A Sirius question....(haha)/Draco and Harry

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 147159

Karen:
<SNIP>
> In OoTP, where there is no longer any doubt that LV is back and 
bad and 
> in a killing mood, Sirius is giving Harry the famous taunt "the 
risk is 
> what would have made if fun for James". He's giving Harry almost 
the 
> same kind of taunts that Snape is giving him. He's dreadfully 
depressed 
> and moody alternating with great happiness. Definitely manic. Why 
the 
> huge discrepancy? When now more than ever it is clear LV is back 
and 
> coming for Harry, why does Sirius goad Harry?

Alla:

Oh, we had great discussions in the past about Sirius being 
depressed and if I can find the links, I will send you some. I don't 
think Sirius goating Harry is a good thing, but I absolutely think 
that Sirius was very depressed. Think about it, he was stuck in the 
house, where he probably spend his darkest moments as a child and 
teen. He left at sixteen, NEVER came back. I absolutely blame the 
Noble House of Black for Sirius' condition in OOP.  Also think about 
him never quite healed from PTSD, IMO. He was  being NEEDED in GoF, 
he was concentrated on Harry and that is why he was feeling better, 
but in OOP he is back to being stuck, his nature demands action and 
he cannot act AT ALL, IMO. I definitely understand his condition. 
Again, Sirius should have not said those things to Harry, but I 
think that had he been in better mental state, he never would have 
done it.


Karen:
> You want to work on a theory, there's one. Was Sirius really 
Sirius in 
> OoTP? Did the real Sirius die? At any rate, there is sure a huge 
change 
> in the character's attitude to Harry between the two books.

Alla:

I used to be a member of SAD DENIAL ( theory which says that Sirius 
is really not dead),  and even now even though I really know that he 
is dead, deep in my heart I still hope for that, although I know it 
is not going to happen. :)

Who do you think died if not Sirius?


> Betsy Hp:
<SNIP>
  If Draco had had a personal reason to hate 
> muggleborns (say Lily Evans killed his brother, or some such 
thing) 
> than it'd be a harder belief to change.  But since his belief is 
> based on a fairly shaky foundation it will only take a minor 
amount 
> of self-examination to destroy.

Alla:

Oh, thank you. I finally understood your reasoning. I completely 
disagree, but at least now I understand what you are talking about. 
In my experience such beliefs are VERY easy to install and REALLY 
hard to shake.

> > >>Alla:
> > What are you basing your assumption on that Draco could 
be        
> > a "swell person"? 
> > <snip>
> 
> Betsy Hp:
> I'm basing my understanding of Draco's character on what JKR has 
> written.  And she's shown that he can be determined, intelligent, 
> loyal, funny, brave, creative and insightful.  His most negative 
> trait is his bigotry.  And frankly, I think that's a fairly easy 
fix.

Alla:

I guess I just don't know where in  the books you found all that. I 
see a bully, a coward, the one who would do anything to crush the 
people and even animals who disagree with him. And of course a 
bigot, as we seem to agree, but as I said above I completely 
disagree that bigotry is an easy fix. I encountered PLENTY of bigots 
during my life back home and the ones whom I knew on the regular 
basis did not seem to change at all. Of course I did not felt 
compelled to know them better - as in what is hiding behind the 
surface of the bigot, since them thinking that people of my 
ethnicity are of the "wrong kind" and should just disappear did not 
exactly compelled me to know them better.

But, who knows, maybe Draco's failed murder attempt was indeed a 
life changing experience and he would become a "swell person" as he 
portrayed in so many fanfics.


JMO of course,

Alla