The two-way mirror - a cruel useless plot device

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 163717

--- "alcuin74" <alcuin74 at ...> wrote:
>
> > Carol responds:
> > Harry didn't even know it was a mirror. He never 
> > opened the package until it was too late. His reason:
> > He didn't want Sirius Black to come out of hiding to
> > defend him against Snape ...
> 
> Alcuin:
> 
> ... I can't understand why Harry wouldn't have at least
> opened the package ..., even if he didn't intend to use
> it.  It was from *Sirius* after all.  Had he opened it,
> he would have realized it was something he could have 
> used .... I also don't understand why Sirius didn't 
> remind Harry of the  mirror when Harry talked to him 
> through the fire in Umbridge's office. Surely Sirius 
> couldn't also have forgotten about it.
>

bboyminn:

If only Harry had opened the package he could have saved
Sirius. If only I had left the house 5 minutes sooner or 
later, I could have avoided a car accident. If only I 
had picked the right numbers, I could have won the 
lottery. If only I wasn't so short, I would be tall.
Pardon the snarky attitude. Everyone's lives is filled 
with this type of 'if only'. I seriously doubt that this
same situation has not happened to every person here. I 
have tons of things I've put away for safe keeping and 
was never able to find again. 

Also, consider that Sirius did not just give Harry a
gift. If that's all it was, Harry would have opened it.
Instead Sirius gave Harry a badly wrapped package WITH
a Context attached to it. Carol has already covered 
that context. But it was that context that caused 
Harry to subconsciously reject the package. He resolved
to never use it because he didn't want to be the one
who put Sirius at risk. By rejecting the context, he
subconsiously rejected the package itself. 

Plus this was a very intense year for Harry. He had
plenty of things to distract him from some package
tucked away forgetten in his trunk.

Now to your final question, why didn't Sirius mention
the mirror when he and Harry spoke in the fire. If
you go back and read that conversation, you will 
realize it was cut short. I'm sure Sirius had every
intention of asking Harry about the Mirror, but
never got the chance. 

Also, again, in this situation context played a role.
Harry 'calls' to ask about Snape's Pensieve memory.
They discussed that, and within limits resolved it.
After the fact, there didn't seem to be any need to
continue the conversation, so Sirius saw no reason
to follow up on the mirror aspect. Or perhaps he did
follow up on the mirror with Dumbledore, but none of
them thought Harry would be foolish enough to attempt
future contact by unsecure means.

But relative to the one conversation, it was cut short
and no one got to say everything they intended to say.

Steve/bboyminn