Sirius, Sirius, Sirius - favorite moments / re: Why Sirius had to die-maybe

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 169832

> >>Betsy Hp
> > This is like, my favoritest thread EVER! I love you, Jen. :-D

> >>Jen:  HEE, you know what this means don't you?  You have to start 
> a 'what I like about the Sirius character' thread.  MWAHAHAHAHA. 
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
And I've been meaning to do so for *forever*. <bg>  So, favorite 
Sirius moments, just for you, Jen. <g>

Basically I love any moment he's with Harry.  Sirius is *so* focused 
on making sure Harry is safe and okay.  Though I agree that Harry 
didn't look to Sirius as a father (more big brother or uncle), I do 
think Sirius saw himself as filling James' shoes and being a father 
for Harry.

I specifically like the moment Harry fire-calls him after the 
Pensieve scene.  I like what Sirius said to Harry there about being 
young and stupid, and I loved his eager fondness in remembering 
James.  This wasn't a guy remembering a heroic saint, this was a guy 
remembering his best friend, and I liked that.

Full confession time: I liked Sirius in the Pensieve scene. Oh, I 
hate what he and James did to Snape of course, but I loved how 
carefree and beautiful and arrogant Sirius was.  And I really loved 
how close he was with James.  That interplay after Lily stormed 
off, "Reading between the lines, mate, I'd say she doesn't like you" 
was perfect.  (That's a guess at the line since I'm away from my 
books at the moment.)

The ultimate tragedy with Sirius, IMO, is that he was never allowed 
to rise to his full potential.  Locked away in Azkaban, then locked 
away in Grimmauld Place, I think that final fight at the MoM is where 
Sirius was finally coming into his own, finally doing what he'd been 
wanting to do from the beginning: save Harry.  And then he died.  
Brutal, JKR, brutal.  (And part of the reason I cannot buy the "Snape 
did it with cunning use of psychology" thing.  Sirius would *never* 
stay in a safe place while Harry was in danger.  Never. To suggest 
otherwise is to complete misunderstand Sirius, IMO.)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/169770
> >>Magpie:
> <snip>
> Honestly, I think it may be important for Sirius to have died
> because Harry is his heir.
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
It's an interesting idea (and the best thematic explanation for 
Harry's use of Kreacher in HBP, IMO).  I like it because it suggests 
that Sirius won't fully die out, I guess is the phrase.  Family lines 
is a huge deal in Potterverse.  Harry is constantly being parsed for 
parts belonging to his family (down to his knobbly knees <g>).  And 
it's strange, but the ultimate blow of Sirius's death for me, came 
when Phineas Black referred to him as the last of the Blacks.  It was 
like there was all this history that was suddenly lost.

> >>Magpie:
> I feel like Harry is the heir on the patrilineal side, having      
> inherited the house from Sirius... <snip>
> Draco, then, inherits from the distaff side as the child of
> Narcissa... <snip>

Betsy Hp:
Ooh, interesting.  Like a mirror image of the Gaunts?  I'm thinking 
Morfin and Merope specifically.  There's something there that I'm 
having a hard time putting my finger on.  Sort of like the Gaunts are 
an example of failing your family line or something?  It'd tie in to 
Ron talking about his father saying you have to inter-marry with 
Muggleborns to keep your family healthy.  (This may well be steering 
too close to eugenics, frankly. But I will say, no Gothic story is 
complete without some sort of sexual taboo, and incest is an easy one 
that the Gaunts seemed to embrace.)

I have a feeling this can probably tie into the union of the four 
Houses that I think will symbolize the healing of the WW. I'm just 
not sure how. 

Betsy Hp (having fun thinking out loud if nothing else <g>)