Hating Dark Arts (was re James' essence...)

[juli17ptf]

No: HPFGUIDX 154092


> > Julie:
> > It's still strange to me that James hated Snape so passionately
> > for performing nasty curses (Dark Arts curses, presumably), while
> > he was fine with hexing anyone who annoyed him. Does he really
> > think it's fine to humiliate and hurt others as long as it's not 
an
> > official "Dark" spell or hex? Does the label truly make the  
difference?

> 
> Carol responds:
> Usually I agree with you, Julie, but I'm at a loss to understand why
> you would assume that the hexes that an eleven-year-old knew were
> "presumably" Dark. For one thing, even as a teenager, the hexes and
> jinxes he creates (with the exception of one which is almost 
certainly
> created as retaliation against "enemies") are no darker than any 
other
> hex or jinx we see in the hallways of Hogwarts, including 
Levicorpus,
> the toenail jinx, Langlock (the tongue-locking jinx or hex), and
> Muffliato, which is not only useful if you don't want to be 
overheard
> but doesn't even inflict temporary damage or physical inconvenience
> (other than buzzing in the ears) on the person it's cast on.
> Hermione's Oppugno! (which I'm guessing means "attack") is much more
> vicious. And there's nothing dark about bezoars or the potions hints
> in the Teen!Snape's Potions book--or in his obvious interest in and
> knowledge of DADA (*Defense Against* the Dark Arts), as evidenced by
> his DADA OWL.

Julie:
You're right that nothing we know Snape had invented at that time or 
hinted at in his Potions book is Dark magic. I was in fact going by 
Sirius's statement that James hated the Dark Arts (and thus hated 
Snape) and that Snape was up to his ears in Dark Arts. This rather 
implies that Snape *practiced* those arts, though there is definitely 
a difference between spells we know he used and those that have been 
identified as "Dark." But it's certainly possible, maybe probable, 
that Sirius misspoke or even deliberately misled Harry.

<snip>

Carol:
> BTW, I *do* think that the label makes a difference, but I don't 
think
> that little Severus was comparable in the knowledge and practice of
> Dark spells to the creator of an Inferius or a Death Eater 
controlling
> others by means of the Imperius Curse or any other adult Dark wizard
> (including himself in his Death Eater days if he created potions 
that
> aided Voldemort's evil agenda). I doubt very much that his spells 
were
> any Darker than James's (except that James, so far as we know, 
didn't
> invent any of his own).
> 
> Carol, who absolutely agrees that James's hatred of Severus is 
strange
> when he's so fond of casting hexes himself but does not think that
> relative "Darkness" provides the explanation

Julie:
That's why I wonder what *really* made James hate Snape so much? 
Because he was a Slytherin, part of a house supposedly full of Dark 
Arts supporters? Then why not hex all the Slytherins of that year 
equally? Why single out Snape? Because he was even odder and greasier 
than the average Slytherin? Because he *talked* about his 
love/knowledge of the Dark Arts (given he wasn't really old enough or 
experienced enough or maybe even determined enough to actually 
perform them)? Really, what was it between those two? (Though Lily 
could be part of it, that doesn't explain their earlier years at 
Hogwarts before she presumably came into the picture.)

It's a bit of a conundrum, though maybe not one important enough for 
JKR to clarify. Perhaps it's only there to serve as a parallel to the 
animosity between Draco and Harry/his friends. Or maybe we will learn 
that there was another reason for the mutual animosity between Snape 
and James. Only Book 7 will tell :-)

Julie