[HPforGrownups] Re: Remus, Severus, mind-games?

[Kathryn Cawte]

No: HPFGUIDX 71491

 

 evangelina
Well, as a young swede, I find the whole title thing ("sir",
"professor", "mr/ms") weird 
to begin with. I have never addressed my teachers or elders or anyone
with anything 
but their first name, and I have never had anyone address me as
"miss". I know that 
probably has nothing to do with the topic since we're talking about a
British school 
here, but I never saw Lupin's use of Snape's first name as anything
but kindness and I 
don't need an explanation for it, but out of the ones suggested, I'd
go with the "bury 
the hatchet" theory; he's just showing that he's not using
"Snivellus" anymore (if he 
ever was using it, which we don't know). By the way, isn't it weirder
that Snape is NOT 
calling Lupin by his first name? They went to school together, for
crying out loud. 
Unless they had the Harry/Draco thing going back then, of course. oh
well; I just 
wanted to offer you some perspective on this first name business.

Me -

Generally if you are younger than someone or they are in some way superior
to you (your boss, your teacher) you wouldn't use a first name without
permission. As for school kids first names are more common now - especially
for female students. Very odd, my school used to be a girls school and a
boys school until they merged while I was there and the boys were always
referred to by surname (note not Mr. Potter unless the teacher was pissed
off, it's sort of the teacher equivalent of calling your kid by their entire
name including middle names to emphasis that you're annoyed) but girls were
called by their Christian names. Anyway while Snape hasn't given Lupin
permission to use his Christian name they are contemporaries and were at
school with one another and, regardless of how they didn't get on, I would
expect them to refer to one another by first name. However Snape's constant
use of Lupin's surname *without a title in front of it* is insulting. Usinf
Professor Lupin would simply have been a way of being formal and showing
that he has no intention of buildin any kind of relationship beyond the
*strictly* professional with him, calling him remus would have been more
usual, calling him Lupin is a calculated insult - and by continuing to refer
to Snape as Severus Lupin is refusing to rise to the bait.

And actually if not insulting one another it wouldnt have been uncommon when
they were at school to refer to one another ny surname. Boys tend to do that
- girls are saner and don't.

K