Sirius' death (was: Dept of Mysteries Veil Room)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 115668


Debbie wrote: 
> Admittedly, I've never been a Sirius fan, and I've always thought he 
> was a dangerous influence on Harry because he *seemed* rational but 
> in fact his opinions were heavily coloured by his past experience.  
> Sirius represented to Harry not just someone who cared deeply about 
> him (in fact and not just in Harry's perception), but also a 
> connection to his family.  He was a great comfort to Harry and I 
> will not denigrate that.
> 
> Thematically, however, Sirius represents a POV that I think Harry 
> will move beyond, and therefore he needed to be removed as an 
> influence.  The Sorting Hat exhorts the students from different 
> houses to unite or else "crumble from within." Sirius represents 
> an "us vs. them" mentality, in which those who are labelled as 
> enemies are not allowed to have shades of grey.  The Sorting Hat's 
> philosophy would be anathem to Sirius, who labelled those he 
> associated with his family and the Dark Arts -- Kreacher, Snape, and 
> undoubtedly more than I am missing -- as enemies, and justified the 
> abuse and bullying on that basis.  Despite the handshake Dumbledore 
> wangles out of them at the end of GoF, I cannot envision any true 
> alliance between Snape and Dumbledore; <snip>

Carol responds:
Do you mean between Snape and Sirius, I hope? I agree with you, and
Sirius certainly didn't help matters by implying that Snape might try
to harm Harry during the Occlumency lessons. And I agree that he was a
bad influence with his black-and-white views, his stubbornness, and
his recklessness. Admittedly, his upbringing is not his fault, nor is
the betrayal by Peter, but he could have stayed out of Azkaban by
going to Dumbledore for help instead of going after Peter himself. In
essence, he taught Harry what *not* to do (going after Peter for
revenge) and recklessly risking (and losing) his own life. And without
denigrating the affection they felt for each other, based on a mutual
need, I still think that Sirius's death is his most valuable
contribution to Harry's development. He needs to feel and understand
real grief, to mourn the loss of a loved one, to develop compassion
and empathy for others. He never felt the loss of his parents because
he never knew them, and Cedric's death, though terrible to witness
(especially as he felt guilty, as well, for Cedric's being there), was
the death of an acquaintance, not a close friend. To truly understand
what Voldemort and the DEs have done to the WW, to understand what he
is fighting against, Harry must have a loss of his own that he feels
deeply. He must know what it means to mourn. And he, and the readers,
must be prepared to mourn again because more deaths are coming.

Carol, who knows what mourning is