An alternative reading

[kiricat2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 78208

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, B Arrowsmith 
<arrowsmithbt at b...> wrote:
>
> 
> Second; a TBAY (78104) which postulates that James did not save 
Snapes 
> life at the Shrieking Shack  out of altruistic motives. Sirius had 
> lured Snape into the tunnel. Maybe he thought he was doing James a 
> favour. Get rid of any competition for Lily. They knew that Snape 
was 
> well versed in curses when he arrived at Hogwarts (this is canon) 
and 
> had presumably learned more since. It is possible that James 
thought 
> that Snape could deal with a werewolf, even kill it. James got 
Snape 
> out to save Lupin from Snape's curses. James and Sirius were on a 
> hiding to nothing. If Snape was killed, no matter how personally 
> satisfying that would be, James and Sirius would be blamed; if 
Snape 
> killed Lupin, when he was in wolf form, Snape would be treated as a 
> hero and they would have lost a friend through their own stupidity. 
> Only option, get Snape out of there and as a bonus claim that he 
was 
> saving Snapes life. Sirius would have to take his chances for 
goading 
> Snape into the tunnel. They got away with it. James gets the kudos 
and 
> Sirius doesn't seem to be punished for his actions.

We don't know that Sirius received no punishment.  Snape certainly 
thinks that Sirius got away with attempted murder, but then, he would 
probably not have been happy unless said punishment involved severe 
bodily injury, if not incarceration for life in Azkaban.  Then again, 
Snape's perception of the entire incident seems to be different from 
Dumbledore's.  Did Sirius pull the wool over almost-all-knowing, mind-
reading Dumbledore's eyes and get away scot free?  Certainly, if 
Dumbledore knows enough about why James and Snape were in the tunnel, 
he's got to know that Sirius played a major part in getting them 
there.  Do you really think he merely said, "Tsk, tsk, Sirius. Bad 
boy. Go to your room." And that was the end of it?


> First repercussion: James started having doubts about Sirius. Not 
about 
> his friendship; about his judgement. He showed a tendency to 
rashness, 
> downright dangerous at times, to not thinking things through. Could 
he 
> be trusted with anything critical? These doubts might start to 
show, so 
> that even Sirius was aware of them, making him uncomfortable. Hence 
the 
> decision to change Secret Keeper with all the fallout from that 
> brilliant idea. Sirius strikes again in the planning department.

Then why consider him in the first place? Why not take Dumbledore up
on his offer to be Secret Keeper?

> Second repercussion: Lupin does some thinking. Sirius put me at 
risk - 
> maybe. Sirius was certainly responsible for Snape finding out that 
I am 
> a werewolf. Snape is responsible for me losing my job at Hogwarts, 
for 
> telling the pupils parents, for me being unemployable. Ultimately, 
it's 
> all Sirius' fault, yet he's the one getting all the sympathy.

Umm...all what sympathy? He's a wanted criminal with a price on his 
head.  Molly thinks he's unstable, Dumbledore has neatly imprisoned 
him in his own home, Snape still hates him, the other Weasleys seem 
indifferent, Hermione is convinced he's never given Harry any good 
advice (yes the same Hermione who kept rabbiting on in GoF insisting 
that Harry write to Sirius, tell Sirius what's going on...).  The 
only people who seem at all sympathetic to Sirius are Harry, 
Mundungus and Remus. 

 This 
> pisses me off. What shall I do about it? Well, the opportunity 
arises 
> during the fight at the MoM. Lupins actions (or inaction) have 
caused 
> comment on the site before. Perhaps he took the revenge option - 
zap! 
> and Sirius falls through the curtain.
> 
> Maybe that particular finale was planned, most likely not. But a 
free 
> shot at Sirius could have had great appeal for some-one feeling 
hard 
> done by. Could even give one thoughts of betrayal?

He could also have had a free shot at any time that Sirius was "lying 
low at Lupin's."  Hell, he could have opened the door to Sirius' 
knock and plunged a knife in his chest, done away with the body, and 
then just simply said, in reponse to Dumbledore's inquiries, "Gee, 
Sirius never showed up. Don't know what happened to him."  Ah, you 
say, but Dumbledore could have read his mind...This wouldn't be the 
same Dumbledore who couldn't read the minds of a couple of sixteen-
year-old students when they made up whatever story they concocted to 
try to explain the Prank?

Marianne