[HPforGrownups] Re: Debatable ethical issues in OotP and HBP

[Magda Grantwich]

No: HPFGUIDX 142467

 
> SSSusan:
> Well, yes, indeed he did this  after Harry's letter which spoke 
> about the scar hurting.  Sirius CARES about Harry, who is a *child*
> still.  A parentless child to whom he is godfather.  A child who's 
> obviously in danger and whom this godfather has been able to DO 
> nothing about for 12 years.  Now he has the chance to DO something.
> He has an obligation, and Harry wants him in his life.  True,
> Sirius 
> could have elected to stay put, to stay safe, so that he'd have a 
> better chance of being there later on... but how many of us would 
> have done that?  And, as Nora pointed out, how many of us would've 
> called that cowardly?  Catch-22.  

Ah, yes, Sirius cares so much for Harry.  He LOVES him SO much.  God,
how lucky Harry is to have such a wonderful godfather!  Makes me
break down in sniffles, it really does.  (Excuse me while I find a
Kleenex...)

I guess I'm just a mean rotten person because my response to this
is...so what?  Molly cares for and loves Harry too, and she's
certainly not above criticism because of it.  

Sirius adds to Harry's stress level in both GOF and OOTP with his
"I'll be right there!" responses.  Harry chastises himself and
purposely downplays his problems out of concern for Sirius.  Sirius
knows that it stresses Harry when he takes risks but keeps suggesting
it anyway and finally makes his nasty little crack about Harry being
less like James than he thought.  Yup, you can just feel the love.

Mundungus Fletcher puts Harry's and Dudley's lives in danger and
instead of taking him apart and feeding him to Buckbeak limb by limb
like a good godfather should, Dung gets an invitation to dinner.  

Does Sirius spend time with Harry over the summer or at Christmas? 
Quality, guy-bonding time?  No, Harry is in the company of the
Weasleys or Sirius is described as spending hours alone with
Buckbeak.  No bonding, no passing on information about James and Lily
that Harry might like to know, no asking Harry to help him carry the
bucket of rats upstairs - nothing.  

Throughout GOF and OOTP, Harry feels closest to Sirius when Sirius is
far away and inaccessible.  Harry liked the IDEA of having a
godfather a lot more than he liked dealing with one.  I believe it's
clear Sirius knew this and was trying to re-work the relationship
into one of equals - something that Molly and Hermione saw as
mistaking Harry for James.  Dumbledore says that Harry saw Sirius as
a combination older brother/uncle and I think that reflects the shift
that Sirius was trying to bring about, a shift that would give their
relationship some releveance.

Yes, if it makes everyone feel better: James and Lily should have had
their butts kicked for agreeing to the whole PP-as-SK idea (and of
course they personally paid the price for it).  But Sirius does say
he talked them into it which implies that it took some effort.  And
Sirius never shirks from blaming himself for the whole thing: "I as
good as killed them."  

Sirius is just too reckless and too short-term in his thinking to be
trusted with the guardianship of Harry he desperately wants.  This is
a guy who just can't stop blurting out things that make his
colleagues roll their eyes and think "Oh grow up!".  His response to
the news that Harry and the Trio have set up the DA is typical: he's
proud of Harry because it's just the kind of thing he and James would
have done to rag a teacher they hated.  That's the kind of remark
Sirius has never learned not to make, if he wants to impress people
as someone mature and competent to be a parent.

I think Carol nailed it perfectly in her posts.

Magda


	
		
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