McGonagall and Lupin's reaction to Harry's story (

[Cathy Drolet]

No: HPFGUIDX 138515

Carol
>>But I'm getting offtrack, sorry! I want to know if there's more to the
mass rejection of Snape by his fellow Order members than meets the
eye. Can they really suddenly think that he's always been evil after
all the risks he's taken for the Order? Is there more to this scene,
which strikes me as a false note in the narrative, than just a shared
mistrust of Snape by both sides and a very bad position for Snape if
he wants to continue working with the Order? 

>>Was anyone else bothered by this scene? Did anyone else feel that
McGonagall and Lupin, at least, were acting out of character?

CathyD:
Sorry for snipping so much of your excellent post, Carol.  

That whole scene was kind of like being slapped in the face, for me.  Total shock.  First, I was rather confused by Harry's - what shall I call it - rearranging of the truth.  I'm hoping it was just his grief that caused him to infuse his own thoughts onto what he knows (Snape joined the Order *before* LV fell - therefore before his parents died) and not that he was knowingly trying to sway the opinion of the others.  Lupin's reaction was directly in response to Harry's "he was sorry that they were dead" which is not what Dumbledore said, nor what Harry *knows* to be the truth.

Even if you leave out the years that Snape was her student McGonagall worked with the man for fifteen years!  Certainly he goaded her about Gryffindor not winning the house cup or Quidditch cup, she probably did her share of the same.  I would think that in fifteen years a person could gain some kind of insight into the man apart from trusting him for Dumbledore's sake?!  Just reading it again...in McG's defense she did say "...*Snape*....I can't believe it."  Really, all the information he has given to the Order about DEs, Voldemort.  How can everyone shrug it off so easily?  Ok, Tonks I can buy...she's only been in the Order two years, wouldn't have that much contact with Snape apart from when he taught her Potions, but Lupin, McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey.   

As someone else said a while back, suddenly, all these people who have never really believed Harry before, know his not so great opinion of Snape, believe him 100% without question on this point.  They were all in shock surely, Dumbledore is dead!  DUMBLEDORE...the greatest wizard of all time!  DEAD!  But certainly someone should have said "No, not Snape, he's on our side.  He's been working for us for fifteen plus years. He wouldn't do that."

I can only hope that the first chapters of book 7 will show some of these people coming to their senses and questioning Harry about what really happened up on the Astronomy Tower.  




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