[HPforGrownups] Ungrateful Werewolf ( Was Re: Character Given A Reprieve)

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 175621

Lanval:

Ah, back to the Shrieking Shack. :)
I admit I was surprised too to have the infamous prank
happen before SWM. I'm moreover having a hard time finding anything
definitve in the books that made us all believe it was a sixth year
event? Anyone find it yet?

But I'm rather glad. For one thing it tells us without doubt that
what happened in the SS was no life-shattering moment, no turning
point for anyone.

Snape? A mere couple of weeks, if at all, after it happened, he's no
traumatized lamb. He seems more upset about Lily defending James
(and calling Snape 'ungrateful'. Ouch. *g*) than about the danger he
was in. No, it's all about exposing James & Co for not being 'as
wonderful as everyone thinks', about James fancying Lily.

Remus, the other victim? In SWM, we see a calm boy, worried
about his OWLS. He jokes with his friends about werewolf questions.
When Sirius wishes it was full moon, he says, 'darkly': "You might,"
and asks him to test him on some stuff. That is all. No
estrangement, no near-hatred, no unforgiving anguish. Seems like
Fandom and fanfic writers got that one SO wrong. I did too. (On an
interesting side note, being that 99.9% of fanfic writers and
readers seem to be women... maybe we really, really don't understand
how the minds of teenage boys work?)

Debbie:
I don't believe that we can draw any conclusions about the effect of the
Prank on the participants from their demeanor during SWM.  Lupin behaves
much differently from the rest of the Marauders in that scene.  He at least
pretends to ignore all the goings-on, including James' snitch-catching
demonstration and Peter's adoration as well as the tormenting of Snape.  The
only thing that makes Lupin actually look up from his book is Sirius'
expression of his desire for the full moon.  Lupin quickly changes the
subject by asking for testing assistance, but the use of the word 'darkly'
to describe his reaction suggests to me that there is lingering concern in
his mind.  Considering how their last adventure turned out, Lupin doesn't
seem nearly so keen on going on the next month's adventure, which he usually
eagerly looked forward to.

I never thought there was a big falling out, between Sirius and Lupin, just
a little more wariness on Lupin's part.  Lupin is clearly an introvert, and
Lupin may have been just quiet enough to make it plausible for Sirius to
believe -- since they knew someone was passing information -- that it might
have been Lupin.  Lupin remained close enough to them to know that Sirius
was supposed to be secret keeper, yet there was just enough doubt to make
either a credible traitor to the other.

Lanval:
To come back to your question, maybe we overestimate the power of
the secret, too? Snape, while not telling Lily "I was right! He IS a
werewolf!" nevertheless presses his 'theory', as he has repeatedly
done before. Lily? Is just not interested, even though Lupin lives
in her House. Her reaction is rather: So? Why are you so obsessed
with them? After all they don't use Dark Magic, like your friends do!

Debbie:
Snape was still quite obsessed with the Marauders and their escapades, as he
continues to press his 'theory' on Lily despite having been forbidden to
reveal the secret.  I'm sure he thought his sneaking out at night was
legitimate (as Draco undoubtedly did in PS/SS) because he was sussing out
wrongdoers, and it backfired on him. like so many things do, because there
really was a dangerous werewolf at the end of the tunnel, and instead of
catching James Potter in wrongdoing, Snape managed to make a lifesaver out
of him.  We have no idea how, or if, punishments were meted out, but we know
that Snape attributed the worst motives to Sirius ("attempted murder") on
the basis that he knew what Snape would find.  Based on that assessment, it
doesn't matter to our understanding whether anyone was punished.  Whatever
those punishments might have been, they would not have been enough for
Snape.

The characters who seemed completely unaffected by the Prank and its
aftermath were James and Sirius.  They felt free to torment Snape (perhaps
as payback) only a few days later.

The implication is that the Prank had a significant impact on at least Lupin
and Snape.  We didn't even mention Lily, whose opinion of James' lifesaving
act must have raised him several levels in her estimation.

Debbie


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