canon (was Re: Snape's Culpability in the Prank (WAS: James and

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 181282

 
> Mike:
> Deserved what? Sirius was not speaking in hypotheticals here. So, 
> what happened to Snape that he "deserved"?

Potioncat:
Here's the canon, not exactly as I remember it, but as it's printed:
Chapter 18, PoA:
Remus is speaking,
"He has been telling DD all year that I am not to be trusted. He has 
his reasons...you see. Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly 
killed him, a trick which involed me--"

Black made a derisive noise.

"It served him right," he sneered. Sneaking around, trying to find 
out what we were up to...hoping he could get us expelled...."

....(Remus again)"your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went 
after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life...Snape 
glimpsed me though at the end of the tunnel.

Now Chapter 21, in the hospital wing:

Snape is speaking: "Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at 
the age of sixteen," he breathed. "You haven't forgotten that, 
Heamdmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill *me*."

"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus, said DD quietly.
======================================================================

Lupin says the trick could have killed Snape and Black says 
"It served him right."

That sounds to me that Black thinks the trick was justified. The 
actual consequences arent' mentioned. What is mentioned is that Snape 
could have been killed. It's said twice, because Lupin adds that 
James could have been killed too. So, now having had a number of 
years to look back, (and not all of them in Azkaban)  Black feels 
Severus deserved to be nearly killed, and Black doesn't even show 
remorse that his friend's life was at risk at well.

Now jump forward to DD and Snape. Either DD remembers that Sirius did 
not intend to kill Severus,  or DD remembers that a young Severus was 
also capable of murder, but has been redeemed.

I still think we had two teenaged boys who acted just like stupid, 
impulsive boys. Since no one was hurt, they deserved the same 
punishment. Neither were blameless.

Had Severus or James been harmed, Sirius would have deserved severe 
punishment. (IMHO)

When we get caught up in this argument, we all bring in our own 
guesses at how things transpired. We don't know a lot. We don't know 
what Severus thought was going on, or why he went in. We don't know 
how the conversation when on. We don't know what happened when the 
boys were caught, or how they were caught, or how Lily knew anything 
about it.

We do know, years later, when Minerva thinks Harry tricked Draco into 
thinking there was a dragon in the castle, she punished all of them 
for being out, and Gryffindor worse for tricking Draco.