The Prince interpreted

[Dana]

No: HPFGUIDX 173108

Lisa:
> I'm confused.  Since when does the information purportedly known by 
the 
> victim exonerate the perpetrator's intent??  One has nothing to do 
with 
> the other.  If Sirius simply wanted to confirm what Snape thought 
he 
> knew, he'd've said, "Yeah, he's a werewolf, so what?  Dumbledore 
> already knows, so tattling will do you no good, you git."  Instead, 
he 
> sets him up to be killed or turned into a werewolf.  Intent is the 
key.

Dana:
First of all Sirius intent is never revealed and can therefore not be 
judged. 

But let me ask this question? How could Sirius possibly set Snape up 
to be killed by a werewolf if Snape already knew what Lupin was? 
My answer you can't trick someone into facing a werewolf unknowingly 
if the person actually knows he is going to face a werewolf by 
entering a tunnel, he had seen Lupin being escorted to by Madame 
Pomprey, on a full moon night? So it actually wasn't Sirius who 
played the trick but Snape himself who wanted to trick the marauders 
by finding out what they where up to and trying to expose their 
secret.  

What we know from the scene in Snape's memory is that 1) He knows 
about Lupin and his disappearances on full moon nights. 2) He knows 
James, Sirius and Peter sneak out at night. 3) He knows that he can 
find the answer to his obsessive questions behind the willow. 

Although this final theory will never be canon I'd say Sirius wanted 
to scare the living daylights out of Snape because he was aware of 
Snape's interests in Lupin. Tells Snape all he has to do is prod the 
knot and he can find out for himself. 

Snape already knows but is actually not interested in Lupin but in 
what James and Sirius are up to (as he wants to proof to Lily that 
they are not as perfect as everybody think they are).  So Snape goes 
to the willow to find what the marauders are up to with werewolf 
Lupin as there must be something more to it as you can't just play 
with a werewolf on a full moon night. James finds out drags Snape out 
without Snape ever learning the truth about them being animagi. 

Snape is humiliated by being saved by the boy that is interested in 
his best friend and plays it for all it is worth by running to DD 
with the story that they tricked him in order to kill him. Snape is 
not yet a good occlumens at age 16 and thus DD detects he is lying. 
Snape spills the beans and DD uses that to keep Snape from telling 
anyone about Lupin's furry little problem.  

Snape does not want Lily to think James did something heroic because 
he still believes that he did it to hide a secret from being exposed. 
Snape's body relaxing when Lily calls James an arrogant toerag is an 
indication to me that he was not as upset about the whole ordeal as 
we get to see of him in PoA. 

The joke was supposed to be on Sirius but it backfired on Snape when 
he failed to get the marauders into trouble because of it. 

And as soon as JKR comes out and openly state that Sirius indeed send 
Snape to the willow in an attempt to murder him, it was never so and 
the trick never materialized because Snape already knew. And James 
saved Snape from his own stupidity instead. 

JMHO

Dana

Last post on the subject because I can't convince someone that does 
not want to be convinced anyway. Interpretation is very personal and 
we will just have to respectfuly agree to disagree on the subject.