#so much good sirius defense content in my inbox

[impishtubist]

Even if there’s a spell Sirius could use to neutralize Hagrid (besides the Killing Curse, which would bring a whole new host of problems), Hagrid falling would crush Harry. I’m sorry, but a half-giant collapsing on top of a baby would definitely harm the baby. There were no good options for Sirius and he had to make do with best out of a series of bad choices, which was handle Peter (since nobody else was doing so and it’s very possible no-one would listen to him if he came to say Peter was the spy and would’ve arrested him without a thought. It’s crucial to remember that when the Aurors were first sent after Sirius, the only evidence was others saying they thought he was the Keeper, nobody thought he’d directly killed anyone yet. The incident on the street occurred right before Aurors arrived and they were already looking for him, so there was already a warrant out for his arrest/whatever magical protocol is here before they even suspected he’d committed a crime beyond selling info to Voldemort) and then get custody. Telling Hagrid that he’s godfather and James and Lily would’ve wanted Harry to go with him didn’t work and anything else would’ve been a whole new crime

Yeah I think what people ignore is that Sirius had to go after Peter anyway. Like he didn't do it because he was reckless and hot-headed and wasn't thinking of his godson's welfare, he did it because he was thinking of his godson's welfare. He couldn't have taken custody of Harry without Peter as proof that he didn't betray the Potters. So even if Sirius had gotten to Harry first, or even if Hagrid had handed him over....Sirius would still have needed to figure out what to do with Harry so he could track Peter down and prove his innocence.