Why didn't Severus reveal the Prank? (Was: How did Sirius lure Severus...)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 106930

Neri wrote:
James did run after Severus and saved his life.
Snape belittles this in the Shack (in PoA), but we know that as late
as SS/PS Snape had still considered himself in debt to James. So the
shaken 16 yrs old Severus, who had just saw Death in the form of a
full-blown werewolf and was dragged back by James, is likely to see
it this way even more. Or perhaps it was DD who gently but surely
pointed this to him, in the best of DD's style. <<<
 
I (Carol) replied:
I think Neri is on the right track here, but I would add that 
Severus' fear of humiliation is probably the crucial factor. I think 
Dumbledore probably pointed out to Severus that if he revealed what 
he knew, not only would the whole school (and probably the WW) know 
that he had been tricked by Sirius Black, they would know that his 
life had been saved by the even-more-hated James Potter, to whom he 
now owed a life debt. o whatever Sirius's punishment would have been,
probably expulsion, James would have been viewed as a hero and he,
Severus, as a helpless victim. Tempted as he must have been to get
revenge by revealing Sirius' perfidy and Lupin's condition, I think
the fear of having the wizarding world know that he was dragged to
safety by the "heroic" James kept him silent for twenty long years
(especially since he also believed, perhaps rightly, that James had
been in on the prank, too, but got cold feet and did not deserve to be
viewed as a hero).
 
HunterGreen (who is surprised that no one else responded to this 
post) added:
I think this theory makes the most sense out of all the others. I 
really can't see Snape being the type to respond to a threat, and I 
don't see Dumbledore as the type to make one. I imagine that after 
hearing the whole story, and finding out that Snape found out about 
Lupin being a werewolf, Dumbledore took Snape aside, and spoke to him
 alone, and asked him not to tell. Yes, I know he was 'forbidden' not
to tell according to Lupin, I believe, but they may have only heard
that secondhand. Again, I just can't see Snape being intimidated 
enough to keep his mouth shut, especially about something like this. 
Humiliation, on the other hand, particularily in his teens, when he's 
already not all that popular, that would keep him quiet, and what 
makes it easy to swallow is that Dumbledore wouldn't be involved at 
all. If Snape took off and told everyone about Werewolf!Lupin, then 
Sirius or James would immediately spread the WHOLE story of that 
night around to get revenge. (I know, I know, speculatation, but all 
within their character).

Carol again:
Yes, that's exactly what I think. Look at Snape's worst memory--NOT
the terror of facing the werewolf but the humiliation of being
insulted and treated like a vile and dirty object in the Pensieve
scene. I would venture to say that even the adult Snape, who has
risked his life for Dumbledore or the cause on various occasions, is
more afraid of humiliation than of death.

I would very much like to hear from Kneasy, who originally raised, the
question, to see whether he regards my explanation as plausible.

I (Carol) wrote: 
So whatever Sirius's punishment would have been, probably
expulsion,<<
> 
HunterGreen responded:
So, do you think Dumbledore only didn't expell Sirius because he was 
trying to keep the situation quiet? <snip>

Carol responds:
Yes and no. He certainly was still trying to protect Remus, the only
wholly innocent party involved. And I do think he didn't want to ruin
Sirius' future. He probably saw him as in great danger, given his
background and reckless temperament. Would he have wanted an enraged
and possibly violent boy at large in the WW? I wouldn't have in his
place. 

But I wasn't thinking of that so much as the fact that what could have
happened didn't. No one died; no one was injured; Severus wasn't
turned into a werewolf. Dumbledore couldn't prove intent to murder on
Sirius' part, and to do so would ruin his life and that of the
innocent Remus. And what he could have proven, reckless endangerment,
is not nearly so serious an offense. So my short answer is, if Remus
had bitten Severus, DD would have had no choice but to expel both
Remus and Sirius. As it is, he operated on his usual "second chance"
principle and allowed them both to remain. But if the story had gotten
out, I don't think he'd have been allowed to do that. Severus' parents
and maybe the parents in general, would have demanded Sirius' head on
a platter (figuratively speaking) and Dumbledore's with it. So
self-preservation plays a role in Dumbledore's silence, too. It would
be an interesting twist if the young Severus, who at that time was
preumably on "our side" (he couldn't very well "return to our side"
before Voldemort's fall if he wasn't originally there) was trying to
protect Dumbledore's position as headmaster as well as his own
reputation by remaining silent about the Prank!

Carol, waiting to hear from Kneasy and Neri on the humiliation portion
of this theory