Snape's rationality

[Scott Northrup]

No: HPFGUIDX 51064

Amanda, you've made some excellent points.  I'd just like to pose a couple
of thoughts I've had.

> I think he does. Snape does not carry an incurable disease that carries a
> horrible secondary effect of complete social ostracization. Lupin does.
> Lupin is a danger physically, socially, irrevocably, to the children's
> entire future and life. Snape may be a traumatic emotional experience
> necessitating therapy, but it is not the dead-end road that lycanthropy
is.

Well put.  Now, rereading Chapters 18 and 19 of Prisoner of Azkaban, I'd
just like to point out one thing.  Snape's objection to Lupin is NOT that he
directly endangers the students (by transforming and attacking students).
He seems to judge Lupin as the rest of Wizarding community does; he seems to
think that because Lupin is a werewolf, he is inherently evil and
untrustworthy.  It's loosely analgous to people's perceptions of HIV
positive men, early in the history of HIV/AIDS- it was thought to be a
disease afflicting mostly gay men, so people with HIV faced immense
discrimination, not necessarily because they were contagious (though that
was part of it too, I'm sure), but because they were 'gay.'

Anyway, Snape was actually listening in on a good deal of the conversation,
specifically the part where Lupin confesses his guilt over betraying
Dumbledore's trust and not telling Dumbledore that Sirius is an Animagus.
Even though Snape hears this, he still seems to believe that Lupin was
helping Sirius get into the school (he was, I guess, though certainly not
directly, like Snape claims)

I'm having some trouble explaining this; I think rereading chapters 18 and
19 of PoA will explain what I'm talking about to an extent.


Amanda:
> Also recall. Snape, like Dumbledore, belongs to the Anti-Exposition
League.
> We do not know much of what he's thinking. But we *do* know that he knows
> that Lupin didn't take his potion that night and will at some point become
a
> werewolf. He does not bother to say this (from a plot point of view, he
> *can't* because it would spoil the scene later), but I'm sure that
pressure
> of time was an operating factor in his impatience.
>
> He also knows that Sirius is a wizard to be reckoned with. He has
absolutely
> no reason *not* to believe his version of the facts, which is complete if
> wrong. He also has no desire to stand there and talk with a very powerful
> and (he believes) dangerous and (he believes) homicidal wizard who (he
> believes) is intent on killing one of the children in the room and (he
> believes) would not stop at killing all the rest to achieve that end.
Snape
> is in a very, very dangerous situation (he believes) and although he does
it
> with very little grace, he is legitimately trying to address a very
> dangerous situation, protecting three children who are not appreciative in
> the slightest from a situation which (he believes) they don't understand.
He
> was also frustrated beyond belief that the children refused to realize
their
> danger or acknowledge his authority (or risk to himself in being there to
> help them), which also added to his fury.

Having reread Chapter 18 of Prisoner of Azkaban, and I think it will shed
some light on this subject.  Also, rereading the whole shreaking shack
incident has brought up a couple of points in my mind

If that is in fact a correct interpretation of Snape in this scene, and time
is of the essence, Sirius is a cold blooded killer, etc, etc.  Then why does
he take his own sweet time?  Snape has actually been in the room for a while
before he chooses to show himself.  He's been listening in on Lupin's
explanations, and as I've said before, he should know that Lupin is not an
enemy, at least not when he's in a human state.  It woudl seem evident, that
there is at least the possibility that Sirius isn't guilty, simply by the
fact that the conversation is taking place.

I can kind of see how it would be a tense situation for Snape, but he
totally bungles it.  Completely makes an fool of himself, and shows how
petty he can be.

The thing is, if Snape really thought there was some danger was imminent,
then why didn't he just stun Sirius and Lupin immediately upon entering the
room?  Why didn't he take the potion with him?  In my opinion (this is
totally open for debate, I'm not really basing it off of anything), Snape
wasn't even thinking about Lupin and the full moon.  If he had been thinking
about it, I don't think he would have taken his own sweet time, first spying
and then gloating.

I'm not really sure what I'm arguing, since we've both already agreed that
he did not handle the situation with any grace.  I guess I just don't feel
that his bungling is justified; he clearly let his anger get the better of
him.

Oh well.

-Scott
(who wonders- why didn't Lupin take the Wolfsbane potion much, much earlier-
he says it's effective as long as he takes it during the week of the Full
moon)