Sirius without trial - a perspective

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 158830

> Carol responds:
< BIG SNIP>
(After Harry starts talking and Black sees how much he
> resembles James, the concern for Harry becomes more important, maybe
> even taking precedence in his own mind, but how could he "love" a 
boy
> he hasn't seen since he was an infant and doesn't even know? 

Alla:

He knows him, he spent the first year of his life with him and to me 
that seems enough to love grown up Harry. He does not **know** grown 
up Harry of course, but the basis for the love seems to me the time 
he spent with infant Harry.

Carol:
His
> concern for Harry would be based solely on the fact that he was
> James's son and the innocent victim of base treachery on the part of
> Wormtail and perhaps an awareness of the fact that he was Harry's
> godfather, whatever that means in WW terms. But love? How is that
> possible? You don't love someone you don't know, on principle or for
> any other reason. Any "love" (concern for his safety, affection,
> desire to know Harry better) that Black feels for Harry at this 
point
> is, IMO, a vestige of his (fraternal) love for James. WHat else can 
it
> be?)

Alla:

Of course he loves Harry because he loved James, but he also loved 
child Harry and based on that he can love the teenager, IMO.

Carol:
 
> To return to revenge as Black's *primary* take a look at his 
behavior
> in the Shrieking Shack. Does he say, "Harry! Thank God you're all
> right! I was afraid that Peter would transform himself into a man,
> even though Voldemort isn't back and he's too lazy to act on his 
own,
> and kill you!"? Nope. The first thing he does is point Ron's wand at
> Harry and Hermione and say "Expelliarmus!"
<BIG SNIP - go UPTHREAD to read the quote>
>> Sorry. Still looks to me as if Black's primary motive is 
vengeance. I
> don't see love for Harry anywhere in this part of the scene. At 
least
> until Snape comes, and to some degree afterwards, revenge seems to 
be
> the primary (I didn't say only) driving force behind Sirius Black's
> words and actions.

Alla:

Um but we were talking about his love for Harry as primary motive for 
his escape, what does Shrieking Shack has to do with it?

Of course seeing Peter so close brought revenge closer to Sirius' 
mind, but when he escaped as he so clearly says he was worried that 
Peter may harm Harry and I will take his word for it.

As far as I know Sirius could not even predict that Shrieking Shack 
will occur when he was escaping.

 
> Carol, who is not calling Black a liar but thinks he may see events 
a
> bit differently after actually encountering the teenage Harry (and
> witnessing his relationship with his own old enemy, Severus Snape)
>

Alla:

A bit differently meaning that he was not really worried about Harry 
or did you mean something else here? And what relevance Harry's 
relationship to Snape has to the argument whether Sirius loves Harry?

Alla,
still surprised that Sirius love for Harry should be reduced to his 
secondary motivations, despite him stating to the contrary, but to 
each their own.