Prank question/Dumbledore and Evil (?) Snape

[leslie41]

No: HPFGUIDX 154162


> Alla:
> Well, yes among other things. I mean, Snape being silent about him 
> being wronged? Must have really good reason and Dumbledore must 
> have know it, if you ask me.

Leslie41:

I've heard this theory before--and certainly it's tempting to think 
something like this especially since as Rowling has indicated, we 
don't know everything we need to about the prank.

But it doesn't ring true for me, mostly because this would put 
Dumbledore in the position of essentially "blackmailing" Snape to 
stay quiet.  In other words, "I know this about you, Snape, so shut 
up about Black or you'll both be in trouble."

This doesn't seem to fit with my perception of Dumbledore, really. 
To me he seems averse to punishing people in general, averse to 
using his position to *force* them to take responsibility for what 
they do.  It seems to me that he only leans on people when an 
enormous amount is at stake--the fate of the Wizarding World, for 
example.  There's that conversation that Hagrid overheard him having 
with Snape, of course.  But he also presses down rather hard on 
Harry to get information from Slughorn.  

Under more normal circumstances, Dumbledore seems to me to be a "no 
harm, no foul" kind of headmaster.  So, since Snape was not actually 
hurt, and one of the Marauders took responsibility for fixing 
the "prank," it's much easier for him to brush everything under the 
table.  

Thus I don't think he "has" something on Snape re the prank.  I 
think most likely he took the teenaged Snape into his office, sat 
him down, and said "Yes, Sirius Black tried to trick you, but you're 
not hurt, are you, and you *were* nosing about at the whomping 
willow, weren't you?"

Snape was a boy.  Boys don't need an authority figure to hold 
something over their heads to make them obey.  Snape did what the 
headmaster wanted simply because he was the headmaster.  It is very 
rare for a student, especially a student who hasn't yet reached 
majority, to call a teacher, a headmaster, to account for anything.  
The teenaged Snape would have backed off, and kept Lupin's secret, 
simply because Dumbledore asked him to.  

I would guess as well that Snape felt incredibly indebted to 
Dumbledore, even at a very young age.  HBP made this even clearer to 
me, with the eradication of the rather romantic, unrealistic idea 
that somehow Snape is from a very wealthy background (how happy I 
was to see Snape in a hovel).  

It seems to me likely that Dumbledore worked as hard to get Snape to 
Hogwarts as he did to bring Lupin there.  Snape knew that.  What do 
you suppose the situation was like in his household when the owl 
from Dumbledore arrived inviting him to attend Hogwarts?

Snape was undoubtedly poor, with a very unpleasant and perhaps 
abusive Muggle father, who might not have liked the idea of his son 
going to an exclusive, perhaps costly Wizard prepatory school.  I 
imagine Tobias Snape as resistant as Dursley in that regard.  And I 
imagine as well that Dumbledore did everything in his power to bring 
that dark, unpleasant little boy to Hogwarts nonetheless.  

Snape owed Dumbledore a lot, I would think.  And I think as well 
that his resentment of Dumbledore--and his love--began quite young, 
as it does with many men for the father figures in their lives.  For 
all purposes Dumbledore *was* his father. And Sirius and James and 
Remus the brothers whom he felt got preferential treatment.