James and Intent

[jkoney65]

No: HPFGUIDX 186997

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
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> jkoney: 
> > We see that it is Snape in SWM who draws his wand first, not James. Sirius doesn't cast a spell. So it is one on one. Not two on one. While James is apparently more skilled with a wand (drawing faster the first time and flipping Snape upside down after he's been attacked from behind while Snape had his wand out).
> 
> Carol responds:
> I don't think so. The narrator, speaking from Harry's pov, says that James started it all simply because Sirius said he was bored. Severus draws his wand because James and Sirius are standing over him, apparently with their wands out--a defensive reaction "as if he were expecting an attack." Severus has to drop his bag and plunge his hand inside his robes, and even though the narrator notes that he reacted extremely fast, James has the advantage. He shouts "Expelliarmus!" which would have been pointless if his wand weren't already out. And Sirius follows immediately, hitting the Severus with Impedimenta as he dives for his wand. That's two on one in my view. 

jkoney:
Actually the text says they stood up. It doesn't say they drew their wands. 

Snape went for his wand and James disarmed him. Sirius laughted. Then when Snape went for his wand an Impedimenta was cast. I read it as James casting the spell, although after several readings I can see why you might think it was Sirius. Then they walked up to him.

It was Snape who walked towards them across the grass from the "shadows of the bushes." He could have easily walked away from them. He may have reacted so fast because he was looking for a fight. Otherwise why not walk away?

Carol:
Sirius, whom you say didn't cast any spells, hits Severus with Locomotor Mortis as soon as James releases him from the Levicorpus spell on Lily's orders. James removes that hex and has his argument with Lily. He orders Severus to apologize, and Severus makes the irremediable mistake of calling her a Mudblood. At that point, the bullying appears to be over. James is still arguing with Lily. But as soon as she leaves and Sirius comments that she probably thinks that James is arrogant, he turns his fury on Severus, again flips him upside down, and offers to take off his pants. Not exactly a fair fight, and definitely two on one.

jkoney
Yes at that point Sirius freezes him because he came up with his wand again. It's Snape at this point who is continuing the fight not James. Snape already showed that he's willing to attack from behind. 
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>  
> > jkoney:
> > First we are supposed to have canon to back up our point. In canon it says he changed. But that isn't enough we need to see it. So we get the graveyard scene, the comfort as he walked to Voldemort and the scene in the house playing with baby Harry. 
> > 
> > We see James unarmed charge to his death to try and buy time for his family to escape. "Greater love hath no man..."
> > 
> > If that isn't enough, then I don't think there are any amount of scenes or stories that will make you believe that James is good.
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> Carol responds:
> I want to know how and why he changed from the bullying James of the playground, whom Lily calls a toerag and even Sirius admits was an arrogant berk, to the loving father of that tiny scene.
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> The conversion is not believable. IMO. You're happy with it. I'm not.
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> It's as if we saw the Severus of that scene suddenly behaving as a loving father a few years later. I wouldn't believe that, either. (In his case, what we get is a remorseful Death Eater, with one scene in between. If he hadn't let the word "Mudblood" slip and he hadn't had DE friends, that might actually have happened, but in his case, too, we'd need a believable maturation.)
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jkoney:
Snape was already a junior DE at this point. He invents Sectumsempra, a spell that Snape himself calls Dark Magic in HBP. He's hanging around with other junior DE's (which he doesn't deny), calling other people mudblood, inventing dark spells, etc. If he really believes that is his worst memory than he is fooling himself. The amazing thing is that Lilly put up with it for so long. There aren't alot of Klan members who hang around with "niggers". In the magic world, it's not the color of your skin, but your blood that makes you unworthy of living.