Prank and various responsibilities WAS: Re: Marietta

[Dana]

No: HPFGUIDX 169735

Carol responds:
<snip>
> But what I want to ask now, not just of Alla but of anyone who's
> interested, is why Severus would *need* James to save his life if he
> already knew and intended to use a spell that could subdue or kill a
> werewolf. If he'd already invented Sectumsempra, why not use that--
> not as murder, but to save his own life? Sirius says Severus 
> knew "more "curses than half the seventh-years" even as an eleven-
> year-old, and by fifteen if not earlier, he was inventing his old 
> spells, and yet at sixteen he needed James to save him, and 
> honestly believes that James saved his life (even if it was just 
> because he got "cold feet")? 
<snip>

Dana:
Well I'm not specifically thinking Snape went into the Shack because 
he had the intention to kill Lupin but just for argument sack; Didn't 
Snape hate James's guts for saving his life? It seems to imply he'd 
rather not have James safed him at all. So maybe Snape at the time 
didn't feel he'd needed saving at all and only later realized that he 
indeed could have died and that James indeed saved his life. 

But in respect to Snape knowing more curses and such doesn't it want 
to imply that Snape was intelligent enough to put two and two 
together? Maybe he indeed had a tendency to come to wrong conclusions 
like was implied in the movie but I doubt it. The OWL exam might not 
have included more then just the question on how to recognize a 
werewolf but Snape setting up the essay for the third year students, 
does imply that more information then just this question was taught 
at Hogwarts and that Snape himself was taught in the same way as he 
taught the third years in PoA. 

It was only Hermione who made the link or at least of what we see in 
canon but Snape thought it would be enough information to reveal 
Lupin's condition. And that is what bugs me because Lupin does say 
that Snape was interested to know where Lupin went every month and 
that he was accompanied by the school nurse on one of these monthly 
disappearances. Lupin specifically implies that Snape already had 
this information before Sirius tricked him and to me it even implies 
that Sirius knew Snape wanted to know more about Lupin because Lupin 
states that Sirius thought it amusing to tell Snape that all he had 
to do was prod the knot to be able to follow Lupin into the tunnel. 

Personally of what I have seen of Snape's character I have totally no 
problem with the idea of him shifting the blame on to someone else. I 
believe he ran to DD immediately after James pulled him out of the 
Willow to claim Sirius (and maybe James and Lupin) tried to kill him 
and maybe it is just speculation but like Harry, Sirius doesn't seem 
like he would make a good occlumens. Maybe DD did not talk to Sirius 
which I doubt and James did all the talking but to me it doesn't seem 
that DD was all that convinced by the claim Snape made, not then and 
not in PoA, as he replies not with a conformation but with the 
statement that his memory was a good as it always was. 

So my personal speculation is that Sirius dared Snape to face Lupin. 
That Snape already had made the link and that Sirius tricked him by 
showing Snape, Lupin was a harmless werewolf and that he (Sirius) 
could get in and out without being harmed at all. Or maybe Sirius 
used Peter for that part. If then Sirius played the coward tune with 
Snape then it was a sure thing Snape would try. And then James comes 
up finding Sirius out side the willow laughing his head off, of how 
scared out of his wits Snape will be if he sees Lupin is not that 
harmless (with Sirius totally ignorant to the actual dangers Snape 
could face) and then James realizing that Snape could get killed and 
running after him. 

That is a scenario that I could believe of what actually happened on 
that night. The coward thing is a major issue between Snape and 
Sirius and we see it is a major issue with Snape even so much so that 
he loses control over it, even to the point that he wants to hurt 
Harry for it really badly but also that he wants to explain himself 
towards Bella because she implies he is a coward for always hiding 
behind his orders and in my personal believe the true reason for him 
taking the vow. 

Then it would not actually be Sirius betraying Lupin's secret but 
almost revealing that he, James and Peter became illegal animagi and 
that they visited Lupin in the shack and later roam the grounds with 
him and this would be a reason for them getting expelled if DD found 
out. So I believe the story was slightly changed so that the animagi 
thing was kept hidden. For instance that Sirius or Peter never went 
in so far that they actually encountered Lupin and that they just 
played a trick on Snape to make him think they did. Sirius still 
betrayed Lupin because he challenged Snape into facing Lupin and 
Lupin in the least could have caused another human to be what he so 
much hates to be. 

It is just speculation but that I could believe that Snape made the 
choices he made because he did not want to be considered a coward and 
that his actions in Spinner's end were directed in the same way 
because Snape never faced up to his own responsibility in this 
nightly event and thus not learning how to control this part of 
himself. I could see why he would still be very revengeful towards 
the marauders or why he did see it as a murder attempt while it 
actually was Snape himself who made himself do it.  

James saving Snape might have felt to Snape somewhat the same as Lily 
intervening with the Marauders bullying him, because it doesn't make 
Snape look better but worse and why he hates James for it so much and 
DD not expelling the marauders after this events made Snape chose to 
take matters into his own hands. 

JMHO

Dana