Comments | sistermagpie: Sirius Black Sheep

sistermagpie

Sirius Black Sheep

Sep 18, 2006 21:41

Happy birthday millefioriI was reading a thread on HP4GU today--naturally a long-running thread that I think started with the question of Dumbledore's placing Harry with the Dursleys and it echoed Sirius' life in a weird way for me, in a Meta-way. It started as a conversation about just what business it was of Dumbledore's to decide who Harry lived with. ( Read more... )

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static_pixie September 19 2006, 04:14:03 UTC

It's funny the way that absolutely no one believed Sirius, actually. Which I think in some ways is a representation of the fact that you've really got to face who you are and where you come from, not run from it.

But, you know, I think it goes hand-in-hand with Dumbledore not doing anything but watching Riddle because he viewed him as a lost cause from the start. I mean, I was talking with a friend the other day and she pointed out that Sirius is so, so similar to Bellatrix. I mean, even before he went to jail, he thought sending Snape down to face a full-grown werewolf would be a funny prank; I'm sure Bellatrix had fun torturing the Longbottoms. They've both got that maniac appeal to them, that 'wow-what-the-hell-will-s/he-do next' thrall. They both take the joke too far where James (asshat that he was) won't because he understands how something like Snape being ripped to peices by a werewolf might not be funny. Sirius doesn't understand this even after Azkaban. And I think Dumbledore would have seen this and passed over ( ... )

sistermagpie September 19 2006, 04:27:46 UTC

Did Sirius even proclaim his innocence? Part of what was interesting in the thread I was reading was that people were mentioning that Sirius acted guilty and maybe even confessed--which is possibly true, but doesn't really change the injustice of it because really he wasn't acting guilty, he was just feeling guilty over the death of his friends...something that really should have come out if someone talked to him.

And there's never any, that I remember, idea of exactly how people thought Sirius was the traitor. I mean, when we learn Peter's the traitor everyone can understand how it happened--he always went for the biggest bully, etc. Peter admits this is the case. With Sirius I'm not sure why everyone thought it was Sirius--how did they fit being a traitor into his personality? If it was just his being a Black that would be pretty interesting...

Yeah, that's a good question jazzypom September 21 2006, 11:41:43 UTC

And there's never any, that I remember, idea of exactly how people thought Sirius was the traitor.

Especially given the fact that McGonagall told of the surprise expressed when Sirius Black was found at the scene laughing his head off. It was just circumstantial evidence. No movement for priori incantatem, no nothing. I mean, in PoA, they talk about how Sirius and James were so close. They were brothers, like you'd say their name in a single breath - JamesandSirius.

If it was just his being a Black that would be pretty interesting

It didn't help that Regulus was a deatheater. And Bellatrix, and her husband and his cousin (L. Malfoy). The wizarding world does subscribe to the saying that blood tells. Notice how the Weasleys don't speak to their cousin who's an accountant (and a squib). Note how squibs are treated, and werewolves and people whose blood are 'impure'.

Re: Yeah, that's a good question sistermagpie September 21 2006, 14:33:28 UTC

Right--and yet this is Dumbledore who's supposed to be standing for something different who seems to have no trouble with the Sirius situation. Sirius and Dumbeldore are tied in all sorts of disturbing way, but it's never really spoken of.

Come to think of it, Hagrid says that Sirius argued when Hagrid came with orders from Dumbledore that Harry must go to the Dursleys, but he did ultimately agree (presumably because he thought it must be in Harry's best interest). Why would Sirius do that if he were a Death Eater?

Re: Yeah, that's a good question glassflower September 21 2006, 15:51:24 UTC

but he did ultimately agree

When I imagine this scene, I always think of Sirius as quite a bit unbalanced by what had just happened, holding a (crying?) baby Harry and quickly becoming blinded by rage at Pettigrew. When Hagrid arrived, Sirius was hesitant but yes, he ultimately gave Harry to Hagrid and walked off...my opinion is that his concern with Harry might have been a little more immediate. After all, how was he supposed to go kill Pettigrew with Harry in his arms? I don't really believe he thought it all through, but perhaps he vaguely intended to pick Harry up afterwards.

But the thing is, Dumbledore *used* Sirius jazzypom September 21 2006, 11:36:35 UTC

He used his house for HQ, used him in a way to keep Harry in line, especially when master Potter felt rebellious. So, as far as Dumbledore was concerned, he had his cake both ways and gorged on it too.

Dumbledore ignored Sirius because he couldn't demand loyalty from him like he could with Snape and Lupin.

Dumbledore protected Snape by having him as a professor of portions, even though Snape was a (former) death eater. I'm sure Snape felt some sort of life debt to the man, and that probably made him stay his hand longer than he did. Or, if you believe in the theory that Snape was the only person who could kill Dumbledore, because the others were too in awe of him to do so ( ... )

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