Defending a Snape Rant

[marinafrants]

No: HPFGUIDX 34616

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Porphyria <porphyria at m...> wrote:

> > 4.  Snape, a fully-qualified wizard, can't figure out the
Marauder's
> > Map, but Fred and George, underage students, could.
> 
> For one thing, Snape had already figured out that the parchment is 
> "instructions to get into Hogsmeade without passing the Dementors."
It's 
> an educated guess, but one which is confirmed by Harry's blinking.
Then 
> Snape only spent a minute poking at the map before he knew all he
felt 
> he needed to know, which was it's source, the manufacturers. (I
think 
> Snape knows who MMWP are because Lupin kind of confirms this when he 
> talks to Harry afterwards; Harry asks Lupin why Snape thought he got
it 
> from the manufacturers and Lupin replies that it's because the
mapmakers 
> would have thought it funny to lure him out of school. This might be
a 
> lapse in Lupin's logic, but I interpret it to mean that the
nicknames 
> MMWP are known to Snape, and Lupin realizes this.) In any case I
think 
> Snape sniffed out an amazing amount of information in a short time
-- if 
> he'd kept the map for himself he might have eventually cracked it.
> 

Also, the map was specifically designed for the benefit of people like
Fred and George and the opposition of people like Snape; of course the
twins would figure it out -- they're the closest thing Hogwarts
currently has to the Marauders.  Considering that Snape had the map in
his possession for a very short time, I think he made quite a lot of
headway. (And we don't know how long it took the twins to work it all
out, either.)  I agree, he would've figured it out if given half a
chance.

(Pause for a mental image of Snape intoning "I solemnly swear that I
am up to no good.")

Marina
rusalka at ix.netcom.com