Ungrateful Werewolf ( Was Re: Character Given A Reprieve)

[secretkeeper24]

No: HPFGUIDX 175877

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "srpripas" <srpripas at ...> 
wrote: 
> 1. Sirius (in OotP) tells us that Snape never missed a chance to 
hex
> James even in their seventh year.  By that point James had stopped
> "hexing people for the fun of it" (according to Remus), but Snape
> still persisted in hexing James on occasion.  Sirius also tells us
> that Remus, despite his cowardly silence in SWP, did sometimes make
> James and Sirius feel ashamed of themselves.
> 2. Snape tells us (at the end of HBP) that James and his friends 
never
> attacked him unless it was "four against one."  (which was a truly
> cringe-worthy moment for me when I first read it, but I also have 
to
> point out that if the SWP scene is any indication, these "attacks"
> weren't really four against one.  Peter clearly enjoyed the show 
and
> Remus watched with disapproval but was too afraid to speak up, but
> neither actively participated.  James and Sirius seem to have done 
the
> bulk of the actual bullying.  (Not that Remus' sin of silence is
> excusable, mind, but we don't see him or Peter actively bullying
> Snape.  It's hard to speak of MWPP as a monolithic group for these
> reasons.)
> Sarah

I really liked and agreed your post in general, but I wanted to just 
focus on this one part and add some more points. Now that we 
know 'the 
prank' came before SWM (a fact I'm still trying to come to terms 
with. Not to mention it completely ruins the plot of my fanfic that 
I started writing before DH came out) I can't help thinking that 
this might have been another reason Remus kept quiet in this 
instant. I'm not saying it excuses his silence, especially since 
Remus admits in OotP that on other occassions he never told James 
and Sirius to 'lay off' on Snape. Perhaps Remus was worried that if 
he did make his presence more known to Snape and put Snape's focus 
on him (instead of James and Sirius who were actively hexing him), 
Snape might just let it slip that he's a werewolf. We don't know how 
Dumbledore got Snape to keep quiet about that, though it was 
effective. We do know under distress Snape called his *friend* Lily 
a mudblood, so it's not going out on a limb to think Remus might 
have been worried that if he did intervene, Snape would spill his 
secret. Snape believes Remus was in on 'the prank', even though 
Remus was as much a victim as Snape in this instance. I'm surprised 
Snape lashed out against Lily, instead of against Remus, which would 
have also angered James and Sirius.  

Again not that it excuses his silence, I wonder if Remus had stepped 
in if it would have done much. I know Remus was a prefect and he 
could have deducted points, but going by all the detentions James 
and Sirius received, this was hardly a deterrent. Lily's attempt to 
stop James and Sirius did little to help the situation. I also 
believe Remus somehow conveyed his dissaproval when they were alone 
at times since Sirius states in OotP, 'you made us feel ashamed of 
ourselves sometimes...That was something...'. I think only a 
friend's dissapproval could have made the arrogant James and Sirius 
feel ashamed and I think it's something to keep in mind when 
discussing Remus's character. 

~Secretkeeper24