PPMW background - Snape/Sirius

[Zarleycat at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 29606

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., MMMfanfic at h... wrote:
<snip>

 
> Of course, Snape has issues -- that's why we like him.
> 
> But, it is likely that Snape does not know Sirius is not a Death 
> Eater and hence has no reason to defend him.
> 
> It has really been discussed to death but let's recap our facts 
> again.  If I'm Lord Voldemort and I have a spy in Dumbledore's 
camp, 
> I would probably keep it to myself, tell stupid Peter to shut up 
> during gatherings and probably use Polyjuice Potion to disguise 
> himself.  A perfectly reasonable thing to do -- notice that 
> Dumbledore didn't tell Sirius that Snape was their spy in 
Voldemort's 
> Inner Circle either.  So Snape is very likely to be unaware of 
Peter 
> or Sirius affiliations at all, especially if Voldemort has already 
> begun to suspect a security leak among the ranks.
> 
> In the Shrieking Shack, my interpretation is that Snape did believe 
> that he was saving the trio from two dangerous criminals at great 
> risk of his own life.  And what did he get from those ungrateful 
> brats?  They told him to stop interferring, that he was pathetic 
for 
> trying to save their lives.  Especially that Potter boy.  That's 
> Snape's POV, perfectly justifiable to me.
> 
> Also note that Snape did have a chance to get the Dementor to 
execute 
> Sirius before Sirius had a chance to talk to Dumbledore -- Snape 
was 
> the first to come around and what did he do?  He conjured up 
> stretchers to carry everyone back to the castle, including Sirius 
> Black.  Contrast this with what Sirius did when Snape was out 
> cold ... :ducking tomatoes etc from Sirius's fans:
> 
> A more interesting question is -- if Snape's mission is indeed 
going 
> back to Voldemort, would he testify to the Ministry to clear 
Sirius's 
> name now once he has seen Peter Pettigrew alive with his own eyes, 
> even at the risk of blowing his cover?
> 
> It is evident that by the end of GoF, Snape no longer considered 
> Sirius as a murderer, just a nemesis like Harry.  Us Snape fans 
think 
> Snape, despite his faults, would consider it his duty to do that 
but 
> what do the non-fans think?

I'm much more a Sirius fan than a Snape fan, but I do have an 
appreciation for old Sev.  I'm not sure that I agree that Snape no 
longer considers Sirius as a murderer.  In fact, I think there are 
several reasonse he reacts as he does in the hospital scene when 
Sirius transforms.  

'Snape had not yelled or jumped backward, but the look on his face 
was one of mingled fury and horror.  "Him!" he snarled..."What is he 
doing here?" '

I think this reaction was a combination of the Snape's long-term 
hatred of Sirius, plus surprise at witnessing the Animagus 
transformation, plus an immediate adrenalin surge at seeing a 
dangerous criminal so close to Harry.  I'm willing to think that, 
since Snape is a protector of Harry, one reason he had a look of 
horror upon seeing Sirius, was that he still believes Sirius to be a 
threat to Harry.  Obviously, he sees later on that Harry and Sirius 
do have some sort of relationship.  I imagine that sometime after 
this Dumbledore explains Sirius' situation to Severus.  

As far as the question of whether Snape would tesitfy or otherwise 
give evidence to clear Sirius, I think he would if he could.  By that 
I mean that I can see Snape willing to sacrifice Sirius for the 
greater wizard-world good, reasoning that it's better to lose one 
life, however unfair the circumstances, in order to save many.  But I 
also think that if Severus could produce evidence of Black's 
innocence that would not put anyone else in danger, and would not 
threaten the Forces of Light, he'd do it in a heartbeat.  

Imagine the scene afterwards - Sirius is finally free and clear, he 
walks up to Snape to say "Thanks very much, Severus."  Snape's lip 
curls disdainfully, "Not at all, Black," as he whirls to stalk down 
the hallways back to the dungeons....

Marianne, wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, including all you 
non-Americans out there...