Snape in the Shrieking Shack (Was: Are appearances important to Snape?)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 142240

A-svirn wrote:
> > <snip> He [Snape] couldn't very well  leave the unconscious kids
at the lake and go in search for a  Dementor. Had there been a
Dementer close in hand I have no doubt whatsoever that he would have
made good on his threat.
> >
> 
> Hickengruendler responded:
> 
> The Dementors still had to be somewhere close. Harry didn't drive 
> them away from the grounds. And they were meant to protect the 
> Hogwarts grounds after all.

Carol adds:
Not to mention that Snape knew very well that Lupin was at large in
werewolf form. By conjuring stretchers and taking the unconscious kids
(and Sirius Black, whom I think he still believed to be a murderer) to
the castle, he removed them from very real danger and quite possibly
saved their lives. He could have left Sirius for the werewolf, but
instead he took him to the castle to be placed in Fudge's custody.

As for his interpreting what he overheard to mean what we know it
means, think about Harry's interpretations every time he eavesdrops.
JKR has indicated again and again that eavesdroppers who overhear part
of a conversation interpret it to match their preconceptions.

Also, to address a point that's been snipped from a-svirn's post, the
DEs in general don't necessarily know Wormtail's identity and may not
even know the nickname. The DEs Sirius overhears in Azkaban talking
about Wormtail are probably Bellatrix Lestrange and the Lestrange
brothers, who enter Azkaban some months after the confrontation
between Wormtail and Sirius that lands Sirius (or should I call him
Padfoot?) in Azkaban. Quite possibly Bellatrix, as LV's most loyal
follower, knew Peter's identity. She and her cronies certainly know
that Sirius is in prison for ostensibly murdering Peter Pettigrew, so
they no doubt put two and two together and conclude that the informer
Wormtail is dead. But there's no indication that the DEs outside
Azkaban, or the ex-DE Snape, had access to this same information. (As
others have noted, the DEs don't necessarily know each other and that
it's infinitely logical for LV to keep Wormtail's identity secret.)
Snape's actions throughout PoA indicate that, like everyone else, he
thought that Sirius Black was the murdering traitor and that Pettigrew
was dead. 

Snape's actions in the Shrieking Shack reflect his knowledge that
Lupin is about to transform into a werewolf (which is why he conjures
ropes to tie him up) and his belief (clung to stubbornly, but he's
believed it for twelve years) that Sirius Black is a dangerous
murderer whom Lupin has been helping into the castle. When Snape tells
Harry, "I just saved your life. You should be grateful" (quoted from
memory), IMO, he believes exactly that. And he again saves their
lives, or at least rescues them from very real danger, by conjuring
the stretchers and floating them to the castle. If he were ESE! and
wanted Harry to die, all he needed to do was leave him and his friends
at the mercy of Werewolf!Lupin. Nice revenge on Lupin, too.

Carol