Nice vs. Good, honesty, and Snape: Was Snape, Apologies, and Redemption

[lanval1015]

No: HPFGUIDX 153013


> Betsy Hp:
> No, we, along with Harry, witness it happen.
> 
> "Snape had regained consciousness.  He was conjuring stretchers and 
> lifting the limp forms of Harry, Hermione, and Black onto them.  A 
> fourth stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at his 
> side.  Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved them away 
> toward the castle." [PoA hardback, scholastic p.412]


Ah yes, in the time turner episode. Thanks. I DO need to dig out my 
copy of PoA. :)


> 
> Betsy Hp:
> I seriously doubt Snape cared about how he looked.  He's not 
> Lockhart after all. <g>

Lanval:
Actually, they both seem to crave admiration. It's no coincidence IMO 
that one of the memories Harry sees during the Occlumency lessons is 
a girl laughing at a boy on a bucking broom, that Lupin mentions how 
hard the loss of the Order of Merlin hit Snape, that Snape always 
insists on being called 'sir', and so on. To Snape the world is a Bad 
Place, because it has always refused to properly recognize Severus 
Snape, Super Genius.


 
> Betsy Hp:
> And there's the rub.  We can't be sure of what motivates any of the 
> characters in the books except for Harry.  We can only go by what 
> they do.  And in this scene Snape *does* act kindly to Narcissa.  
It 
> appears to be genuine, and Narcissa takes it as such.  

Lanval:
Well, just to be evil here *g*... but according to what has been 
mentioned in this discussion, Snape being genuinely nice to Narcissa 
doesn't count anymore than Sirius being nice to Harry, or Hagrid 
being nice to the Trio. Too easy. Just partisanship.  




> It's easy to be nice to your friends.  It's how you treat those you 
> dislike that can be the real sticking point.  Sirius treated an 
> unconscious Snape one way, Snape treated an unconscious Sirius 
> another.  Which way struck you as more nice?
> 
Lanval:

If things are taken out of context, Snape.
If we however take into consideration that only minutes before Sirius 
allows Snape's head to meet with some dirt, Snape tried to have him 
killed...

And again, when Snape gets a stretcher for Sirius, it's to take him 
to the castle, where he will be handed over to Fudge, who will call 
the dementors. All of which Snape knows. Not only does he get his 
wish (Sirius dead), it's even better than that: Sirius 'worse' than 
dead', without Snape so much as having to lift a finger, and without 
the decided inconvenience of Snape having to cast an unforgivable AK. 

Sheesh. Now that I think about it, it would have been easier for me 
to swallow if Snape HAD dragged Sirius by his hair to the castle. 
There seems to be an added creepiness here, in making the last voyage 
of the prisoner a comfortable one...