Are there no depths to which Siriophiles wont sink?

[meriaugust]

No: HPFGUIDX 99281

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "potioncat" <willsonkmom at m...> 
wrote: 
> Potioncat, putting on her scuba gear
> Sirius and Severus are both flawed. There are lots of reasons to 
like 
> and dislike each of them. 
> 
> To me, one difference between them, is that while neither let go 
of 
> the animosity, Snape at least contained his. 

Meri jumping in: Snape has contained his? With all those veiled 
references to Sirius' supposed cowardice, his haughty allusions to 
his risking his own life in service to the Order, and his treatment 
of Harry at school before he had even met the boy and could judge 
whether or not he was like his father? Snape tortured and humiliated 
Harry because he was a Potter, not because this eleven year old boy 
had ever done anything to him. You call this "containing his 
animosity"? And don't even get me started on his treatment of 
Neville. 

snip
> Potioncat: 
> In OoP we learned that James was pretty rotten at times.  Not only 
to 
> Snape.  His friends say he'd hex people in the halls just because 
he 
> could.  Perhaps we'll learn Snape wasn't/isn't so bad. Although, 
by 
> DD's trust we already see that.  And it seems to me, that while DD 
> seemed to feel an affection for Sirius, he trusted Snape more.

Meri again: Yes, in Order we learned that James was a flawed human  
being. And yes he was nasty. And yes he was arrogant. But as Lupin 
(or Sirius, can't remember which) said, don't judge him by what you 
see in one memory. He grew up eventually, something that I don't 
think Snape ever did, as evidenced by his treatment of Harry over 
the last five books. Now I'm not saying that Snape deserved what he 
got in that memory because no one deserves humiliation like that, 
but again, we don't know the whole story behind Snape and the 
Marauders. Snape supposedly came to school knowing more jinxes and 
hexes than most seventh years, so I would bet he used those whenever 
he wanted. As to DD trusting Snape more, in GoF he says he trusts 
both Snape and Sirius, and I see no evidence that he trusts Sirius 
any less than Snape. And, finally, as to Snape not being so bad, I 
am sure that he is on the side of good, and I am sure that DD trusts 
him for good reason. I do not believe that he will betray the Order 
and I believe that he acted as was best at the end of OotP. However, 
as a human being I find him lacking, as evidenced by his treatment 
of Harry and Neville in class, as evidenced by his actions in the 
Shreiking Shack, and as evidenced by his comment to Hermione as she 
was hit by a stray curse in GoF that made her front teeth grow 
abnormally large: "I see no difference." Cruel, petty and immature? 
I think so. 

Meri