Sirius Black (Harry Potter)

[gaeta]

Title: "Have You Seen This Wizard?"
Author: gaeta
Spoilers: Through OotP (and beyond?)
Email: glowagle@yahoo.com

Comments

[red_squared]

This is a wonderful post - with something for both Sirius lovers and Sirius haters, and so well thought out.

Just through reading it, I think it's clear that one of Sirius' major flaws is his tendency to underestimate other people, and it's the cause of most of his troubles - Peter, Bellatrix and Snape so far in canon.

There are quite a few posts/speculations on how well MWPP "map" to the characters of the current generation - eg, the brainy one, the sporty one, the quiet one, the funny one, etc. Most of these automatically have Harry in James' place, but I honestly think he has more in common with Sirius.

Thank you for this wonderful post!

[gaeta]

Thanks. Gotta keep those Sirius haters happy, too ;~)

I'm not sure that the MWPP and Trio characters "map" as you put it. I do think, Harry has aspects of all his parental figures -- James's arrogance, Lily's compassion, and Sirius's impulsiveness. I think what's more important is how Harry and his friends will surpass the earlier generation. Harry's seen the effects of arrogance (in learning about James's cruelty) and recklessness (in seeing Sirius die). Now we have yet to see how he'll address the issues of trust and possibly betrayal.

[red_squared]

I'm not sure that the MWPP and Trio characters "map" as you put it.

I didn't mean to give the impression that I thought they did - I don't think they map either.

Just to say that I've heard this argument used for anything from justifying the fact that Neville will betray Harry (because Harry pictures Peter Pettigrew as looking like Neville when he has a nightmare in PoA) or the fact that SB/RL is canon because Sirius is impulsive like Ron, and Remus is bookish like Hermione, Harry=James, and Ron and Hermione are canon, therefore Sirius/Remus is, too.

[gaeta]

I've heard this argument used for anything from justifying the fact that Neville will betray Harry (because Harry pictures Peter Pettigrew as looking like Neville when he has a nightmare in PoA) or the fact that SB/RL is canon because Sirius is impulsive like Ron, and Remus is bookish like Hermione, Harry=James, and Ron and Hermione are canon, therefore Sirius/Remus is, too.

Yes, indeed. And of course, these are the sorts of logic one uses as a reader/writer of fanfiction, I think, more than as a reader of the series itself because, no matter what, JKR isn't likely to make Remus/Sirius official canon anytime soon ... but she might well reveal certain other parallels between the two generations. I for one hope she does.

[strangemuses]

Bravo! Very nicely done.

[gaeta]

Thank you for reading. I'm glad you liked it.

[mizbean]

You did a great job with this. I appreciate that you examined all the complexities that was Sirius. I sometimes overlook Sirius because he is not one of my favorite characters that I forget what a rich character he is. I was moved more by Harry's reaction to his death rather than being moved by his death himself, for example. But nobody is perfect in Potterdom which I why I love the books so.

I agree, Sirius is a tragic figure whose whole life was ruined after having such promise. Plenty of people make mistakes when they are young, but few had to pay for them like Sirius did. I can totally understand why Harry idolized him and loved him. *still feels bad for Harry and wishes that he wouldn't blame himself so much for what happened*

Thanks for posting recs, there are many there that I haven't read. I do need to take my Harry/Draco blinders off once and awhile: )

[gaeta]

Thank you for reading even about a character you're less interested in. I appreciate your comments greatly. ;>)

I can totally understand why Harry idolized him and loved him. *still feels bad for Harry and wishes that he wouldn't blame himself so much for what happened*

I think Harry has to learn from his mistake there (as well as from Sirius's mistakes) and he has to get beyond both blaming himself and blaming others, e.g. Snape if he's to ever get the real strength to defeat Voldemort.

I hope you do find a few stories that make you reconsider Sirius. There tends to be a lot of angst. If you prefer the sweeter stuff, you might want to look at some of the earlier periods (MWPP and Post-Hogwarts) for Sirius/Remus romances.

[imkalena]

Marvelous! I really enjoyed the way you made sense of Sirius and his many selves, and the Sirius-Harry parallel progression. :)

[gaeta]

Thanks for reading. I'm not sure I've fully made sense of him. I really feel, after looking at him through bit by bit analysis, that now I need to go back and just read the story to regain a holistic sense of him. Bu I'm definitely invested in this poit in seeing the relevance of the MWPP era to the current era play out further in the final two books.

[julia_fractal]

Thank you for the wonderful essay! I really appreciate how you've gone beyond Canon facts to analyze how Sirius has affected Harry and hence, the outcome of the books. Also, I loved the way you presented differing interpretations of Sirius' character in a well-balanced way.

The links you've given are also great. I just read "Blood Will Tell" and loved it, and I'm also enjoying looking at the art.

Thanks again!

*Off to click on some more links*

[gaeta]

The links you've given are also great. I just read "Blood Will Tell" and loved it

Well I'm glad to hear it. I was somewhat hesitant to include that particular story because it upset me so much when I read it, but I had to do it because it was such a compelling and unusual depiction of Sirius and I really wanted to cover as much of the breadth of interpretations of his characters as I could.