Sirius' "joke" on Snape

[milz]

No: HPFGUIDX 6198

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, atelecky at m... wrote:
> In PoA, Lupin describes how Sirius thought it would be "funny" to 
> tell Snape how to get past the Whomping Willow, so that Snape 
> would find himself confronting a full-grown werewolf if he tried 
> to spy on the "Marauders" again. Does the idea that Sirius played a 
> "joke" on Snape that would almost certainly have led to his death if 
> James had not intervened really disturb anyone else with regards to 
> Sirius' character? Might there have been some better reason than 
> Sirius' simple dislike for Snape, some specifc event, that would 
have 
> led Sirius to go that far? We have not, after all, been given many 
> specifics of the relationship between Snape and the Marauders; other 
> than the fact that Sirius considered him a slimy little worm, we are 
> given no real reason (though there is really no reason good enough) 
> for Sirius to have wanted to actually put Snape's life in serious 
> danger.
> 
> Any ideas? 
> Alexandra

Sirius was a teenager at the time of the joke. I truly doubt that 
Sirius knew the full consequence to that joke. Kids "dare" each other 
to do some pretty dangerous stuff (from an adult point of view), 
without ever seriously considering the potential danger.

About the relationship between the Marauders and Snape, it seems as 
though they were never on friendly terms. But whatever the case, can 
you just imagine the Snape's frustration that he knew Lupin's secret 
but was forbidden to reveal it to anyone?

:-) Milz