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

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 153206

Irene wrote:
>  Now, I'm going out on a limb here, but the fact that this  was not
reciprocated suggests strongly to me that it was uninvited. Lupin has
no business to be on the first name basis with Snape.
> 
> Lanval:
> Of course he does. They're contemporaries; they were at school 
> together. Whether Snape likes it or not is another thing.
<snip> 
> As for the notion that he calls Snape 'Severus' merely to annoy him, 
> well, canon would refute that: he still calls him 'Severus' with 
> Snape's wand pointed at him, in the Shrieking Shack. And whatever 
> Lupin may be, stupid he's not.
> 
> Also: are you saying that Snape is showing Lupin more respect than 
> vice versa? Because I sincerely doubt that. He calls him 'Lupin' to 
> his face, when they're *alone* (Harry of course having to be about, 
> for narrative reasons). No title. Same way he snarls 'Potter', 
> or 'Longbottom'. 
> 
> Even in front of the class, Snape slips once and simply refers to 
> him as 'Lupin'.
> 
> Lupin, on the other hand always reminds Harry & friends that 
> it's 'Professor Snape'. 

Irene:
>  
> > If one of my schooldays' tormentors appeared at my work place and
 started behaving as if we were the best of chums, I'm not sure I'd be
able to keep my cool even to the level Snape does in PoA.
> > 
> 
> Lanval:
> Guess we're different then. I'd simply assume, until further notice, 
> that this person had decided to move on, stopped being childish, and 
> was making an effort to be pleasant.

Carol responds:
I'm not absolutely sure about Lupin's having a genuine desire to move
on, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt here. For the
same reason, I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of his statement
iin HBP that he "neither likes nor dislikes Severus." I believe, too,
that he's genuinely grateful to Snape for the perfect Wolfsbane
Potions that made his transformations bearable for nine months, and
which he certainly misses in his present condition. It's interesting
that he persists in calling Snape by his first name even in his
absence, just as he calls Black by his. They are contemporaries and
the use of first names seems to indicate that he views them as equals.
Certainly "Severus," whatever his motivation for using it, is an
improvement over "Snivellus." (Black, at least, has *not* decided to
stop being childish and move on.)

As for Snape, the only persons I can recall him addressing
respectfully are Dumbledore (usually called "Headmaster," IIRC),
McGonagall (addressed as "Professor McGonagall"), and Fudge (in PoA,
before Fudge turns against Dumbledore, as "Minister"). Snape rarely
uses first names, and his reasons for doing so appear to vary. The
only instances I can think of are Igor (Karkaroff), Draco, Narcissa,
Bellatrix, and Tonks. It would be out of character for Snape to
address Lupin by his first name, as Lupin addresses him--especially in
PoA, given that Snape thinks Lupin is helping a murderer get into
Hogwarts to kill Harry.

Carol, who sees Lupin and Snape as fellow victims of the DADA curse
and clings to a faint hope that they'll come to see each other in the
same light