Molly, Sirius's mirror, and behavior in OotP

[Christina Katsos]

No: HPFGUIDX 132652

 >Amiable Dorsai:
 >Molly was near the end of her rope, I think.  She's lost weight (from
 >stress, presumably) and she can't even handle a boggart.  Her reaction
 >to the boggart, tells the tale: she's terrified that some or all of
 >her family are going to die--to her credit, she includes Harry and
 >Hermione in her fears.

Christina:

Molly is highly protective of her brood and is very cautious, something I 
think makes her arguments with Sirius (who doesn't seem to have lost all of 
his childhood recklessness) understandable.  However, there is one line of 
dialogue that I find overly cruel:

(OotP, US Hardcover, pg 88)
" 'Yes,' said Mrs. Weasley, her lip curling.  'The thing is, it's been 
rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked up in 
Azkaban, hasn't it?' "

Now, if Sirius's jailtime had been due to recklessness or carelessness on 
his part, I could see Mrs. Weasley's throwing it in his face.  After all, 
what kind of man deserts his godson when he needs him most?  However, 
Sirius's time in Azkaban had nothing to do with his own actions.  First of 
all, she basically accuses him of abandoning Harry (at least that's how I 
read it).  Secondly, it's not as though Sirius had been lying in Bermuda 
for the past decade--he got his happy thoughts sucked out daily for a crime 
he didn't even commit.  The horrors of Azkaban only could have been 
multiplied by the fact that Sirius had to deal with the loss of his best 
friend at the same time (and the fact that he still harbors guilt over 
suggesting Peter as Secret Keeper).  To even bring up Azkaban in front of 
Sirius is cruel.  Molly goes as far as to put an accusatory spin on it, and 
that's probably the meanest thing she could have possible said to Sirius.

 >bboyminn:
 >I'm convinced that Sirius will come back to the story, but that
 >doesn't mean he will come back to life. I really don't support the
 >idea of communication with Sirius via the two-way mirror. Harry tried
 >that and it didn't work.

Christina:
I've always thought that the mirror had more to do with James than with 
Sirius.  Sirius's note says that "James and I used to use them when we were 
in separate detentions."  I take this as a huge clue that the mirror is 
about to become highly significant.  Assuming that Sirius would keep the 
mirror he had always used (and I think that's a pretty safe assumption to 
make), the mirror he gave Harry must have belonged to James.  Harry doesn't 
have much from his parents, but the two objects that he *does* have that 
belonged to dad (the cloak and the map) have proven essential to Harry's 
various quests.  As for the actual significance of the mirror, I don't 
think it's the glass part that's important- he could repair it with magic, 
but why would he?  He already tried to use it for what he thought its 
purpose was.  I'd love to see Harry discover some sort of engraving on the 
mirror, or find out that it has powers other than it's walkie-talkie ability.

 >Finwitch
 >You know, I think something in 12 GP was getting them... Many of them
 >act their worst in this book...
 >
 >Hermione saying 'saving-people-thing' - as if it's a bad thing. Her
 >reaction of Thestrals, first to deny they exist - until they come up
 >in class, and then wish she could see them... no, I don't think we
 >should trust Hermione about how much of the Quibbler is true at all...
 >
 >Harry with his anger.
 >Molly insulting Sirius
 >Sirius with such recklessness, quick to anger etc.
 >As of Snape -- his worst moment? I'd say it was more of what he did
 >at 15 than anything else. Insulting someone who is standing up for
 >him?

Christina:
I agree on Molly, but not the others.  I've always seen Hermione as a bit 
tactless--she's always convinced that she's right (and she usually is, but 
that's another story), but she seems to say a bit too much too 
early.  She'll repeatedly push subjects that obviously irritate Harry 
(annoying him about homework, occlumency lessons, etc.) and doesn't seem to 
know how to choose her words carefully.

Before I read OotP, I had heard a lot of people saying that they didn't 
like Harry's attitude in the book, but I really enjoyed it.  He acts kind 
of bratty, but it's typical teenage stuff.  I watch my brother and sisters 
(all currently in high school), and I think- I really hope I was never that 
bad!  What I'm saying is, a lot of teenagers are moody.  Add the intense 
stress of Cedric's death, Harry's being being left out of the loop 
constantly (which he views as the adults treating him like a child), *and* 
Voldy's influence on his emotions, and I completely understand Harry's 
behavior.  I'm not saying it's ok for him to be lashing out at people, but 
I can see it.  Sirius has always been a bit reckless.  His stay in Azkaban 
prevented him from really ever growing up; I think he's been frozen at 
20-something.  And Snape- I actually found his behavior at 15 less abrasive 
than at his current age.  Needing help from a muggle-born girl must have 
been tough on Snape's dignity.  It's the classic childhood 
I'd-rather-be-bullied-than-have-my-inferiors-stand-up-for-me attitude.  It 
was bad of him to be mean to Lily (who was being nice), but Snape's always 
had a lot of pride.

I must say, I like the little flaws we're allowed to see in the 
characters.  As Sirius (I think) said, "You can't just split the world up 
into good people and Death Eaters."  As Harry grows, he discovers that 
things are nearly not as black and white as he thought they 
were--Dumbledore makes mistakes, Snape had a tough childhood (never mind 
the pensieve episode- the brief vision Harry sees of "a hook-nosed man 
shouting at a cowering woman while a small dark-haired boy cried in a 
corner," is enough), James was sort of a bully, etc.  It's one of the 
things I loved about OotP--JK Rowling does a great job writing adolescence, 
a time when our views of "good" and "evil" are torn apart in favor of a 
more realistic picture that reflects the true complexity of the world.

Christina