James the Berk?

[a_reader2003]

No: HPFGUIDX 105995

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "arrowsmithbt" 
<arrowsmithbt at b...> wrote:

> 
> But Snape has information that would interest some very powerful and
> influential people *outside* the school. He can bring the whole lot
> down on DD's head by just  saying one word - "Werewolf" - in the 
right
> place. The outcry from parents would be such that the Board of 
Govenors
> wouldn't even bother to vote. DD would be out.
> Do you really think he doesn't know this? 
> 

Carolyn:
Perhaps the MoM/Fudge knew all about the Shrieking Shack incident and 
agreed to the cover up, so Snape/and his parents (?) knew there was 
no point saying anything? At the end of GOF, Fudge says to DD:

(p 615) 'I've given you free rein always. I've had a lot of respect 
for you. I might not have agreed with some of your decisions, but 
I've kept quiet. There aren't many who'd have let you hire 
werewolves, or keep Hagrid..'

Now, this is referring to hiring Lupin as DADA teacher obviously. At 
the time the Shrieking Shack incident occurred, Fudge was not 
Minister, and possibly not yet even Junior Minister in the Dept of 
Magical Catastrophes as he was at the time of GH. 

Perhaps at the time of the Shrieking Shack Fudge might have been just 
entering the MoM, at about Percy's age? Would it take him 5-6 yrs to 
become a Junior Minister? But he may have known of a Ministry 
decision to let DD deal with this situation at the school, and not 
intervene. After all, a lot of people in officialdom would have 
needed to know that a werewolf was being taught there - it would 
expose their decision as foolish if anyone got hurt. And we know they 
are fully capable of gagging the press if they want to.

VW1 was also in full swing at the time of the incident, I wonder if 
that would have reduced the impact in the eyes of the MoM? If Snape 
turns out to have been from a family known for its support of the 
Dark Arts (which is likely, since he knew so much about them by the 
time he was 11), perhaps no one would have cared much if he had been 
killed by a werewolf? I can't see an auror like Moody losing much 
sleep over it, or Barty Crouch Sr, who was rising to fame at the time 
for his zero-tolerance approach to DEs.

And as many have speculated, I could easily see this DD/MoM cover-up 
being a trigger to turn the furious teenage Snape into a Voldy-
supporter as an initial way of getting revenge. Something brought him 
back later, but at the time, I can see DD handling him just as badly 
as he has Harry on other occasions. Yet another slip-up.

Carolyn