
change. In the Shrieking Shack, Sirius defended his attack on 
Snape "It served him right. Sneaking around, trying to find out 
what we were up to...hoping he could get us expelled." 

But Sirius has grown up a bit in the two years since he said that, 
and though he still doesn't like Snape, he's not blaming the 
victim any longer. Harry doesn't notice this because he's 
invested in seeing Sirius as the victim of Snape's goading, but 
Sirius has started to outgrow his old feelings toward Snape.

Pippin