Sirius as Father Figure (was:Re: How Sirius' death suits Dumbledore?...)

prncssme prncssme at yahoo.com
Tue Jun 14 02:13:32 UTC 2005


No: HPFGUIDX 130652


> Sirius was a good guide for
> Harry, HArry listened to him, and valued his opinion
> above everyone else's. Sirius was a father to Harry,
> and he knew it.
> 
> Juli
> 

Princess Sara:

I can see both sides of this argument but I think you're going a bit far in saying that Sirius 
was a good guide for Harry. Yes, Harry listened to him but Sirius' example was not 
necessarily a good one. Take for instance the scene at Grimmauld Place when Snape's 
there to inform Harry of his forthcoming Occlumency lessons: Snape calls Sirius a coward, 
which makes Sirius fly off the handle. When Harry tries to get them to act like reasonable 
adults, Sirius yells for him to get out of it! 

There are many other canon examples of Sirius giving Harry bad advice and/or steering 
him in the wrong direction. Sirius becomes angry with Harry when Harry expresses the 
very reasonable concern that certain activities could get Sirius caught. Sirius frequently 
shows a complete disregard for the kind of common sense that is essential in an effective 
father figure.

I also don't think that Sirius WAS a father figure to Harry, especially in OotP. Instead, he 
acts more like a morose, brooding older brother. Sirius' attempts to guilt/mold Harry into 
being James and not fatherly in the slightest, as they are borne of a very adolescent and 
selfish need to reclaim his past. JKR has said that Lily and James were about 22 when they 
died which means that Sirius was the same age when he went to Azkaban. When did he 
ever have a chance to mature in a healthy enough way to be a father to anyone? Certainly 
not in the 12 years he spent plotting revenge on Pettigrew.

So, did Harry need Sirius? Yes. Sirius is/was a very tangible connection to James and Lily 
and as someone else pointed out, the embodiment of a bright, sparkly, Dursley-free 
future for Harry. And he did love Harry very much. His loss will greatly effect Harry, for 
good or ill, and will force him to mature in way that his godfather never really did. 
However, I think that saying Sirius was a good guide and/or role model is seriously 
problematic. He may have become a good father figure if he'd lived to see his name 
cleared but that is purely speculation.

-Princess Sara









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