What Did Snape Know? (Was: Prank and various responsibilities)

[wynnleaf]

No: HPFGUIDX 169701


> > wynnleaf
> > Yes, Snape knew that he'd find Lupin if he went in the tunnel, but if
> > Snape already knew Lupin was a werewolf, why go in at *all?*  Of
> > course he didn't know Lupin was transforming into a werewolf in 
> there.
> >  We haven't got the slightest bit of canon that says he did, either. 
> > And it makes it just ridiculous that he'd go into that tree if he 
> knew
> > a werewolf was on the other side.
> <SNIP>
> 
> 
> Alla:
> 
> It may sound ridiculous to you, but it sounds completely IC as I see 
> Snape. It is a speculation of course, but we **do** IMO have support 
> for it - Snape giving the same essay to the class for the **specific** 
> purpose to recognise the werewolf, same werewolf, that he was dealing 
> with decades ago.

wynnleaf
I'm clearly missing something.  What do you mean by "the same essay to
the class?"  What "same essay?"  Snape tells Lupin's DADA class to
read a particular chapter in the DADA textbook about werewolves. 
Where do we see that chapter elsewhere that makes it "the same essay?"
 Are you relating this to Snape writing his exam answers in the DADA
OWL exam in the Worst Memory scene?  

I may be completely misunderstanding you, but I'm guessing here that
you're drawing some sort of correlation between there being *one*
question on the DADA OWL exam -- an exam for which Snape apparently
writes long answers for all the questions  -- and the fact that Snape
had the students in 3rd year DADA class read the 3rd year text's
chapter on werewolves.  So what?  You're saying that it's suspicious
that Snape answered the werewolf question well on his DADA OWL?  And
that therefore he likely knew Lupin was a werewolf?  

Based on this logic, we must assume that the year Lupin taught at
Hogwarts, no DADA students taking their OWLs were able to correctly
answer a question on werewolves, because otherwise, they, like Snape
supposedly did, should have been able to figure out that Lupin was a
werewolf.  Since no one other than Hermione figured it out, should we
then assume that OWL level students (hey, not to mention that year's
6th and 7th years), were all completely unable to answer OWL level
questions on werewolves?  

Or is it only Snape who would have the amazing perspicacity to both
answer a DADA exam question on werewolves correctly *and* be assumed
to recognize Lupin was a werewolf? 

Just remember, for an entire academic year, *no* student other than
Hermione figured out that Lupin was a werewolf.  That includes the 6th
and 7th year students, as well as the students in the DADA class that
saw Lupin's boggart. 

Alla
> It may mean nothing that he was reading the same essay, it may though 
> mean that he recognised who Lupin is and still went.

wynnleaf
Here's where I must be totally missing something.  What "same essay"
was Snape reading?  

Alla
> Why? Here is one speculation. Because he does not think of werewolfs 
> as human beings with terrible diseases. Because he thinks of them as 
> dark creatures that needed to be killed and killing one of those dark 
> creatures, even if in reality it is just another boy, who is ill IMO, 
> can prove that he is a Dark art expert and deserves a medal or 
> something.
> 
> 
> Because he was a bigot in his teens and Lupin's life meant nothing to 
> him . Before prank of course.

wynnleaf,
Wow, that's a leap.  We go from Snape knowing Lupin was a werewolf
before he entered the tunnel (directly contradicted by Lupin, by the
way, as I pointed out in my last post -- Lupin said, "from that time
on he knew what I was"), to Snape actually wanting to *kill* Lupin the
werewolf -- directly contradicted by Sirius, by the way, who said
Snape was trying to get them expelled. 

wynnleaf




 
> 
> So, yeah, I think it is very plausible that Snape knew and still went 
> for the specific purpose to kill Remus.
> 
> We shall see - not that long to wait to find out.
> 
> JMO,
> 
> Alla
>