Snape and the Prank...some thoughts

[Eric Oppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 47025

My own take on why Sirius wasn't expelled over the Prank is that it is quite
possible that Snape was guilty of a lot more, himself, than "sneaking
around...trying to get us expelled."

If, say, Snapey had been trying to kill or seriously injure the Marauders,
and had talked his way out of it, Dumbledore could have felt that his close
call with Lupin-the-werewolf was a bit of cosmic justice.  Or if Snape had
tried to _frame_ the Marauders, again and again, in hopes of one of his
frames being believed and their expulsion following, Dumbledore could have
said something to himself like "Okay, Mr. Snape.  You've been playing with
fire for a long time, and those who play with fire are known to burn their
fingers.  You were warned to leave them alone, and ignored warnings.  Again
and again you ignored warnings.  Well, now you know why ignoring warnings is
not a good idea, don't you?  You weren't hurt, thanks to James---whom I'm
going to make Head Boy for his actions---and you can lie in the bed you
made."

Dumbledore _is not infallible_ and IMNSHO made a dreadful mistake...and,
honestly, is it _that_ much of an exercise in rocket science to build a cage
for Lupin to be a werewolf in, the few nights a year when he's one?  Instead
of all this silly subterfudge about the "Shrieking Shack," they could just
have had a cage somewhere out of the way of students, possibly under Madam
Pomfrey's discreet care, and had Lupin report in on the evening of the
nights when he was going to change, get into the cage, have it locked from
the outside, and no more problem!

But to get back to my point, I do think that there is at least the
possibility that Snape _had_ done worse things to the Marauders than
sneaking around.  Personally, I can think of a _bunch_ of "accidents" I
could arrange to dispose of an enemy at a place like Hoggies.