Sirius and Snape parallels again - Sirius' death (LONG)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 185088

Lizzyben:
> -DH, I don't know how anyone can truly believe that DD was looking 
> out for Sirius' best interests. Sirius was one of, if not THE, 
> biggest obstacle to The Plan. As we know, The Plan 
> involved Harry marching placidly to death at the hands of LV. Just 
> *imagine* how Sirius would've reacted if he'd found out DD's 
> Plan! "Hell, no, you manipulative old bastard! Pack your things, 
> Harry, we're going to Barbados!" 

Pippin:
Nope. We don't have to imagine. We know how Sirius reacted when one of
his friends *wouldn't* march placidly off to death at the hands of LV.

"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me,
Sirius."
"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY
YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" --PoA ch 19

You see, Sirius doesn't think  it's asking too much to expect a man to
 die for his friends. It's more like...a privilege. D'Artagnan would
understand -- life is good, but death by disease or in the feebleness
of age is not so desirable that it's worth deserting your friends for.
Indeed, Sirius truly loves and wants what's best for Harry, but fact
is, he didn't invite Harry to come share his tropical hideout when he
heard that Harry's scar was hurting again. Instead he rushed back to
share his peril.
 
> lizzyben:
> And I wouldn't  really count on JKR's moral compass, which continues
to confuse & confound me. 
> 
> And I could actually like DD as a character. But what disturbs *me* 
> is that JKR never comes clean about the extent of DD's machinations. 
> She now says that he's a Machievelli, and that "he's been pulling a 
> lot of strings." *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*. But she never tells 
> readers the full truth. 

Pippin:
I think JKR sees individuals as a lot less malleable than you do, and
therefore she sees Dumbledore's machinations, whatever they were, as
more foolish than dangerous. 

The *crowd* is malleable, so Dumbledore gets brownie points from JKR
for not becoming Minister of Magic, avoiding the temptation to use his
powers of persuasion on people en masse. But individual characters are
generally too stubborn even for him. They change slowly, and mostly
from within.  
 

Lizzyben:
I'd be OK if DD came totally clean in DH,  confessed all & then was
forgiven by Harry.

Pippin:
He confessed to Harry what he'd done to Harry, which is all that's
Harry's business. And part of that confession was that he should have
trusted Harry  -- in other words, his manipulations  tried to make
Harry choose what he would have chosen anyway. If Harry hadn't been
the sort to make those choices, it would have been in vain.

Lizzyben:
 But JKR seems to want 
> readers to forgive & love him w/o even knowing all that he's done. 
> It's sort of like DD's secret w/JKR. And even still, many readers 
> will call DD the epitome of goodness, or "benevolent" - while 
> referring to a man possibly responsible for the deaths of many 
> innocent people. 

Pippin:
 Of course you're right, if he killed for pleasure or
self-aggrandizement, he'd be no better than Voldemort. The point is, 
he didn't chose to.

> lizzyben:
> 
> That's what makes it the perfect crime! :) He *didn't* kill Sirius, 
> Bellatrix did. Everyone thinks so; even Bellatrix thinks so. A Priori 
> Incantatum examination of the Elder Wand would show only a harmless 
> immobilization spell, among the many DD cast that night to catch 
> various Death Eaters. The spell was invisible, wordless, & caused 
> Sirius' death w/o a trace of evidence, w/o a single (live) witness. 
> Of course, Sirius could testify to being strangely immobilized
before  his death, but he is unfortunately dead & unable to tell anyone.

Pippin:
Now I'm confused. Dumbledore wasn't looking towards the dais when
Sirius was struck, he turned afterward, as Sirius was falling, either
stunned or dead. Either way, there was no need for a spell to send
Sirius through the veil. Unless, of course, it was *Bellatrix* who
tried to stop Sirius from falling. She does like to play with her food.

Pippin