Nitwit? - Remus John Lupin

[montavilla47]

No: HPFGUIDX 168113

> Dana:
> Lupin had to overcome a great deal more then Snape ever had
> to deal with but we don't see him bullying little defenseless
> children or try to have someone's soul sucked out.

Montavilla47:
No, we don't see Lupin bullying children.  We see Lupin
endangering children.  Snape has his flaws.  Lupin has his.

> Dana:
> Dear sweet Snape is so misunderstood and was humiliated so
> deeply because he was some kid's Boggert and then this
> Boggert!Snape was dressed in woman's cloths?

Montavilla47:
I actually agree with you about this.  While I'm sure Snape
didn't appreciate being the butt of the joke in D.A.D.A. class,
I'm sure it isn't the worst thing that ever happened to him.
In fact, we know it's not, because his reaction to the vulture
hat doesn't come close to his reactions to 1) Dumbledore saying
that Snape owed James for saving his life and 2) everything
about Sirius in the Shrieking Shack.

> Dana:
> And what does this misunderstood hero do? He bullies the kid
> even further and fiercer than before and when he isn't able
> to punish the insulter, in what he considers an appropriate
> way, he outs him, ruining his already hard life even further.

Montavilla47:
I'm not going to disagree with you, Dana.  But I would like to
offer an alternate reading.  Snape outed Lupin after Lupin
confessed to holding back information that was truly important--
Sirius being able to assume the form of a dog and that there
were several secret passages that led in and out of the castle
that he could use.

> Dana:
> No, really we should have some compassion for Snape because
> maybe his father hit his mother

Montavilla47:
It only seems fair to have some compassion for Snape if we're
going to have it for Sirius's home life.  At least Sirius had
a brother to commiserate with (and once he met James, a very
supportive friend and adoptive parents). Snape had to deal
with his parents alone, as far as we can tell.

> Dana:
> And of course let's not forget him not getting over his hatred
> for James and him allowing himself to take it out on the man's
> son and even worse, when the kid loses the one person he was
> more closely connected with than anybody else in his short
> life, he rubs it in by having the kid re-write their detention
> cards but for some reason everybody insulting or humiliated
> Snape is condemned because the guy had such a bad childhood
> and was hung by his feet a couple of times.

Montavilla47:
Again, I don't think we have to tally up score points for all
this. I suspect that Snape had some point to the detentions he
gave Harry, beyond a desire to see James's son suffer. I think
it may have had something to do with the escalation of mischief
that the Marauders did, with the escalation of mischief that
Harry committed that year.

In the world according to Snape, the Marauders nearly killed
him for a joke.  Then he sees Harry (who has been playing with
Snape's old spells for fun throughout the year) nearly kill
Draco. Perhaps Snape is hoping that Harry will make the
connection between his recklessness and the the Prank.

Or maybe he's just being a jerk.

Montavilla47