Redeeming Hagrid was Rewriting OotP

[pippin_999]

Heidi:
>>It's just that Hagrid didn't handle things as sensibly as he 
could have, regarding Grawp. 

I admit, I may be misremembering the book here, but I did just 
listen to the bit of OotP when Firenze told Harry to tell Hagrid 
that his attempt was not working, and I don't think that Hagrid 
had spoken with Dumbledore before bringing Grawp back to the 
forest either. I'm not suggesting that Hagrid, or anyone else, 
should've tried to *kill* Grawp, and I am sure that JKR will have 
some use for the giant later in the series, and that's why he had 
to be in the forest, but had Hagrid been more sensible, he could 
have organized things better. 

There is a very big difference between "dead" and "located 
elsewhere" and I think you're skimming over it in the leap you 
made in your last post. <<

Er, wait. You're supposing that Hagrid, on a mission for the 
Order, somehow managed to smuggle a  twelve foot Giant out of 
Europe, over the Channel and into a Scottish forest without  
Dumbledore's knowledge, much less his help? 

I'm sure that Dumbledore and McGonagall knew all about Grawp 
and supported what Hagrid was trying to do.  IMO, Firenze 
resorted to using Harry as a conduit because he knew Hagrid 
would listen only to Harry or Dumbledore, and Dumbledore 
wasn't cooperating.

 Hagrid turned to Harry as a last resort when Dumbledore was 
not available and McGonagall was in no position to help without 
arousing Umbridge.  In choosing Harry to provide for Grawp, 
Hagrid put Harry into a position very similar to the one Petunia 
found herself in when Harry showed up on her doorstep. Which, I 
think, is  *the* reason JKR put Grawp in the forest and is one  of 
the most significant developments in OOP.


Pippin:
> Is it the same reason that clever handsome 
> Sirius, who told Harry to judge a man by how he treats his 
> inferiors, is thought more worthy to survive than guileless, ugly 
> Hagrid, who doesn't think anyone has to be ashamed of what 
> they are?

Heidi:
>>Wha? Huh? Are you trying to say that my post yesterday, and 
ancillary fic, were created out of some sort of presumption that 
Sirius is more worthy to live than Hagrid? <<

You said that your fic was created to "give a more fitting end to 
chapter 35" . I interpreted that as "It is more fitting for Sirius 
to live than Hagrid."  Thanks for explaining further.

Heidi:
>>I played with the story and gave it the resolution I did because I 
wanted to still include a death that *would* be devestating to 
Harry in the moment - I don't think he would've been quite as 
hysterical if, say, Moody or Tonks had died, and it's not like Molly 
was *there* at the time - but would have had less reprucussions 
on his future. <<

Well, I have to disagree about the repercussions. IMO, the 
relationship between Harry and Sirius that  fell to ashes in OOP 
would have been doomed even if Sirius hadn't died, even if he'd 
been free of Grimmauld Place. 

 Molly and Hermione testify to Sirius's need to see Harry as  
James. IMO, it works the other way too. It wasn't Sirius Harry was 
so desperate to connect with. It was James. 

When Harry demands an accounting for Snape's memory, it's 
*James's* motives and history he's concerned with, even though 
Sirius was there too. At the very end, Harry sorrows for the 
question about *James* he never got to ask, even though 
Sirius's past is just as much a mystery.

 This, IMO is why when Harry and Sirius are together for any 
length of time their connection fades instead of deepening. It's 
why Harry not only doesn't use the Mirror, but isn't even tempted 
by it. The real Sirius isn't as satisfying as the imagined one 
because the real Sirius isn't, and never could be, James. If Sirius 
had lived I don't know if either  of them could have  escaped the 
shadow of James and forged a relationship in which they were 
valued for themselves alone.
  

IMHO, in the end Harry will realize he can replace his father only 
as he did in PoA; by taking his father's place.  Harry must do the 
things his father failed to do:  accord with Snape,  expose the 
secret traitor and finally save his beloved from 
Voldemort.(SHIPping Note: this is why I don't see H/H as a long 
term possibility. It would be a waste of Hermione's heroic 
potential for her to need Harry to rescue her from Lord V.)


Pippin