Two Plot Problems

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 187632

Mike wrote:
> > I think Lupin knows its Snape's curse. His statement about Snape being famous for it implies some history there. So I would think that Lupin has seen Snape cast it in the past and has seen someone do some amount of healing on the resulting cuts. In fact, in the manner in which Lupin raises the subject, it almost sounds as if Snape invented this and tried it out at school on someone. 
> >   
> 
Bart replied:
>     Like maybe James Potter (it was part of the "Snape's Worst Memory" scene, but I don't recall if it was the OOP or the DH version)?

>
Carol responds:
As I've said before, I don't think it was the same spell. The cutting hex that Teen!Severus uses in OoP does no great damage and was certainly not Dark Magic beyond the power of Madam Pomfrey (or even, possibly, James himself) to heal. We don't hear any incantation, either; Severus apparently casts the hex nonverbally, so even if it was Sectumsempra, Remus could not have heard the incantation. But I don't think it was; I think that Sectumsempra, clearly labeled "for enemies," was invented after the SWM as retaliation. But Severus could not have used it at school without being expelled, and Lupin didn't know that Snape was a DE, so it could not have been his trademark spell. We're just dealing with yet another inconsistency here. 

FWIW, the SWM is given in full in OoP; in DH, Harry stays well away from the action, not wanting to hear or see his father's bullying behavior. 

Carol, with apologies for repeating old arguments