I think Rowling tried to establish Sirius as an unbalanced character all throughout OotP. When Sirius is mentioned for the first time, Harry thinks that warning him not to do anything rash was a bit rich coming from a man who had spent 12 years in Azkaban, broke out and went on the run with a stolen Hippogriff. It seems to me as though Rowling tried to influence the reader's perception by emphasising the fact that Sirius was acting very recklessly. Later, she had Molly and Hermione voice the opinions that he was confusing Harry with James. But we never see him do so. He never talked much about James, not obsessively so, and he took Harry as an individual much more seriously than, say, Molly and Dumbledore did.
And no-one would maintain a level character when locked up in that house, with that elf, for almost one year. No-one.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2004-07-12 03:39 pm (UTC)And no-one would maintain a level character when locked up in that house, with that elf, for almost one year. No-one.