Post by Lolua on Jun 24, 2004 16:44:33 GMT -5
*
*
DO NOT read this thread unless you've read the 5th book, or don't care at all about spoilers.
*
*
*
***************************SPOILER WARNING**********************
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Okay, I hope that was sufficient spoiler warning.
I've got a few thoughts on the end of the 5th book.
When we first met Sirius Black in PoA, he was scruffy, dirty, and a bit mysterious. He'd unjustly spent 12 years in a horrible soul-sucking prison, feeling guilty for something he wasn't really responsible for. We liked him, thought it was nifty to be a dog Animagus, and wished we'd been friends with him and James when they were in school.
In GoF, we started to realize just how cool Sirius was. In the immortal words of Ron Weasley, "He must really like you. Harry. . . . Imagine having to live off rats." He risks his freedom and his dubious personal hygiene to try to stay close enough to Harry to protect him. He growls at Fudge when the Minister doesn't believe Harry's story. For Harry's sake he shakes hands with Snape, his oldest enemy. In the end it didn't change much between them, true, but I remember my eyes tearing up at the power of that symbol, and feeling much more charitable towards both of them for at least showing that scant teaspoon of maturity.
Which brings us to the book that changed everything. Sirius, well-fed on people food, still unhappy but losing that Azkaban hollowness in his features, is able to talk about his family's past and sing goofy wizarding Christmas carols. (I laughed so hard at "God Rest Ye Merrye Hippogriffs"!) Best of all, we get to see Sirius as he once was -- handsome, idle, and pre-Azkaban.
Of course, there's still the not-so-minor new problem: we discovered in OotP that Sirius Black was a Class-A jerk. In everyone's Marauder-Era fantasies, Snape had always been the aggressor, occasionally assissted by the likes of Lucius Malfoy and assorted other Slytherins-whose-names-we-know. It never crossed our minds that Sirius, "Mr. Innocent" of the Puppy-Dog Eyes Cliche, and James, "Mr. Pure and Noble" of the Sensitive Boyfriend of Lily Evans Cliche, were actually "arrogant little berks" like most rich and talented 15-year-old boys who know they're hot and don't have anything to keep them busy, like, oh, say, saving the world once a year.
But when Harry talked with him about the incident, we tasted Sirius's regret and it agreed with us. The sanctity of Padfoot remained more intact for us than for Harry, I think.
And then, saddest of all.... Padfoot's fall. We lost our canine companion just when he was starting to shed the last of his Azkaban-fugitive ickiness.
So much for the hotness that could have been, had Sirius lived. Rest in peace, Snuffles.
*
DO NOT read this thread unless you've read the 5th book, or don't care at all about spoilers.
*
*
*
***************************SPOILER WARNING**********************
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Okay, I hope that was sufficient spoiler warning.
I've got a few thoughts on the end of the 5th book. When we first met Sirius Black in PoA, he was scruffy, dirty, and a bit mysterious. He'd unjustly spent 12 years in a horrible soul-sucking prison, feeling guilty for something he wasn't really responsible for. We liked him, thought it was nifty to be a dog Animagus, and wished we'd been friends with him and James when they were in school.
In GoF, we started to realize just how cool Sirius was. In the immortal words of Ron Weasley, "He must really like you. Harry. . . . Imagine having to live off rats." He risks his freedom and his dubious personal hygiene to try to stay close enough to Harry to protect him. He growls at Fudge when the Minister doesn't believe Harry's story. For Harry's sake he shakes hands with Snape, his oldest enemy. In the end it didn't change much between them, true, but I remember my eyes tearing up at the power of that symbol, and feeling much more charitable towards both of them for at least showing that scant teaspoon of maturity.
Which brings us to the book that changed everything. Sirius, well-fed on people food, still unhappy but losing that Azkaban hollowness in his features, is able to talk about his family's past and sing goofy wizarding Christmas carols. (I laughed so hard at "God Rest Ye Merrye Hippogriffs"!) Best of all, we get to see Sirius as he once was -- handsome, idle, and pre-Azkaban.
Of course, there's still the not-so-minor new problem: we discovered in OotP that Sirius Black was a Class-A jerk. In everyone's Marauder-Era fantasies, Snape had always been the aggressor, occasionally assissted by the likes of Lucius Malfoy and assorted other Slytherins-whose-names-we-know. It never crossed our minds that Sirius, "Mr. Innocent" of the Puppy-Dog Eyes Cliche, and James, "Mr. Pure and Noble" of the Sensitive Boyfriend of Lily Evans Cliche, were actually "arrogant little berks" like most rich and talented 15-year-old boys who know they're hot and don't have anything to keep them busy, like, oh, say, saving the world once a year.
But when Harry talked with him about the incident, we tasted Sirius's regret and it agreed with us. The sanctity of Padfoot remained more intact for us than for Harry, I think.
And then, saddest of all.... Padfoot's fall. We lost our canine companion just when he was starting to shed the last of his Azkaban-fugitive ickiness.
So much for the hotness that could have been, had Sirius lived. Rest in peace, Snuffles.
