Positive image of James. Was: Re: Snape and Lupin's Character Arcs

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 119443


> Pippin:
> In PoA, it comes up *only* in the context of the Marauder's Map  
 and Harry going outside the school, apparently to meet with 
 Black. Snape isn't allowed to tell Harry that Sirius and Lupin 
were  his father's friends, and know what might lure him out of 
school. 

> In Snape's mind, James's arrogance led him to cooperate with 
 these friends in a prank that could have ruined James's life. 
Later James refused to believe that one of these friends could 
be a traitor, and it got him killed. Snape *has* to warn Harry, 
because he sees that Sirius and Lupin could destroy Harry the 
 way they destroyed James.
> 
> 
> Alla:
> 
> I am sorry, you lost me here. Which Prank could have ruined 
James  life? The one where he saved Snape's? Sirius' Prank? 
For all we  know, it is quite possible that James did not even 
know about that  prank beforehand. <

Pippin:
Snape believes that James was involved in the very amusing 
joke that almost ended in his death. That would be the werewolf 
prank. I don't think James helped plan it. On the other hand, we 
have Ron and Hermione, both prefects, covering up for the twins 
about Montague, another prank that got out of hand. 

 I can easily believe that James later found out more about what 
had happened than he told the authorities. Snape is, in any 
case, more right than he knows that James was saving himself 
too.

 Dumbledore isn't inclined to probe into  student mischief too 
closely when no permanent harm has been done, but if Snape 
had been bitten, there would have been an investigation. If  the 
story of the illegal animagi and the werewolf excursions into 
Hogsmeade had come to light, James could have been 
expelled.

Alla: 
> I also don't follow the part with Snape's warning Harry by 
talking  badly about James about Harry's possible destruction by 
Sirius and  Remus.<

Pippin:
IIRC, Snape refers to Harry's father twice in PoA. Both times, he 
is convinced that behaving like James is going to get Harry 
killed, and he's not allowed to say why.

 The first time, Harry has just been spotted near the shrieking 
shack by Malfoy, and he returns to the castle knowing he's going 
to be in trouble. Snape finds Harry right where he expects to, in 
the vicinity of the One-eyed Witch. He interrogates Harry, who 
responds with a string of outrageous lies, suggesting that Malfoy 
is having hallucinations, for example. 

Snape has to find out what Harry has really been up to, he has to 
find out if Sirius had anything to do with it (the fact that Harry
was found near the shrieking shack must have looked especially 
ominous) and most especially he has to make Harry understand 
that behaving like James is dangerous.  Sirius knew James very 
well and could be using that knowledge to get Harry to come to 
him. Lupin agrees: "these mapmakers would have tried to lure 
you out of school."

But Snape is  not allowed to tell Harry that Sirius was his father's 
friend. Snape instead tries to tell Harry that he is being arrogant 
like James, who also disregarded rules whenever he felt like it. 
You have to wonder if Snape, looking straight into Harry's eyes,  
isn't hoping Harry will pick up some of what he isn't being  
allowed to say, just the way Harry was hoping Snape would 
understand him in Umbridge's office. That's not too far-fetched if 
Snape knows that Harry gets some of his abilities from 
Voldemort.

The second time, in the shrieking shack, Snape again believes 
that Harry is in danger from Sirius, and that if Harry trusts Sirius 
as his father did, he is going to get killed.   "You'd have died like 
your father, too arrogant to believe he might be mistaken in 
Black."  If Snape, as Dumbledore's spy, has better reasons than 
resenting Sirius to believe  that  James should have been 
convinced, Snape can't say what they are.

  I know it doesn't seem fair that Snape won't hear Sirius and 
Lupin out, but consider that he thinks he is dealing with  dark 
wizards who were clever enough to fool Dumbledore, who can 
usually tell when someone is lying to him. Why should Snape 
believe anything they have to say?

Pippin