student!Snape keeping Lupin's secret (was Re: Sirius as a dog)

[littleleahstill]

No: HPFGUIDX 181165

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214" 
<dumbledore11214 at ...> wrote:

> > zgirnius:
> > Except there is all the canon Leah and I cited showing 'not 
> > individual' attacks by the Marauders, on Snape and on others.
> 
> Alla:
> 
> I am sorry what "all the canon" on this issue?  Obviously there is 
> pensieve scene and you brought up the detention about James and 
> Sirius hexing that other student and....? What else? I am sorry if 
> missed another canon that was cited :(

In message 181145, I quoted what Lupin had to say about attacks on 
Snape, when he was discussing SWM with Harry.  

Actually, there is another argument for regular bullying of Snape by 
the Marauders as a gang and  for no comeback from Slytherins on 
Snape's behalf which can be drawn from that discussion.  

Harry is very disturbed by what he has seen in SWM, and by what it 
makes him think about James.  He takes some risks to talk to Sirius 
and Lupin, and clearly both men understand what Harry is feeling, 
because they are silent at first and then ask Harry not to judge 
James on his actions at 15. 

If this was an unusual one-off attack by the gang on Snape, perhaps 
as a result of the Prank, as Carol has previously suggested, it 
would be as easy as anything to give Harry reassurance by 
saying, "Yes, we were gits on that occasion, Harry, but the fact is, 
it only happened that once because....and otherwise it was just 
hexing between your dad and Snape one to one".

Similarly they could say, "Yes, that would have looked really bad, 
Harry, and we're not proud of it, but what you've got to realise is 
that it was just one incident in a whole series of attacks by us 
against Slyterins and by Snape's Slytherin gang against anyone of  
us.  Rest assured Harry, they acted  in the same way to us".

Either explanation would have given Harry a lot of reassurance, and 
there is no reason why Sirius and Lupin would not have said it if it 
were true, as it puts them in a better light too. 

The fact that they don't give Harry those sort of explanations 
suggest that they're not true, and to their credit, Sirius and Lupin 
are being honest with Harry.  Harry actually says '"he just attacked 
Snape for no good reason..."' and neither Sirius or Lupin give a 
reason like I've suggested above.  What we get from Lupin is the 
comments I quoted in my earlier post, about never telling James and 
Sirius to lay off Snape, and never telling them they were 'out of 
order' and Sirius' comment that Lupin sometimes made them ashamed of 
their treatment of Snape.

None of that reads like there was a gang war going on.       


>> >  > Alla:
> > > Um, that can be the reaction of people who are afraid that 
Snape 
> > > will get up and start hexing them with Sectusemptra left and 
> right, 
> > > no?
> > 
> > zgirnius:
> > That's a mighty timid reaction to a guy who has already been 
> > disarmed. And as has been mentioned, it seems unlikely that, 
> having 
> > formed such an expectation in the minds of his fellow students, 
> > Severus would still be around at school.
> 
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Eh, why? You have examples of people who were expelled by having a 
> reputation of incredibly good at hexing people? In my mind that 
does 
> not translate in teachers knowing it necessarily AND even if they 
> did, it does not translate in expulsion IMO.

Leah:
I made the comment about Snape being in serious trouble for 
Sectumsempra, in reply to a post of Alla's, in which it was 
suggested that the watching crowd in SWM might have been 
apprehensive because Snape might have been going to use 
Sectumsempra 'right and left'.  To clarify, I read that as implying 
the same sort of uncontrolled use of Sectumsempra as Harry uses on 
Draco.  If Snape had done anything approaching that to a crowd of 
bystanders, he would almost certainly have been expelled.  I wasn't 
meaning to imply simple hexing would get someone expelled.

Alla

(snipped)

 You mentioned Mary 
> McDonald, was anybody expelled for doing whatever was done to her, 
> whatever it was we agree that it was evil?

Leah: Nothing was actually done to Mary Macdonald.  Lily says that 
Mulciber 'tried' to do something to her.  Since we don't actually 
know what it was, we only have Lily's word that it was 'evil'.  I 
would like to know what was attempted before I agree.
 
> 
> Alla:
> 
> So, if you believe that Malfoy took Snape under his wing, which I 
> definitely believe as well, you think that he showed his patronage 
> selectively or something?
> 
> You do not think that Malfoy would have done whatever it takes to 
> show to those Marauders don't you dare messing with my Severus? 
> 
> I mean, I am sure Marauders did not back up, but do you doubt that 
> Malfoy indeed would have taken a stand whether we see it in 
Pensieve 
> scene or not?

Leah: As Montavilla and I have already said, Malfoy was only at 
school with Snape for a short period because of the age gap between 
them and was not at Hogwarts during the time of SWM.  Possibly 
Lucius did protect Snape for Snape's first year or couple of years, 
we don't know.  There's clearly some connection between the Malfoys 
and Snape and I would have really liked more backstory on that, but 
Sirius' 'lapdog' comment could refer to schooldays or to later 
patronage of Snape by Malfoy post-Hogwarts, we don't know.  We also 
don't know whether if Malfoy did protect Snape at Hogwarts, Lucius 
did it for the honour of Slytherin, because he liked Snape or 
because he was getting something in return from Snape.  He's 
unlilely to have been doing it from the goodness of his heart.    


Leah