Was Ministry going to punish Snape if kills Sirius on site? WAS: On perfection o

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 169027

>> Julie:
<SNIP>
> BTW, Snape COULD have killed Sirius then and there, and 
> totally gotten away with it. Sirius is a wanted killer, 
> Snape knows that and knows the Ministry is not going to
> punish him in any way for taking out such a threat (didn't
> the Wanted poster even say "Dead or Alive"?). So *why* 
> oh why doesn't he?

Alla:

Is it possible that Ministry IS going to punish him and dear Snape 
does not want that? Ministry may be trigger happy to get Sirius to 
dementors, but I cannot find any canon references that Muggle or 
Magical community was allowed to shoot Sirius on sight, no questions 
asked, etc.

Does not mean those references do not exist of course, but I would 
love to see them before accepting the fact that Snape will not be 
punished for killing Sirius on sight. As far as I am concerned, that 
is precisely why he does not do it and delivers Sirius to the 
castle, hoping Dumbledore would not interfere with Ministry 
proceedings. Oooops.

So, here is the canon I found about Sirius initial introduction and 
how they want him to be captured, etc.


I see no references to **Dead or Alive** in these quotes, but maybe 
I just missed them.


 "Harry sat down between Dudley and Uncle Vernon, a large, beefy man 
with very little neck and a lot of mustache. Far from wishing Harry 
a happy birthday, none of the Dursleys made any sign that they had 
noticed Harry enter the room, but Harry was far too used to this to 
care. He helped himself to a piece of toast and then looked up at 
the reporter on the television, who was halfway through a report on 
an escaped convict:
 "... The public is warned that Black is armed and extremely 
dangerous. A
special hot line has been set up, and any sighting of Black should be
reported immediately."– PoA, ch.2, p.18, british edition, paperback.

Alla:

So, in these quote muggles are encouraged to report about Sirius, 
are they not? They are not being told that he is armed and dangerous 
and needs to be killed on sight.

Here is another quote:
" Stan had unfurled a copy of the Daily Prophet and was now reading 
with his tongue between his teeth. A large photograph of a sunken-
faced man with long, matted hair blinked slowly at Harry from the 
front page. He looked strangely familiar. "That man!" Harry said, 
forgetting his troubles for a moment. "He was on the Muggle news!"
Stanley turned to the front page and chuckled. "Sirius Black," he 
said, nodding. "'Course 'e was on the Muggle news, Neville, where 
you been?" He gave a superior sort of chuckle at the blank look on 
Harry's face, removed the front page, and handed it to Harry.
"You oughta read the papers more, Neville."
Harry held the paper up to the candlelight and read:
BLACK STILL AT LARGE
 Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held 
in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic 
confirmed today.
 "We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of 
Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical 
community to remain calm." Fudge has been criticized by some members 
of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle 
Prime Minister of the crisis.
 "Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said irritable Fudge.
"Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or 
Muggle.
I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a 
word of
Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it-who'd believe him 
if
he did?"
 While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of
metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical 
community
lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black
murdered thirteen people with a single curse.
 Harry looked into the shadowed eyes of Sirius Black, the only part 
of
the sunken face that seemed alive. Harry had never met a vampire, 
but he
had seen pictures of them in his Defense Against the Dark Arts 
classes,
and Black, with his waxy white skin, looked just like one." – PoA, 
p.33-34, british edition, paperback.

Alla:
All I can see in this quote is that Magical community lives in fear, 
etc. Can anybody please refer me to the page that says that good law 
abiding witches and wizards were allowed to shoot Sirius with no 
consequences for themselves?
Thanks ;)