Harry's Reaction to Sirius' Death (Was:Two Weeks of Posts...)

[Nathaniel]

No: HPFGUIDX 156603

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "amiabledorsai" 
<amiabledorsai at ...> wrote:
>
> > Cassy Ferris:
> > <<  By the way, I was really amazed how soon Harry recovered from
> > his loss. merely two weeks passed between the end of Ootp and the
> > beginning of HBP and he already managed to put Sirius's death 
behind
> > him. >>
> 

 
> AD: 
> Do you really think that Harry "put Sirius's death behind
> him" at the end of two weeks? I didn't think he'd managed it by the
> end of the book.
<snip> 
>> I seem to be fairly alone in this viewpoint, though.  Does anyone 
else
> see it this way?
> 
> Amiable Dorsai

I'm probably closer to your viewpoint Amiable Dorsai than the 
opposing one.  First off - HBP may start two weeks after the end of 
OP, but it's been 3-4 weeks since Sirius' death.  Next, Harry doesn't 
really seem "over it" at the start of HBP.  He consciously decides 
not to pack, and he does so because he is afraid of dissapointment.  
This suggests that he is still quite depressed.  

He may not be expressing grief in the same way he was at the end of 
the school year (by desprately clinging to some hope of contacing 
Sirius via Nearly Headless Nick or the Magical Mirror), but rather 
he's moved on to quiet reserve.  Furthermore, the narrator explicitly 
states that Harry continues to blame Snape for Sirius' death.  So no, 
I don't think Harry is over it, but rather is expressing his grief in 
different stages from the ones he already expressed at the end of OP.
-Nathaniel