JKR characterizations--oversimplification?

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 115205


> Jen Reese wrote:
> " Sirius wholeheartedly believed that Peter deserved to die for 
the 
> chain of events that started when Peter divulged the Potter's 
secret
> location. Not only did Peter betray the Potter's, he betrayed 
Harry,
> Sirius, Dumbledore & the Order, and ultimately the WW at large. 
> Peter's one act had devastating consequences for several 
generations."
 
> Del replies :
> Huh, actually, the one act with devastating consequences is Sirius
> having the brilliant idea of making Peter Secret-Keeper. Peter had
> been betraying them for a year, everyone considered him as a weak
> little thing, I don't even understand how he became a member of the
> Order or how he wasn't suspected of being the traitor, and yet 
Sirius
> suggests making him SK ?? 


Jen: Actually, my comment you're responding to was taken out of 
context in the above snippet. I was commenting on the fact that, 
right or wrong, *Sirius* held the above conviction, and that this 
belief fueled his man-hunt of Peter when he escaped from Azkaban.

Personally, given the fact I know how things turned out, I don't 
think making Peter the Secret-Keeper was a brilliant idea. But I do 
believe from the text we have that *Sirius* believed this move would 
provide the perfect red herring. Sirius believed Voldemort would 
come after him as the logical choice for Secret Keeper, allowing the 
real Secret Keeper to escape unharmed. Then, Voldemort could torture 
Sirius forever and never have a chance of getting the information. 
Of course, that idea failed.

My personal opinion is this wasn't a bad risk to take on Sirius' 
part. If Peter was indeed viewed as a 'weak nothing' by most people, 
it's a reasonable assumption that Voldemort would view him that way 
as well (and we find out later he does indeed view 'Wormtail' in a 
negative light) and therefore not suspect Peter is the Secret Keeper.

It's easy in retrosepct to say Sirius was the cause of the problems, 
but I feel that diminishes Peter's role as the actual traitor and 
betrayer. Peter is the one who actually made an informed choice to 
betray his friends and the Order. Sirius' error was, as you said, 
not suspecting Peter in the first place. If I had to rate their 
actions on a morality scale however, I'd have to say that Peter made 
a deliberate choice and Sirius made a big mistake. To me, those are 
very different moral issues.

Jen Reese