Snape and Sirius WAS :Regulus and Sirius

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 163790

Carol:
> I'm guessing that young Severus got twelve OWLs, with Os in at least
> two subjects and Es in the rest. The mere fact that he was
> interested in earning high marks, even to the point of 
> experimenting outside of class in improving the potions in the 
> books, would have given him a reputation as a swot or a nerd and
> added to his unpopularity. 
<snip>
> Sirius, in contrast, uses his free time, and perhaps his study time,
> working on becoming an Animagus and/or contributing to the
> Marauder's Map (or in detention). He rejects the opportunity to
> help Remus study for his Transfiguration OWL. The last thing *he*
> wanted was a reputation as a swot. And his looks, unlike Severus's,
> were in his favor. 

Jen: This shifts the debate from the area of natural ability and 
talent to grades and effort.  Snape undoubtedly put more effort into 
his school work and he appeared to care more about grades than 
Sirius.  In the Pensieve scene Sirius didn't think he needed to study 
to get good grades on exams.  Some of that likely bravado, but my 
impression from that scene, as well with the animagi and Maruader's 
Map, was that Sirius *did* have natural abilities and talents but 
didn't choose to apply himself in classes or care about grades.  I 
could see that attitude grating mightily on Severus, who had natural 
talents and augmented them with study and effort.  

In fact, the more I think about it, the more I'm certain what 
bothered Snape the *most* about Sirius was how he threw away the 
things that Snape valued so much.  Sirius had talent and smarts and 
used them for mischief instead of choosing to be a swot.  He was good-
looking and didn't much care.  He was born into one of the few true 
pure-blood Slytherin families and took that for granted, going so far 
as to reject them in the end.  I could see Sirius' attitude making 
Snape absolutely *livid* given Snape's belief in rules and principles 
and the 'right order' of things.  

The irony is they are *both* examples of lost potential.  Who knows 
what Snape could have done with his talents had he not chosen to be a 
DE?  Who knows what Sirius might have made of himself if he hadn't 
spent much of his life in Azkaban, if Dumbledore had chosen to help 
him like helped Snape?  Neither of them grew to be the men they could 
have been.