Siriusly speaking...

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 164878

Kathy:
>I hope you are correct as well. Sirius was my favorite character 
>next to Harry and I always felt sympathy for him being convicted of 
>a crime he didn't commit. I think Sirius gave Harry the 
>unconditional love that Harry always needed. He was more willing to 
>share his home than the Dursley's ever were. I also believe that 
>Harry was the closest person to a son that Sirius would ever have. 

Bart:
That last is the problem. Consider: Sirius was more or less in a fog from the time he was 22 or so until he was finally shocked into leaving prison. So, in Sirius' mind, he is not in his late 30's; he's still in his early 20's. And he becomes closely associated with Harry only after Harry is a teenager. I forget who pointed it out (Dumbledore? Molly?), but I agree that Sirius does NOT see Harry as a son; he sees Harry as a substitute for James, as a best friend. Harry, on the other hand, sees Sirius as a father figure. And, frankly, that difference of opinion was a key to getting Sirius killed. Frankly, if you look at the characters, the person who has treated Harry the most like one would feel he would treat his own son has been Hagrid (if someone wants to launch a subject on THAT, I'll be happy to go into detail). Luckily, if Hagrid has a son of his own, it appears that the mother will be a balancing influence...

Bart