My own take on the Prank

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 152625

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "ericoppen" <oppen at ...> wrote:
>
> I have said before, and think it is time to repeat, that my own 
> belief is that Sirius was guilty, not of attempted murder, but of 
> familiarity---in this case, with a werewolf---breeding contempt for 
> the danger involved.  Sirius had been hangin' with a werewolf for 
> years, and with his Animagism, _he_ was in no danger.  Being sixteen 
> or so, he didn't think to remember that Snape (AFAWK) was/is _NOT_ a 
> Animagus, and would be in terrible danger from a werewolf.
> 
> ...edited...
> 
> And we know Snape's not really rational on the subject of Sirius 
> Black.  For all we know, Black and Potter, Sr. _were_ punished, but 
> I think anything short of being shot at dawn by a firing squad 
> wouldn't have made Snape happy.  I should also point out that one 
> reason DD may not have come down as hard on the Marauders as Snape 
> would have wanted was because Snape, whatever his motivations, _was_ 
> miles out of line, sneaking into the Shrieking Shack.
>


bboyminn:

I'm inclined to agree, too many people are injecting their own
negative preceptions into this incident. First and foremost, we don't
know exactly what happened and we don't know for a fact that no one
was punished.

First, on Sirius's action, he was young and impulsive like all 16 year
olds. That doesn't excuse it, but it does help explain it. Next, we
don't know exactly what Sirius said to Snape. He could have warned
Snape that great danger lurked beyond the tree. Of course, to Snape,
being an equally impulsive 16 year old, that would have been more of
an enticement than a deterrent. I could very easily see someone as
smart as Sirius warning Snape of danger as a way of covering his own
butt in case anything went wrong. 

Second, we don't know, and I find it unlikely, that Sirius literally
planned to kill Snape, or to cause his death. In his immature
impulsive mind, he probably had a picture of Snape screaming like a
schoolgirl and running away. Lack of Foresight and forethought, is one
of the many great failings of youth. Sirius might have imagined his
desired outcome, but gave very little thought to realistic and likely
outcomes; again, young and impulsive.

Third, no one forced Snape to go. He made a conscious decision to go
against the rules, into likely danger, and with foreknowledge that he
was circumventing protections put in place and endorsed by the
Headmaster. Sirius did not bodily throw Snape under the tree. Snape
put himself in danger. He put himself into an obvious danger, or at
least into a danger that would have been obvious to anyone who had
thought about it; any one other than a young, impulsive, headstrong,
vengefull teen. 

Forth, we don't know that no one was punished. In fact, I think it
VERY likely that everyone except Lupin was severly punished, but
punished in the confines and context of school. Snape wasn't hurt, he
went of his own freewill, so I don't really see that any school would
have brought in the legal authorities in such a circumstances. Kids
risk their lives all the time for a laugh. If they were going to call
in the police everytime that happened they might as well move the
school to the police station. 

If Sirius had bodily thrown Snape under the tree, we would have a very
different case. But all Sirius did was pass some information on to
Snape. Snape, himself, was in complete control of what he did with
that information. 

I think Snape's real problem was probably humiliation at being made a
fool of, at having to have been rescued from danger by his worst
enemy, at having been so foolish as to let himself be goaded into
putting himself in an obviously dangerous situation. Further, we know
that Snape was a very accomplished student. It's possible that Snape
was more than able to defend himself against a werewolf attack, and
that it was really Lupin's life that James was saving.

Again, all this is speculation, but it seems to me to be speculation
that fits the facts combined with logical knowledge of youthful behavior. 

Final note, again based in speculation, I think it is unfathomable to
think that no one was punished. That seems completely unlikely and
unreasonable even from wizard world perspective. I suspect everyone
including Snape was punished severly, but punished in the framework of
school. In otherwords, a long series of unpleasant detentions and
docking of house points. And, given that no one was hurt, that seems
appropriate.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn