[HPforGrownups] Re: A Defense of Sirius (was A Defense of James Potter(Whose flaws are bigger))

[Christine Maupin]

No: HPFGUIDX 175550

Mim;
>And I must say I'm not terribly impressed with their choice of 
>godfather either. The idea in times of war is that the guy can keep 
>it together enough to take care of your kid and Sirius messed up 
>quite spectacularly there. Of course, no one knows what their 
>reaction to such guilt and pain would be until it happens to them 
>but Sirius definitely wasn't the most reliable guy. He did try once 
 >he broke out of Azkaban but he was too damaged to the point that 
 >eventually it was Harry who had to worry about him and take care of 
 >him and not the other way around.
 
 Sherry:
 >We have absolutely *no* canon telling us what Sirius was like when the
 >potters died, except that in his grief and rage he went after peter.  I can
 >think of many people who might go after the person who betrayed the family
>they loved to an evil dictator or something similar.  We do not know if
>Sirius would have been a good godfather/guardian if he had not been sent to
>Azkaban for 12 years for a crime he did not commit.  In my opinion, we
>really can't judge Sirius' behavior or child raising that could have been if
>only he hadn't been sent off to Azkaban.  How he was after those 12 hellish
 >years doesn't have anything to do with who he could have been if that had
 >not happened.
 
Very true, Sherry.  If we look at POA, at the conversation between McGonagall, Fudge, Hagrid, and Rosmerta, we know that Sirius wanted to take Harry, but Hagrid had orders from Dumbledore to take him to the Dursleys.  I believe that had he been given custody of Harry, Sirius would honored his friends by being the best parent he could be and certainly would not have gone after Peter as he did.  Of course, Dumbledore believed Sirius was the Potter's Secret Keeper and probably would have kept Harry away from Sirius despite the necessity to send Harry to Petunia to ensure the protection his mother's blood gave him.

When Sirius offers his motorcycle to Hagrid in Godric's Hollow saying, "I won't need it anymore," I hear defeat and despair in that statement -- despair over Lily's and James's deaths, over Peter's betrayal and the fact that it was his idea to use him as Secret Keeper, over the loss of Harry.  At this point, I get the impression that he feels that he has little to live for and would have willingly died avenging the Potters' deaths (I think he expected to).  Plus, as the Potter's supposed Secret Keeper he would be a 'wanted' man and he had to know that -- image having to face everyone -- your friends and comrades -- trying to explain that you switched Secret Keepers and why, admitting that it was your idea; imagine running from those some people or trying to defend yourself against them because one of them might want to avenge the Potters' deaths.  Barty Crouch, Sr. sent him to Azkaban without a trial for the murders Peter committed, so it appears he might not have been
 given much of a chance to explain in any case.

James was loyal to his friends and expected loyalty from them.  Even though it apparently was common knowledge that there was a spy in the Order, I think James "who wold have regarded it as the height of dishonor to mistrust his friends" (DH, p 81) would consider it outside the realm of possibly that the spy would one of his friends...  Imagine instead of James, Sirius, and Peter, we were talking about Harry, Ron, and Hermione -- could anyone imagine Ron or Hermione betraying Harry?

Christy

>From POA:
"I met him!"  growled Hagrid.  "I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people!  It was me what rescued Harry form Lily an' James's house after they was killed!  Jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead ... an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flying' motorbike he used ter ride.  Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there.  I didn' know he'd bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper.  Thought he'd jus' heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do.  White an' shakin', he was.  An' yeh know what I did?  I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!" Hagrid roared....

"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James?  It was You-Know-Who he cared abou"!  an' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him--' Ha!  But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's.  Black argued, but in the end he gave in.  Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I won't need it anymore,' he says.
(p. 206 - 207)

       
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