Trusting characters Re: bullies? twins, padfoot and prongs

[Sharon]

No: HPFGUIDX 118801


>Valky:
>I am painting JKR into a corner here, it was necessary for Sirius to
be first on the scene for plot reasons, so lets just say that he was
too cocky to know he shouldn't be playing both roles at once. How
about that? :D
>

Azriona (me):
Gee, you're asking me to say Sirius was cocky?  Okay!  I'm first in 
line!!!  *grin*

Absolutely, it was important for Sirius to be first on the scene at 
GH for plot purposes - I can't fault JKR for that decision, because 
it was a good one.  However, she's very rarely made a decision that 
she wasn't able to back up later on with some amount of fact.  

(Mark Evans being a notable exception to the rule.)

So I would have to agree with Potioncat's response, as follows:

>Potioncat:
>I wouldn't say it's flinty. It's very in character for Sirius.
After all it's not the only time he was supposed to stay put, but
dashed off to join the fray.
>

*Because* it was necessary for Sirius to show up to GH first, it was 
necessary for him to have a reason.  What better one than making it 
simply part of his character, to rush into situations where he 
doesn't know the dangers and can't guaruntee an outcome?  Even had 
Sirius really planned on going into hiding to protect James and Lily -
 he never would have been content to remain in one place.  He was at 
Grimmauld Place for all of a month an a half and he was chomping at 
the bit to get out of there - and every time we saw him in OoP he was 
progressively more depressed.  It's no wonder that after a single 
week of playing whatever game he was playing (either hiding in secret 
or open air, trying to lure the DEs to him) that he went off to 
Peter's place to find him.


>Naama:
>Why not accept what Sirius said? He was worried when he hadn't heard
from Peter. It was imperative to find out whether Peter was captured -
since Peter was the Secret Keeper, he was the only one who could
endanger the Potters. 
>

Hi, Naama!  I'm actually looking forward to our stand-offs now...

Something I just discovered this evening, which might interest you:  
Chp 19 PoA, Sirius: "The night [James and Lily] died, I'd arranged to 
check on Peter, make sure he was still safe..."

It wasn't a spur of the moment thing.  Sirius wasn't just dropping by 
because he'd suddenly had a bad feeling, or because he was getting 
antsy.  He wasn't even feeling particularly worried about Peter when 
he went to look for him, until after he'd arrived.  Why?  Because 
he'd *planned* to be there - and what's more, Peter *knew* that 
Sirius would be stopping by.  (Who else would Sirius have "arranged" 
the meeting with, the Easter Bunny?)

Pretending I'm Sirius for a moment: I have, on schedule, showed up at 
the SK's house, who isn't there.  Maybe I wait around for a few 
minutes, thinking perhaps Peter has popped out for a drink or a loaf 
of bread.  But time goes by, and Peter's still gone, and I'm getting 
worried, and then my Spidey-sense starts tingling...and I go straight 
to GH.  To find it a ruined mass of burnt lumber....

Now, it's all well and good if Sirius wanted to see if Peter had been 
captured.  But if that was the case, why did he go to GH first?  Why 
didn't he go to Dumbledore?  "Yo, Dumbledude, we screwed up and 
Peter's captured, I think."

At that point, Sirius wasn't worried about Peter - he was worried 
about James and Lily.

(And for that matter - if Peter was the Secret Keeper - how'd Sirius 
know where to find James and Lily anyway?  Are we assuming that the 
moment the spell was cast, Peter told Sirius where to find them?)


>Naama:
>And who else could have been sent to check on
Peter? The Potters were the target, so they certainly couldn't leave
their hiding place, and Lupin wasn't trusted. It had to be Sirius.
And if Peter had been captured, there's obviously no need for Sirius
to continue being the decoy and remain in hiding.
>

True, very true.  Sirius was in the free and clear to run around like 
crazy once he knew Peter had been compromised.  But being a decoy and 
remaining in hiding are two entirely different things: being a decoy 
involves being *seen* by the enemy, to lure them in a different 
direction.  Hiding involves staying low, staying out of sight, 
staying safe.  Sirius had to have been doing one or the other - and 
we have two sources telling us different things.  McGonagall says 
that Sirius was hiding.  Sirius says that he was the decoy.  It all 
comes down to who you trust - and I don't think I've made much of a 
secret who I believe.

--azriona