Dark Magic WAS: Re:help with JKR quote/ Children's reactions

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 176557

Prep0strus wrote:
<snip>
<snip> I am not taking Snape's word for it.  I think he said
> that off the cuff to try to get his hands on something of harry's, to
> find out its secret, to make it seem like something he could
> confiscate.  Also, I don't think he can make a 'diagnosis' that
> quickly.  So I trust neither his words and motivation, nor his ability
> in this instance. ,snip>

Carol responds:

I think we can safely grant Snape's ability to detect Dark magic given
the scene with the ring Horcrux in "the Prince's Tale" and DD's
statements about Snape's knowledge of the subject. He really is a Dark
Arts expert (and he's sneering a bit about Lupin's supposed "area of
expertise," knowing, I'm pretty sure, that he's more of an authority
on most aspects of DADA with the possible exception of minor Dark
creatures). 

Whether he really thought that the map had Dark magic in it was
another matter. His concern at the moment is not catching Harry with
an object that will get him in trouble. He's concerned that the object
will get him into Hogsmeade, where he might encounter the man that
both Lupin and Snape think betrayed the Potters and is out to murder
Harry.

Moreover, snape has called in Lupin for a reason--not because of his
expertise in DADA but because he suspects him (rightly) of being one
of the manufacturers. He also suspects that Lupin, whom he believes to
be in league with Sirius Black, has himself given Harry the map--to
get him into Hogsmeade.

Snape is partly right and partly wrong. The map does show a way into
Hogsmeade and Lupin is one of the manufacturers. Lupin is also
concealing important information about Black. He is not, however,
directly aiding him or helping him get into the school, and he has not
given Harry the map. He lies to Snape about the map being a Zonko's
product; oddly, both Snape and Harry know he's lying but neither says
anything. Harry, in fact, seems to approve the lie as it gets him off
the hook with Snape. 

At any rate, we can't take what Snape says about the map's containing
Dark Magic at face value here because of the Lupin/Snape subtext.
Neither fully trusts the other. Snape has, in fact, excellent reason
for his mistrust, considering that Lupin is Black's old friend and has
not stopped him from getting into the school and endangering the
students. Lupin doesn't want to admit to Harry that he's one of the
manufacturers, merely stating that he knows them.

Whether Lupin has any reason to distrust Snape, who is preparing his
wolfsbane potion perfectly and watching out for Harry, is unclear.
Perhaps he still retains his old dislike or thinks, based on Neville's
fear of Snape, that Snape is "bullying" the Gryffindors. At any rate,
IMO, it's Lupin who's chiefly in the wrong in that scene. Snape's
"Dark magic" comment is probably either a dig at him or an attempt to
ferret out information about the map.

Carol, who has to get offline because of a thunderstorm and
consequently can't supply canon or repair any flaws in reasoning in
this post