[HPforGrownups] Re: Sirius and Snape thoughts

[Vicky Ra]

No: HPFGUIDX 20888

Devika: As for Sirius, I suppose the impressions we all have of him are
purely a
matter of opinion, since there is no evidence in canon to support his
maturity or immaturity before Azkaban.  I personally think that Sirius has
many good qualities that must have been present before he was arrested, but
that's just my opinion.  And if I'm willing to overlook Sirius's temper, I
can overlook Snape's vindictiveness and whatever faults Lupin may have as
well.  I really do like all three of them almost equally, strange though
that
may be.
Sorry for ranting; I just felt like I had to say something about that :)

I didn't take it as a rant. You're just defending Sirius, which is perfectly
natural. I'm sorry. It's just, I tend to liken him to Ron, and for the
record, I don't much like Ron, either, so...it's somewhat fair...You're
right about no evidence so far of Sirius' maturity or lack thereof in canon.
I have no logical reason for not liking him. I mean, he seems cunning and
smart, and is kind to Harry, and he seems mature for the most part. Strange
that I don't like him. He and Snape are similar in their stubbornness and
vindictiveness against one another, for reasons yet unknown. There's gotta
be more to it than the werewolf trick. They are both murderous. Snape was
willing to hand Sirius off to the dementors, and Sirius wanted to murder
Pettigrew. Of course, *I* wanted to murder Pettigrew, but I think a
dementor's kiss is worse than death, so Snape's intent was worse than
Sirius's. Both are unwilling to let go of their grudges, which still seem to
be going strong, for some odd reason. I would even go so far as to
conjecture that Sirius and Snape were the real enemies, and that James,
Lupin, and Pettigrew backed Sirius up because they were his friends. Despite
all these similarities, I favor Snape. Anyone have any guesses as to why? He
seems the more evil of the two. Could it be because I identify with his envy
of the Marauders, or that I take a similar view with him on the absurdity of
hero worship? I'm taking a leaf from Jamieson's book.

Lilith: James only did what anyone with a decent brain would have done-
(sorry, I don't count him braver than average...)

Yay! Another person who agrees with me. :)

Lilith: Dumbledore forgave Snape for being a Death Eater, made him a spy and
gave him a job at Hogwarts (in a time when I *do* believe that the
name Severus Snape wasn't associated with anything positive in the
wizarding world)- just imagine what a debt for Snape to pay back!

But just how common was the knowledge of Snape's spy status? I got the
impression that Snape's trial wasn't widely known. Heck, Fudge saw the dark
mark on him, and thought Snape was joking or something. Makes me wonder if
Fudge even knew about his former Death Eater status. And I doubt parents
would be comfortable with the knowledge of an ex-Death Eater around their
children.

Lilith: I imagine him being pretty grateful of course, but also, and more
importantly- angry with Albus for doing what he did. "Damn you for
making me owe you all this, Albus Dumbledore!"

Well, this would be true, on the premise that he hates Dumbledore. However,
I think he loves him, and I think Dumbledore loves Snape and has a special
place in his heart for him. Only he had the nerve to betray Voldie, and that
certainly would have gotten Dumbledore's respect. So I must disagree here.

Magda: I agree with everything Rebecca says except this part.  Snape will
rage and rant in his grief, lashing out at everyone around him but
especially at Harry Potter who will somehow have had something to do
with the tragedy.  Everyone will be convinced that old Severus has
finally cracked and will worry about him returning to the Dark Side.
He will help this speculation by disappearing for a while and driving
everyone crazy with fear - not so much for him but for what he might
do with the info he has on the Good Guys.

Hmmm, the part about him lashing out at everyone is plausible, but not the
part about him turning villain again. I highly doubt this. I firmly believe
he is on the good side. If he is shown to be a traitor, I won't like him.
His courage and underlying principle is what drew me to him. And it doesn't
seem logical for him to betray the team that Dumbledore died for. That would
corrupt the sacrifice.

Magda: Eventually he will come around but after a maturation process that
will be long and tortuous.

What maturation process? He's petty and malicious, but he's on the right
side.

Vicky