James and Snape. Was. Re: Snape and Harry again.

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 113375

Nora:
> Bellatrix Lestrange (nee Black) was one of the 'gang of 
Slytherins'.   However, Sirius says to Harry, when they are looking 
at the  tapestry, "I haven't seen her since I was your age".  This 
would,  then, put Bella as older than Sirius--she, being older, 
leaves school  while Sirius is still there, and he doesn't see her 
after that.<
> 
> Now, this could, of course be an "Oh dear, maths" situation.  
There's  also the 'lapdog' comment, when we have an age on 
Lucius Malfoy (41),  and we know that Snape is 35-36 at the time 
of GoF (in a reading that  can be slightly disputed--I know it's not 
clear)...so we also here  have a case of an age differential.
> 
> Perhaps, and this is pure speculation, a young!Snape was 
close to  this 'gang of Slytherins' 
<snip>Then, just maybe, we have  a situation where the fifth-year 
scene we got was one in a series of  some kind of revenge 
attempts, now that the older protectors are  gone?  I have 
absolutely no idea.  Just throwing out ideas to try to 
 figure out some motivations.<
> 

Pippin:

Sirius might not have meant that 'when I was your age' so 
literally--he could have meant that he last saw Bella when he 
was a sixth year--which would make sense since he was sixteen 
when  he ran away from home. 

Suppose Bella is one year ahead of Sirius at school. Snape, 
who knew all those curses to start with,  was able to hold off  
James (I nearly wrote Draco) and his gang  up until fifth year, but  
then they caught up to him in knowledge, and their advantage in 
numbers started to pay off. Not only that, they're all capable of 
serious magic now and it's not just shooting sparks at each 
other any more.

 Snape is outnumbered four to one. He needs protection, and 
Bella the seventh year is willing to provide it, quid pro quo. Of 
course Sirius would loathe Snape for taking up with his 
despised relatives.  That's the situation in sixth year, which 
probably culminates with the prank.

In seventh year, James is made Head Boy, gets his head 
deflated, and doesn't feel the need to flout rules or show off  by 
picking on Snape in front of an audience. Still,  he carries on their 
hexing contest in private one on one. Snape, who thinks that 
James would've killed him if he hadn't lost his nerve, never 
misses a chance to throw a hex at him, and James really can't 
take that lying down.

Bella has left, but  Snape doesn't need her protection 
anymore, since James is fighting fair.   He drifts apart from the 
remnants of the gang, but he finds his connection with Bella 
useful--she's Lucius Malfoy's sister-in-law.  She gets Lucius to 
find him a job when he leaves Hogwarts. So when she asks 
Snape to join her new gang, he feels doubly obligated.

Pippin, also speculating