Regulus and Sirius WAS :Re: Slytherin's Horcrux (was:Hogwarts Houses Unite!)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 163761

Kemper wrote:
> I agree with Sarah.  And to expand on the 'collectible' implication
> that comes from Slughorn's word choice of 'set', it makes me think
> that was valued highly not only because he was a Black and had
> influence but because he was as powerful and creative a wizard as
> Sirius.

Carol responds:
I don't mean to be contrary (forgive me, Kemper!), but Regulus is an
unknown quantity and Slughorn may only have meant that he'd have liked
to have both borothers in Slytherin because of the Black family
tradition. Mcgonagall might have felt the same way if a Weasley had
somehow ended up in some House other than Gryffindor though she'd
never have referred to students as if they were pieces in a
collection. (Nice catch, Sarah!)

As for Sirius, what evidence do we have that he's "powerful and
creative"? He became an Animagus (as did James and Peter Pettigrew)
because they focused their study time on Transformation (hence
McGonagall's view of them, or at least James and Sirius, as brilliant
students--they excelled in *her* class) and he was one of four
students combining their talents to make the Marauder's Map. Slughorn
would not have known about either feat. There's no evidence that
Sirius (or James) excelled in Potions, much less invented potions
improvements like Severus, and no evidence that he invented his own
spells. So even if he really was "creative and powerful," how would
slughorn have known it? Sirius wasn't even in his House.

Maybe *Regulus* was brilliant (though he failed to destroy the
Horcrux, if it's the unopenable locket) and Slughorn was generalizing
from one brother to the other. Maybe he heard McGonagall bragging
about how good Sirius Black and James Potter were in Transfiguration
and wished he could "collect" the pair (though there's no evidence
that SB was in the Slug Club). But all we know about the young Sirius
Black, aside from what I've already mentioned, is that he was
frequently in detention with James, he was James's best friend, he
hated Severus Snape (and may have thought that Severus was involved in
the Dark Arts), he attacked Severus two on one with James after the
DADA OWL and he tricked or lured Severus into entering the tunnel to
the Shrieking Shack when Remus Lupin was in werewolf mode during their
sixth year, and he learned to become an Animagus in order to run with
a werewolf, endangering the residents of Hogsmeade. He doesn't seem to
feel much empathy with Remus ("wish it were a full moon") and doesn't
want to help him study for Transfiguration because he (being an
Animagus) thinks he knows all there is to know about the subject. He's
also pretty dismissive of Peter Pettigrew, telling James to stop
showing off or Wormtail will wet himself.

All we know about the older Sirius is that he was a member of the
Order of the Phoenix, that he suggested substituting Peter Pettigrew
for himself as Secret Keeper (with disastrous consequences), that he
was Harry's godfather and tried to persuade Hagrid to let him have
Harry at GH, that he subsequently went after Pettigrew, presumably to
kill him; that he spent twelve years in Azkaban brooding on revenge
and his own innocence; that he escaped and went after Pettigrew to
commit the murder he was imprisoned for; that he furiously slashed up
a painting and some bedcurtains, frightening a lot of kids, and
dragged Ron into the Shrieking Shack because he knew that Pettigrew
was in his pocket; that he was reluctantly talked out of murdering
Pettigrew (along with Lupin) by Harry; that he escaped on Buckbeak
thanks to Harry and Hermione; that he did keep track of Harry and come
back, risking recapture, when he heard that Harry was a TWT champion;
that he brooded at home, unable to do anything useful for the Order,
after appearing in his Animagus form on Platform 9 3/4 in sight of
Lucius Malfoy; and that he went with the Order to the MoM to rescue
Harry despite being told by Snape to wait for Dumbledore and was
subsequently killed in a fight with his cousin Bellatrix.

I see a rash, reckless, arrogant boy and man, loyal to his friend
James and James's son and fiercely opposed to Voldemort, talented in
Transfiguration but not necessarily in other subjects. If he were an
expert duellist, he'd have paid attention to what he and his opponent
were doing and where they were rather than taunting Bellatrix and
showing off. 

What I don't see is a powerful and creative wizard worthy of
"collection" by Slughorn, who, as I said, didn't even know that Sirius
was an (illegal) Animagus, much less about his share in producing the
Marauder's Map.

Carol, not trying to "bash" Sirius Black but wondering why we should
take McGonagall's word that a former Gryffindor who excelled in *her*
class should be regarded as an exceptionally talented or creative
wizard comparable to, say, Severus Snape