Prank and various responsibilities WAS: Re: Marietta

[Dana]

No: HPFGUIDX 169667

colebiancardi:

> sure Snape had free will; so did Sirius when he set Snape up. So 
> did James when he saved Snape's life.  Sirius DID mean for harm to 
> come to Snape;  James recognized it and Lupin did as well - Lupin 
> thought it was not Sirius's shining moment there.
> 
> It was a trick;  Snape told the truth there; Lupin backed him up.  

Dana:
Well it is half the truth actually because James and Lupin where not 
in on it (I do not know about Peter as it is not mentioned) and Lupin 
specifically stated; "of course Snape tried it"  specifically meaning 
that is was Snape's own choice to go and pass the willow, something 
that was specifically forbidden to go near by the Head Master 
himself. 

But I will try to explain why *I believe* it was Snape's own 
responsibility and not Sirius's, with an analogy as it is actually 
quite similar. I will ask some specific questions and give my own 
personal opinion by answering. You can do this too if you see it 
differently, of course. 

Hagrid was tricked into telling the secret on how to get passed 
Fluffy. 

1) Was Hagrid robed of his free choice to reveal the secret? My 
opinion – no, he wasn't he still should have held is tong because 
Fluffy was no longer just Hagrid's pet. 

2) Was Hagird responsible for the choice Quirrell made to go after 
the stone when he knew how to get passed Fluffy? My opinion - No, he 
wasn't because Quirrell already wanted the stone with or without 
Hagrid's information. 

3) Was Hagrid responsible for Harry's choice to protect the stone 
when Harry found out how to get passed Fluffy? My opinion – No, he 
wasn't because Harry already wanted to protect the stone and stop who 
ever was after it. 

4)Was Hagrid responsible for Harry having a way to get passed the 
stone because he gave Harry a flute? My opinion – No, because it was 
Harry himself who figured out he could use the flute, just as he used 
the visibility cloak. 

5) Did Hagrid's intentions of revealing the secret have any bearing 
on Harry's decision to go after who ever wanted to steal the stone? – 
No, because intentional or accidental it did not make one bit of 
difference in Harry's decision to go anyway. 

6) Did Hagrid revealing the secret had anything to do with Harry 
finding out that 1) DD was hiding the stone 2) that someone was after 
it 3) that Fluffly was protecting the door leading to it? My opinion –
 no, because all this information Harry found out on his own (with 
help of Hermione and Ron of course). 

7) So was Hagrid responsible for Harry going after whoever wanted to 
steal the stone, when he learned from Hagrid how to get passed 
Fluffy? No, he wasn't and therefore if Harry had gotten killed, it 
was still not Hagrid that would have been responsible for Harry's 
death even if he revealed the secret of how to get passed Fluffy. 
Hagrid betrayed DD's secret and him revealing this information had 
consequences but it does not mean that it automatically makes him 
responsible for the individual choices each person made. 

The same goes for Sirius. Trick or no trick, Sirius did not influence 
Snape's reason's for going, even if Sirius would have played it on 
Snape's biggest weakness (for instance that he was to cowardly to 
go), then it was still Snape's decision to proof Sirius wrong.  
Sirius intentions had no influence on Snape wanting to know what 
Lupin was up to or wanting to know why Lupin was hidden behind a 
murderous tree (or whatever other reason Snape had for going) 
Snape was already tailing Lupin and he already wanted to know and 
just like Harry, Snape could already have found out all the 
information he wanted too, if he just had put the monthly 
disappearances of Lupin on a calendar and hold it next to a lunar 
chart. 

Snape made his own decision and he blamed the marauders for his own 
stupidity in stead of taking responsibility for not being able to 
control his urges, whatever they might have been. Sirius 
responsibility do not lie with what Snape chose to do after hearing 
the information about how he could get to Lupin. He was only 
responsible for Snape being able to get passed the willow and with 
that he betrayed a secret he promised to keep just like Hagrid. 

To me it is nothing more nothing less. It was Snape himself that made 
the choice to go there that night and it would have been Snape's own 
fault if he had gotten more then he could chew, just like Harry got 
more then he could chew. Both were saved from their own stupidity by 
others but Sirius's intentions had nothing to do with it and for this 
alone I blame Snape for going after Lupin, 20 years after the fact 
while it was in fact Snape himself that put himself in harms way and 
I blame Snape for wanting to get Sirius's soul sucked while it was 
again Snape's own decision to go. Snape did not die that night and he 
should have thanked James on bended knee that he saved him from his 
own stupidity but instead Snape is still out there taking his revenge 
on people that did not make Snape do anything he did not want to do 
himself. 

JMHO

Dana