One Is Called Love, The Other Is Pain.
May. 24th, 2015 08:45 amMy personal view of the individual Harry Potter books is essentially 'Philosopher's Stone is okay. Chamber of Secrets is okay. Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire are magnificent, near-perfect works of art. Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows are okay.' I've read the last three books far fewer times than the first four, though, so I'm interested to see whether my opinion of them changes on this reread!
The relationship between Harry and Sirius is a really interesting one. There's undoubtedly love between them, and yet they don't really know each other very well. Harry loves Sirius because of what Sirius represents - a family that isn't the Dursleys - and because Sirius gives him a link to the parents he doesn't remember.
Sirius loves Harry because he loved James. Here's James's son, a surviving remnant of Sirius's best friend from his younger years - and it's not as if Sirius has been able to form any new emotional connections since James's death; he's been isolated inside his own head in Azkaban for twelve years. He escapes, he's on the run, and almost the first person he exchanges two non-hostile words with is this teenage boy who looks exactly like his friend as he remembers him. It's no wonder he can't move on. In a way, Sirius seems like a man permanently trapped in his young adulthood.
Here is an incomplete list of moments that have broken my heart so far in this reread of Order of the Phoenix:
'He's not James, Sirius!'
'I'm perfectly clear who he is, thanks, Molly,' said Sirius coldly.
'I'm not sure you are!' said Mrs Weasley. 'Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back!'
(Semi-relatedly, I'd quite like to see how Mrs Weasley and Sirius interact in the gap between the fourth and the fifth book, when Mrs Weasley is trying to adjust to the sudden discovery that this man is not, in fact, the person who betrayed Harry's parents and subsequently tried to kill Harry.)
'... I think a part of him was really hoping you'd be expelled. Then you'd both be outcasts together.'
'Come off it!' said Harry and Ron together, but Hermione merely shrugged.
'Suit yourselves. But I sometimes think Ron's mum's right and Sirius gets confused about whether you're you or your father, Harry.'
'So you think he's touched in the head?' said Harry heatedly.
'No, I just think he's been very lonely for a long time,' said Hermione simply.
I was also struck by 'Sirius was staring at the patch of carpet where the Boggart, pretending to be Harry's body, had lain'. Is he thinking of James? Of Harry himself? Of both? Does it really matter, when all three answers make me sad?
I'm fascinated and a little heartbroken by the idea that Sirius thinks of Harry as James. I loved the addition of Sirius calling Harry 'James' towards the end of Order of the Phoenix film, even if my feelings about the films can sometimes be a bit conflicted; Harry Potter is one of the few book series for which I actually have mental images of the characters, despite my very poor visual imagination (this is why I frequently forget to have any description at all in my fanfiction, whoops), and most of the film castings don't fit my image at all, so I slightly resent it when I find myself picturing film Sirius, for example, instead of my Sirius.
I've never really written Harry Potter fanfiction, which seems bizarre, given that I adore these books and I've written fanfiction for every other thing under the sun. I'm not really getting struck by go-off-and-write-this inspiration just yet, but I do feel this relationship could be something worth exploring.
The relationship between Harry and Sirius is a really interesting one. There's undoubtedly love between them, and yet they don't really know each other very well. Harry loves Sirius because of what Sirius represents - a family that isn't the Dursleys - and because Sirius gives him a link to the parents he doesn't remember.
Sirius loves Harry because he loved James. Here's James's son, a surviving remnant of Sirius's best friend from his younger years - and it's not as if Sirius has been able to form any new emotional connections since James's death; he's been isolated inside his own head in Azkaban for twelve years. He escapes, he's on the run, and almost the first person he exchanges two non-hostile words with is this teenage boy who looks exactly like his friend as he remembers him. It's no wonder he can't move on. In a way, Sirius seems like a man permanently trapped in his young adulthood.
Here is an incomplete list of moments that have broken my heart so far in this reread of Order of the Phoenix:
'He's not James, Sirius!'
'I'm perfectly clear who he is, thanks, Molly,' said Sirius coldly.
'I'm not sure you are!' said Mrs Weasley. 'Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back!'
(Semi-relatedly, I'd quite like to see how Mrs Weasley and Sirius interact in the gap between the fourth and the fifth book, when Mrs Weasley is trying to adjust to the sudden discovery that this man is not, in fact, the person who betrayed Harry's parents and subsequently tried to kill Harry.)
'... I think a part of him was really hoping you'd be expelled. Then you'd both be outcasts together.'
'Come off it!' said Harry and Ron together, but Hermione merely shrugged.
'Suit yourselves. But I sometimes think Ron's mum's right and Sirius gets confused about whether you're you or your father, Harry.'
'So you think he's touched in the head?' said Harry heatedly.
'No, I just think he's been very lonely for a long time,' said Hermione simply.
I was also struck by 'Sirius was staring at the patch of carpet where the Boggart, pretending to be Harry's body, had lain'. Is he thinking of James? Of Harry himself? Of both? Does it really matter, when all three answers make me sad?
I'm fascinated and a little heartbroken by the idea that Sirius thinks of Harry as James. I loved the addition of Sirius calling Harry 'James' towards the end of Order of the Phoenix film, even if my feelings about the films can sometimes be a bit conflicted; Harry Potter is one of the few book series for which I actually have mental images of the characters, despite my very poor visual imagination (this is why I frequently forget to have any description at all in my fanfiction, whoops), and most of the film castings don't fit my image at all, so I slightly resent it when I find myself picturing film Sirius, for example, instead of my Sirius.
I've never really written Harry Potter fanfiction, which seems bizarre, given that I adore these books and I've written fanfiction for every other thing under the sun. I'm not really getting struck by go-off-and-write-this inspiration just yet, but I do feel this relationship could be something worth exploring.
