Snape, Apologies, and Redemption--Lupin vs. DD

[richter_kuymal]

No: HPFGUIDX 152605

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "leslie41" <leslie41 at ...> wrote: 
(snippage).  Remember that Black's guilty of attempted murder.  That's 
> certainly a far more egregious sin than anything I can think of 
> regarding Snape.

PAR: actually, no we don't. We know SNAPE accuses him of that and that 
DD tells him that "my memory is as good as ever".  We don't hear DD 
agree with Snape's view.  Nor does Lupin call it attempted murder.  
What we see in "Snape's Worst Memory" may be the truth -- presuming 
that Snape can't alter a memory more effectively than Slughorn, which 
is debatable-- but it may not be the WHOLE truth.  We have Lily accuse 
James of "hexing" people in the hallways.  I see James and the 
Marauders as being rather like the twins -- happily and unthinkingly 
giving out their version of ton tongues and canary treats, trying 
out "toe growing" hexes and silencing hexes.  There seems to be a fair 
amount of tolerance in the WW for that sort of thing.  Harry does it 
and he's the series hero.  The twins do it and they aren't expelled. 
It's actually SOLD publically in joke shops located in the main street 
of the major shopping area -- and sufficently popular for there to be 
competing shops.  The twins' shop is SO popular that they become rich 
within a year of opening.

Are some of these things wrong? Yes. and we see, in HBP, that James 
and Sirius got a lot of detentions.  As did the Twins -- but as they 
say in 0OP-- they do draw the line at TRUE mayhem (which they abandon 
when Umbrage gives them lifetime bans on Quiddich).  

There's no evidence that Sirius intended to KILL Snape rather than 
intending him to "get a lesson" because in Sirius' view he was always 
sneaking around, etc. In fact, the "Snape's worst memory" rather 
indicates exactly that to me.  The image of the student pretending to 
read a book and "just happening" to wander by so that they can snoop 
is actually quite a common one in "kid detective" stories. And if 
Snape was trying to prove Lupin was a werewolf so he could be expelled 
(or worse.  The treatment of werewolves is hardly an enlightened one 
in the WW), then Sirius may have planned to "give him what he was 
asking for" without thinking about the danger.  I am hoping JKR 
provides further information in book 7 on "the prank", becasue I am of 
the belief that there is a LOT more behind it than what we see, and 
that a lot of what is behind it is a "war" between two groups of 
students who were perhaps not wise in how they conducted themselves.  
What we do know is that James saved Snape and that Snape has never 
acknowledged this as being anything but self serving.  Snape is not an 
unbiased witness, pensieve or no.  One can take quotes out of context 
and make them appear to mean the opposite of what the author 
intended.  I believe one can take scenes or actions out of context and 
make them seem a lot different than what they would be if the WHOLE 
truth were known.  For example: the levicorpus, scorgify, etc appear 
very very wrong (and should have got Sirius & James serious 
detentions) BUT if they themselves had been subjected to the same off 
and on before that, then it doesn't have the power it did -- it 
becomes a case of a different culture having a different level of what 
was "too much".  And we have a hint of just that with the "you could 
hardly walk down the corridors without being hoist by your ankles".  

As for Snape, I've had teachers like him myself and also individuals 
in other positions of authority like him.  Never liked them then, 
don't like them now.  And yes, I consider all of them to be abusing 
their positions of authority.  Nor do I consider any of them to be 
good teachers or good leaders.  If all it takes to be a good teacher 
is to provide a decent book, why then History and Binns is a great 
class because Herimonie has "Hogwarts, a History" and other books. 
That some students don't mind and some manage to learn DESPITE Snape 
does not make one a good teacher.  And there is a big difference 
between an ADULT doing this to kids and two people of equal age and 
roughly equal abilities having it out.  Snape/Sirius is nothing 
compared to the abuse of Snape/kids. 
PAR