OFH, Life-debt and Snape/Lily-no-way

[jhenderson9]

No: HPFGUIDX 162722

> Neri wrote:
> <snip>
> 2. We might learn some unpleasant things about Snape's schooldays,
> especially regarding his part in "The Prank", his dabbling with the
> Dark Arts and his connections with Lucius, Narcissa and "the
> Slytherin gang".
>
> Carol:
> Indeed we may and probably will. After all, JKR has promised us more
> information on the Prank--primarily James's motives, I think. Sirius
> won't look very good, either, I suspect. But regardless of what we
> see of Severus's school days, all that will be revealed there is his
> motives for becoming a Death Eater, which we already know he did.

I think Harry's questioning of his father's noble character is loose
end that will be resolved in Book 7 by a revisit of the Prank. I think
a key to understanding the Prank came in Lupin's comment about the
Levicorpus spell. He said that the Levicorpus spell was very popular
when he was at school. If indeed the HBP invented the spell,  Snape
likely popularized by using it on classmates he didn't like. However,
since it can be nonverbal, he may have even gotten away with it for a
long time unsuspected. James, cleverer than your average wizard, not
only figured out the spell's who, but how, and biding his time, he
gave Snape his comeupance. Nothing in the pensieve contradicts this,
even if James is shown as a bored and arrogant show off at the time.
That would only fill Snape with even more hatred of James and make it
even more likely that the Prank would become a worst memory.

Just as eavesdropping has been used by Rowling to mislead her readers
with partial, out-of-context information, the pensieve, even with its
true picture, can also create an inaccurate picture. Lupin in the same
scene questions Harry about feeling sorry about Snape. Lupin without
the pensieve has a fuller understanding of event.

jhenderson9