Sirius and Prank again? Fools Rush in where Wisemen Fear to Go

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 129875

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214"
<dumbledore11214 at y...> wrote:
> 
> 
> a_svirn:
> 
> And although I would agree that Sirius's actions and motivations are 
> far from clear, two things at least are given: he did try to kill 
> Snape and he did betray Lupin in the process. ...
 
 
> Alla:
> 
> ... the only thing which is sort of a given to me only of course is 
> that Sirius told SOMEBODY how to get to Shrieking Shack and Snape 
> heard it. ... 
>
> I said earlier that I absolutely cannot imagine Snape listening to 
> what Sirius said and believing it and DOING what Sirius told him to 
> do.
> 
> Whom Sirius said it to, whether he said it in a staged conversation 
> or not, why he said it, what was Remus role in the events and many 
> other things are not clear at all, to me only, of course.
> 
> JMO of course,
> 
> Alla

bboyminn:

A couple points, although I too dread a rehash of this about as much
as a dread another time turner discussion. 

We know that, through Sirius, Snape found out how to get into the
Whomping Willow. It is implied that Sirius did this intentionally. But
as Alla implies, Sirius could have done this through an unnecessarily
loud conversation that he knew Snape was overhearing. In this case,
while Sirius is somewhat responsible for instigating the events, it
was Snape's own actions that put him at risk. Yes, Sirius intended for
it to go the way it did, but it was Snape's choice to act.

As an alternative, Sirius may have applied some reverse psychology by
first directly telling Snape how to get into the Whomping Willow, then
telling him that it was a dangerous and deadly thing to do. Further
assuring him that he would die a terrible death if he acted on that
information. (I have the whole scenario worked out, if you would like
it with quotes, but I'm sure you get the idea and can make up your own
dialog.) To a 15/16 year old boy, 'if you do this you will die', is
more of a challange than a deterrent. Yet it does leave Sirius with an
ever-so-lovely 'plausible deniability'. 

Sirius can always say after the fact that he warned Snape not to go,
and told him that it was deadly dangerous. In the cold light of
after-the-fact analysis, this would seem like a fair and reasonable
warning. However, to two rival schoolboys, they would see it for
exactly what it was, a goading of one by the other. This also helps
explain why the punishment was as mild as it was. Sirius had certainly
broken several rules and put his classmate into danger, but Sirius did
warn Snape not to go, so again the ever-so-lovely 'plausible deniability'.

So, we can reasonably suspect that this was a trick Sirius was playing
on Snape, but part of the trick could have been that Snape's own
stubborn determination and pig-headedness would be the actual thing
that put Snape in danger.

Further, it is only by Snape's assertion that we are told that Sirius
literally tried to kill Snape. One could speculate that in Sirius's
mind, once Snape saw what was there in the Shack, he would turn tail
and run faster than a bullet. Being the erogant shortsighted teenager
that he was, it is very likely that Sirius never thought it through
and never realized what a terrible position, he was putting Lupin in,
or what a position he was putting Snape in. Some will choose to see
that as out and out evil, but sadly that's very close to normal
teenage male behavior. Teen male are not noted for being the most deep
thinking or far thinking creatures on this earth.

So we can fairly and reasonable accept that this was a VERY BAD thing
for Sirius to do, and that Sirius intended for it to happen, however,
without the exact details of the events and what lead up to them, we
can make no real claims of evil intent or attempted murder.

Snape's anger could just as easily stem from having been made a fool
of, as from having his life put at risk. The 'I told you not to go'
scenario would work nicely for Snape having been made a fool of.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn