[HPforGrownups] Re: Political positions of the characters/Draco in GoF and Harry in HBP

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 150483

> Magpie:
> <HUGE SNIP>
> I have no problem believing that James hated the Dark Arts, that
>> Snape practiced them even as a kid, that James wanted to fight
> Voldemort
>> when he got out of school.  I still think he's just picking on a
> convenient
>> target in the scene, and perhaps in the long run making things
> worse for
>> himself and his side in the war.
>
>
> Alla:
>
> Honestly, this is ALL I am asking for. I may waver as to whether
> Snape in general was a convenient target or target for revenge or
> something, but your interpretation I have NO problems with, I see
> where you are coming from and sort of agree with you, but I am just
> very puzzled of the absolute confidence that James did not REALLY
> hated Dark Arts and that Sirius cooked it up.

Magpie:
Oh, I don't think Sirius cooked it up whole cloth. I think it was absolutely 
true that James hated the Dark Arts, it's just not the reason he picked on 
Snape that day in that moment.  (I think I take a lot of Sirius' information 
the way you do, knowing that he's biased but also knowing there's factual 
information buried in all of that--Snape had something to do with Lucius 
Malfoy, for instance.  It's what makes the Sirius chapters in OotP so 
intriguing for me--I'm so psyched the Regulus story seems like it's going to 
come to something!)

Even Sirius, iirc, doesn't even really say in the scene that James was 
attacking Snape out of his Dark Arts hatred by the lake that day.  The Dark 
Arts is something he arrives at and it's true, but it's not like when Harry 
asks about their relationship Sirius immediately replies that Snape was evil 
and did horrible things and James was offended.  He starts out trying to 
explain the personal friction between them iirc.

Actually, now I think about it doesn't he conclude by saying that James, 
"however it may have appeared" to Harry in that scene, hated the Dark Arts? 
That line could have two meanings.  One that Sirius is saying that maybe it 
*looked* like James had no good reasons to hate Snape but there were things 
about him that were really bad.  But the line could also be taken to be 
Sirius saying, "however it may have looked" James hated the Dark Arts 
because it may have looked as if James was a Dark Arts fan given his 
behavior.;-)  I took it as Sirius admitting that James was sometimes just 
being an arrogant berk, but that he always had strong feelings against the 
Dark Arts. I hope I didn't just totally screw up the quotes because I don't 
have my book handy.

-m