Snape's the Rescuer - Really?/Justice to Snape

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 170718

Lanval wrote:
> Ah, but he didn't say they were being controlled by a Dark Wizard, 
> did he? He said they were Confunded, confused, befuddled. Which 
> isn't the same as Imperio'd. 
> 
> The way I see it, Snape has several options here.
> 
> 1. He says nothing about the kids and accepts Fudge's suggestion 
> that it was Black who caused the injury, because being overcome by 
> three third years would be embarrassing for Snape, Dueling Master.
> 
> He might thus look more heroic to Fudge -- but he still has to take 
> into consideration that three underage wizards's testimony *might* 
> influence Fudge's opinion. Same reason why he gags Sirius IMO. He 
> can't take any chances. His remark about hoping that DD will not 
> cause problems would support that as well.
> 
> 
> 2. He tells the truth, hoping the kids get expelled. No added 
> heroism, plus some embarrassment, but the joyful possibility of 
> perhaps seeing the last of them.
> 
> 3. He tells the truth, but adds the lie that the kids were 
> Confunded. It may still not cut out the embarrassment factor 
> entirely, and he probably won't get them expelled that way, but the 
> kids being Confunded will weigh heavily in his favor when it comes 
> to contradicting their story. 
> 
> Plus, he can work out some extra punishment for them by stressing 
> their rule breaking and trying to go after Black.
> 
> He chooses 3.
> 
> Really, to me Snape's actions, be it in the Shack when he screams at 
> Hermione, or in the Hospital Wing, strongly suggest Snape realizing 
> that there *is* a case to be made for Sirius, that there *is* 
> reasonable doubt concerning his guilt -- and Snape cannot let that 
> happen.
>
Carol responds:
Or the Confundus Charm idea could be self-delusion similar to Lupin's
belief that Sirius Black, whom he knows to be an Animagus, used Dark
Magic that he learned from Voldemort to get past the Dementors at
Azkaban and again on the Hogwarts. Both are convinced (until Lupin
sees Peter Pettigrew on the map) that Sirius Black is the traitor and
murderer; both believe that Peter Pettigrew is dead; both are
comfortable with that version of events and work to preserve them,
Lupin by concealing information about Sirius Black that allows him to
enter Hogwarts twice with a twelve-inch knife; Snape by interrupting
Lupin at a point that might have shown his view of events to be wrong.
And meanwhile, Sirius Black has taken justice into his own hands,
terrorizing the school and trying to murder a rat and doesn't want
Lupin delaying matters by explaining to Harry what's going on. Lupin's
words about a "schoolboy grudge" have exactly the wrong effect. Thjey
incense Snape instead of getting him to listen to their story. Not one
of them is behaving sensibly; all of them believe what they want to
believe.

Before he enters the Shrieking Shack, Snape has no way of knowing that
Pettigrew is alive, and even then he only hears that Pettigrew, whom
he "knows" to be dead, was an Animagus, smaller than the others, along
with Black's incoherent, "The rat! Look at the rat!"--not enough,
especially given Snape's animosity and his belief that he's saving the
kids from a werewolf and a murderer (whom James Potter was too
"arrogant" not to suspect of being a traitor) to convince him that his
version of events is in some respects inaccurate. (After all, Black
has twice broken into the school and slashed up portraits and
bedcurtains, Lupin appears to be helping him into the school and
helping Harry get into Hogsmeade undetected, Lupin has rushed out to
the Shrieking Shack without his potion--*of course,* Snape wants to be
proven right and be a hero at the same time, in essence undoing his
previous humiliation--and peril--in the Shrieking Shack. He's making
things right in his own mind.)

If it weren't for his antagonistic relationship with MWPP and his
yearlong distrust of Lupin, not to mention the version of events that
has been ingrained in his mind for twelve years, Snape might have been
able to put two and two together and conclude that Pettigrew was
Scabbers from the tidbits of information that he hears. But since he
did not hear an outright statement that Pettigrew was a rat Animagus
and is in the room with him, and since such a revelation would be much
less satisfactory than having Black as the traitorous Secret Keeper
out to murder Harry (not to mention that the whole story is so
preposterous that DD is sure that Fudge won't believe it), Snape would
not have believed it without seeing it confirmed, just as the kids
didn't believe it until Lupin and Black transformed Scabbers into
Pettigrew before their eyes. (I don't think he fully believed it until
he saw Sirius Black transform into a dog in front of him at the end of
GoF, and perhaps saw Wormtail at Voldemort's side, at which point, he
could retain his hatred of Sirius Black for the so-called Prank but
would have had to let go of his precious delusions about Black being
the Secret Keeper and Potter being too "arrogant" to suspect him.)

I agree that Snape *wants* to believe that Sirius Black is the
"murderin' traitor" and that Lupin is his werewolf accomplice. The
Confundus Charm nicely supports that view and allows him to continue
deluding himself for a little longer, at the same time getting the
kids off the hook for attacking a teacher and preventing them from
being expelled. So I don't think that Snape is lying, exactly. He's
presenting the version of events that he wants to believe. Only when
Dumbledore hints to him that Harry and Hermione have been using the
Time Turner with his permission does Snape storm out, recognizing defeat.

Carol, who thinks that Snape's disappointment had nothing to do with
the Order of Merlin and everything to do with being wrong about Black
(and Lupin), whom he wanted to see in the worst possible light