Snape's and Black's grudges (was: Living with Sirius)

[Hillman, Lee]

No: HPFGUIDX 28323

Hi, Folks!

In response to many posts about Sirius's behaviour in the Shrieking Shack,
MMMfanfic wrote:
> 
> Sirius: I think most Sirius fans subscribe to the theory of Post-
> traumatic syndrome(sp?)for his actions in PoA.  And there is some 
> credit to this theory, namely, he was able to assess Snape in a semi-
> fair manner in GoF.  At least he didn't come right out and say that 
> Snape is not to be trusted, period.  But I would never forgive 
> the 'Slimy, oily, greasy kid' remark.  What does that ever have any 
> bearing on adult Snape?

And Parker said something similar.

First, I completely agree with this assessment of Sirius's disorder. He
absolutely shows signs of PTSS, especially in terms of his violent
outbursts. Every time he exhibits signs of murderous rage--slashing the Fat
Lady's portrait, choking Harry--it is when he is denied his goal or when he
encounters them as obstacles. As far as slashing Ron's curtains, I believe
he was so close to success, he simply snapped for a moment. (Ron's scream
not only shook him out of his rage, but made him realise Scabbers wasn't
there. Could also have been a reality check: "Oh [expletive deleted!] I
almost hurt someone who wasn't Peter!") 

As far as the "greasy-haired kid" remark, come on. It's a perennial problem,
on many levels. As someone else has pointed out, Sirius is frozen 12 years
in the past, due to his imprisonment. So he has no new impression of Snape
to balance the old (and let's face it, has Snape really changed that much?
He would hardly be voted the "most changed" at the Hogwarts class of '76
reunion). That's one. 

Second, isn't it true for many people that the image of the child never
quite gets replaced by the adult? What I mean is, people who've known one
since childhood sometimes have trouble allowing that person to age and grow
in their estimation--regardless of the evidence that they have done so.
True, this is usually the case when those judging are older than the person
judged, but again, it's not outside the realm of possibility. 

Carole offered further defense: 
> Count me in on this group.  I'm amongst the crowd that think "the 
> prank" was something a foolish 16 (do we know he was even *that* 
> old?) did.  And remember...Sirius did not tell Severus to go to the 
> whomping willow, tap the knot and go in." All Sirius did was tell 
> Snape where Lupin went each month.  Snape took it upon himself to act 
> on that info.  NOw given Sirius knew Snape was the type that probably 
> would...but noone compelled Snape to sneak out of the school one 
> night act on the info provided.  I can really hear a teen guy 
> saying "yeah I'll tell you where he went you nosy git" and really not 
> consider the consequences of that statement.  Luckily James did.  
> Obviously James was oodles more mature than Sirius in school.
> 

First off, we can conclude that he was 16 or thereabouts, if Snape's
statement is accurate: "Sirius Black proved he was capable of murder at 16."

Second, I have also said this before, but I believe that is almost exactly
what happened, and that Sirius has had the rest of his life to regret that
moment. I believe his strong reaction to any defense of Snape is hot and
defensive because in his heart, he knows he screwed up bigtime. He has to
live with the fact--the realization--that he's a person who can do something
like that, even to someone he loathes as much as Snape. I think it was a
rude awakening for him--but he's not yet in a place where he can articulate
his remorse, owing to the PTSS. 

This brings up another point about Snape in the Shrieking Shack scene. All
year, he's been suppressing his hatred and bitterness (okay, barely,
but...), and as others have pointed out, he has clung to his professionalism
and his respect for Dumbledore to get himself through. Lapses aside, Snape
has performed admirably with respect to his obligations to Lupin, especially
in the face of his fears. 

Now, we come to the night Black takes action, kidnaps Ron, and lures Harry
to the Shrieking Shack, presumably to witness Pettigrew's capture. Lupin
joins them. Snape, acting responsibly, goes to find Lupin, sees the tunnel
in use. And what does he do? He also doesn't summon Dumbledore. He
immediately goes, he thinks, to aid the kids.

Put yourself in Snape's shoes for a moment. I'm betting he's got a little
case of PTSS himself at this point. I would be very surprised if Snape had
ever ventured into that tunnel again after the night of Sirius's prank. A
life-threatening, incredibly traumatic experience met him in that tunnel.
The two people he holds responsible for the attempt on his life (in his
opinion), are down there, and one of them has every chance of reverting to
wolf form--without the capability for rational thought--before he can
extricate the students, and himself. 

The tunnel is dark, damp, cold. He's walking into probable death, pitting
himself against a dangerous criminal and a fully-fledged monster. He has to
be flashing back to his last experience in the tunnel. He has to be feeling
just as frightened and worried and anxious as he was at sixteen--more, in
fact, because this time, he _knows_ what's at the other end of the tunnel.

It wouldn't surprise me one little bit to learn that Snape was doing some
regressing of his own in that shack. The scene that Harry, Ron, and Hermione
witness between Snape, Lupin, and Black isn't just the argument of adults,
it's a faceoff among teenagers all over again.

It's small wonder to me that Snape is so irrational in that place, at that
time. Add his analytic mind in the background, furiously counting seconds,
wondering how much longer he has to get the students away from Lupin before
he transforms... well, he's under a lot of pressure.

I am one of those folks on this list who truly likes both Sirius and
Severus. I see where both are coming from--they're really not all that
different, folks--and HRH are simply caught in the middle of this ~20 year
old issue. 

Gwen (who thinks that wizards could use a little help from clinical
psychologists now and again)