Debatable ethical issues in OotP and HBP

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 142395

zgirnius wrote: 
> <snip> I think JKR did know what she was writing [with regard to
Sirius Black]. And she did have DD address it in that conversation at
the end of OotP, by reminding Harry that Sirius was in danger of his
life if he left 12 GP. Both from DEs and overzealous MoM employees.
The situation for Sirius was not great, but there were few alternatives.
> 
> And I would agree that some characters treated Sirius badly and
exacerbated the situation, for their own reasons. Snape, obviously,
but he really does hate Sirius and I'm sure readers of all ages 
grasped that this was not good behavior on Snape's part. And Molly
Weasley, who was, it seemed to me, acting out of her own motherly 
feelings towards Harry. I did not feel, however, that JKR was
endorsing Molly's behavior. Not only did she have Harry express
negative thoughts about it, but she also had other characters (Lupin,
at least) disagree with her about things. <snip>

Carol responds:

I agree, and I want to add a few comments. But to digress for a
moment, Alla wondered how the situation for Sirius Black had changed
from the end of GoF, when Black was sent to fetch (sorry, I mean
alert!) the "old crowd." First, at the end of GoF, hardly anyone, even
Order members like Snape and Molly Weasley, knew that Black had
returned and was at large in dog form. And Molly still thought that he
was an escaped murderer. If the others in the Order (aside from Lupin)
thought the same thing, Black had an almost impossible task. (Lupin
would have had to explain everything before Black could even
transform.) And the DEs would not have known, either, since Wormtail
had just restored Voldemort to "human" form.

By the first few chapters of OoP, however, Wormtail or Voldemort has
apparently told the DEs about Black's "big disguise." Lucius *and*
Draco Malfoy see the big dog frolicking with Harry on Platform 9 3/4
and know who he is. At the end of OoP, Bellatrix refers to her cousin
as "the Animagus Black." It seems likely that the other Death Eaters
also know Black's secret. He himself says later that his "big disguise
is useless." That being the case, he doesn't have much choice but to
stay at home or risk his life and anger Dumbledore.

Now I'm going to step out on a limb and say that Black's situation is
in large measure his own fault. While others (notably Wormtail and
Dumbledore, and to a lesser degree, Snape with his taunts) play a
role, Black has made the bed that he's lying in. To begin with, he
talked James Potter into making Wormtail the Secret Keeper. After
Godric's Hollow, he took matters into his own hands and went after
Wormtail rather than going to Dumbledore for help and laughed like a
madman when Wormtail killed all the Muggles. After twelve years in
Azkaban, he escaped with the noble intention of murdering his former
friend and behaved in ways that reinforced the perception that he was
a homicidal maniac (sneaking into Hogwarts toand slashing portraits
and bedcurtains). The first sensible thing he does is to fly to some
tropical paradise on Buckbeak, but he forgoes safety and flies to
England to live on rats and hide in caves when he hears that Harry's
scar hurts. In OoP, he's at least living in his own house with
Kreacher and dear old mum for company. And he brings Snape's taunts on
himself with his incivility. In fact, I think bickering with Snape is
one of his few pleasures. In any case, living at 12 GP is his own
decision. He still has Buckbeak. He could fly back to his tropical
paradise at any point. Instead, he chooses to remain, drowning his
sorrows in self-pity and firewhisky (or whatever he's drinking) and
living in the past. At this point, his only hope for a useful life
lies in Wormtail's arrest, or, if he's unwilling to wait for that, a
new life in some other country. Yes, his is a tragically wasted life.
But the responsibility for that wasted life, like the decision to go
to the MoM, is primarily or entirely his own.

Carol, with apologies for any feelings she may have stepped on in
expressing these opinions