Prank

[jwcpgh]

No: HPFGUIDX 80217

> Kirstini wrote:   
> > No, Pip didn't say that. She said:
> > >>>Snape continually snipes at Sirius in OOP, for staying safely 
> > at home, leading to the final comment of `why yes, I suppose I 
am' 
> > when Sirius finally says `Are you calling me a coward?' This 
> > suggests that quite possibly Sirius previously used a taunt of `
> > coward' on him.<snip>
> > Also, a public taunt of `coward' would mean that Snape would not 
> > expect a snipe hunt. Half the school would be laughing at him if 
> > he *didn't* go in.>>> 
> > 
> Kirstini:
> >  - Pip's getting inside Snape's head here (gaah. Hope she's 
> > feeling alright), 
> 
> It's OK, I'm a professional. But don't try this at home. ;-)
> 
now Laura:

Okay, this makes sense.  Pip, I hope you have a quick recovery from 
your recent excursion into Snape's twisted psyche.  :-)

<snip> 
> There is some evidence that Sirius did tell at least one other 
> person about the Prank - James was not *told* by Sirius what he'd 
> done. Lupin describes it as James 'who'd *heard* what Sirius had 
> done' [Ch. 18, p.261, PoA]. This implies James heard from a third 
> party.
> 
> It may have been Peter. Sirius would have been safe announcing 
> loudly to Peter that Snivellus was too cowardly to go into the 
> tunnel against school rules. Peter already knows the secret. 

now Laura:

Sure, that makes sense.  What doesn't make sense to me is that Peter 
would tell James.  He was such a gutless wonder that it would be 
drastically out of character for him to risk the wrath of any one of 
the other Marauders.  He wanted to belong at all costs.  However, 
canon does imply that someone other than Sirius told James, and I 
don't know who else that could have been.

> Kirstini:
> Laura argues that calling Snape courageous assumes that Snape knew 
something dangerous was waiting for him, and we don't know that to be 
the case. Canon doesn't take a position on what Snape knew the night 
of the prank.
> 

Pip:
> Laura could be right. The Prank could *almost* be a comedy of 
> errors. Sirius thinks Snape knows or strongly suspects Lupin is a 
> werewolf [he saw Lupin with Madame Pomfrey, he's very good at 
DADA], so thinks he wouldn't dare go down the tunnel. A lovely chance 
to humiliate dear Snivellus. Almost as good as taking his pants 
off. ;-)
> 
> Snape thinks werewolves would never be allowed at Hogwarts [see 
> Lupin explaining that it was only by very special permission that 
he could attend Hogwarts], so doesn't actually suspect the truth.  
> Sirius thinks Snape would never dare; Snape thinks it's the 
ordinary kind of dare and he can probably deal with whatever is at 
the other end. A lot better than he can deal with Sirius announcing 
loudly  that Snivellus won't go into a dark tunnel on his own. 
> 
> And then when all hell breaks loose, Snape thinks Sirius *knew* 
that Snape had no idea what was at the other end of that tunnel.
> 
> Kirstini writes:
> > Which is kind of cowardly in itself, actually. 
> > I'm sticking with nosiness as primary motivation.
<snip> 

> Laura writes:
> >>
> It's a good assumption that Sirius did underestimate werewolf!
> Remus's dangerousness, because that creature (who wasn't Remus, 
imo) was never a threat to Padfoot and Company.
> >>
>Pip: 
> Yup. Padfoot and Prongs were big enough to control Lupin. You'd 
> think it would have occurred to Sirius that someone without the 
> ability to turn into a large, hairy animal might have a few 
> problems, though ;-)
> 
now Laura (boy, this would be easier with different fonts!);

I think James and Sirius already thought of Snape as a large hairy 
animal.  :-)  Seriouisly, though, they may have had enough respect 
for his command of the Dark Arts to figure he could take care of 
himself.  

<snip> The problem with the 'the werewolf isn't really Remus' idea is 
that 
> it is not supported by canon. Sirius's attitude is much more 
> understandable if he thinks the werewolf *is* Remus, and Remus 
> wouldn't hurt anyone. Remus himself remarks that his mind is less 
wolfish while he is with the Marauders [PoA Ch. 18 p. 260]. Further, 
he can remember everything he does while he's a werewolf.
> Unfortunately, his memory seems to fail him when it comes to taking 
> his medication [evil grin - see 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/39146 and 
thread 
> following for 'Lupin the werewolf-in-denial' ]

now Laura:

I don't think Sirius's attitude toward werewolf!Remus is conclusive-
we already know that Padfoot is in no danger from him and that Sirius 
wasn't the clearest thinker at age 15.  The question for me is how 
much control *does* Remus have over the werewolf?  We know that up 
until relatively recently there was nothing he could do to stop the 
transformation.  We know that he became "less wolfish"  when he was 
with the other Marauders, but that he was still dangerous.  The idea 
I get is that the Remus part of him knows what's going on when it's 
full moon but has no power to stop it.  And remembering what he did 
at that time would only make it worse for him, since he's a decent, 
if imperfect man.    So in that sense, it's not Remus who is in 
action during the full moon-he's just an unwilling witness, along the 
lines of a multiple personality situation.    
I accept that there may be some denial in Remus, but do we have any 
other instances in canon of Remus forgetting to take his potion? 
Under extremis, many of us who take important medications can forget.