James and Intent And Snape

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 187055

Alla:
> 
> Okay, fair enough you think that by hexing each other in the hallway James and Snape were mutual bullies to each other?

Ceridwen:
No, I think they mutually hexed each other in the hallways.  When it got down to zeroing in on Snape and hexing him "because he exists," then it turns into bullying.  After DHs, I got the impression that James really disliked Snape from the first train ride and had it out for him.

Alla:
> And can I suggest one reason why Snape's name did not come up in the detention slips chosen **by Snape** to give Harry?

Ceridwen:
I think this is one area where we can speculate to our hearts' content.  *g*  We're not shown that Snape culled these cards, but we're not shown that he didn't.  Debate may last forever. ;)

> > Ceridwen:
> > James's behavior is less admirable to me in SWM.  He's supposed to be the Good Guy.
> 
> Alla:
*(snip)*
> You are saying it is totally okay for one teenager to hex people in the hallways, because well, he is going to join Death Eaters, but another teenager is supposed to just take it and not respond because he is a good guy and will join order of Phoenix? Could you please clarify?

Ceridwen:
I'm not talking about random hexing in the hallways there.  Most of the students seem to do it at one point or another, even in Harry's time.  Sure, breaking the rules - this was one of the first rules of Hogwarts that we learned, wasn't it?  But not bullying or intimidating.

I'm certainly *not* against self-defense.  That's counter-productive.  I'm talking again about the way James and Sirius seemed to target Snape when he wasn't bothering them.  The only canon explanation we have is that they did it "because he exists" which is not a good reason, in my opinion.  That's what put it over the top to bullying.  They saw him, they targeted him, they ganged up on him two to one, and the prefect in their group studiously ignored what they were doing.

And since this appears to have happened after Sirius set Snape up to run into a werewolf, the implication to me as a reader is that James and Sirius and, possibly, Remus and Peter (boy, Peter sure enjoyed it, didn't he?), think they can do whatever they want and Snape had better take it *or else.*  I can see it from about two directions here - that James & Co. did this to anyone they disliked in order to intimidate them, or that they specifically targeted Snape and only Snape.  Either way it's bullying, in my opinion, and that makes the Marauders bullies to me.

My aside was that we can happily speculate about the hexings in the hallways, who did what, whether this person was unlucky enough to get caught every time or only sometimes got caught, if it was a one-on-one vendetta or if they did it to everyone equally, if it was just schoolkid high spirits or something else, etc.  I don't think that, given what we do have in canon, we'll ever come to a consensus.

Ceridwen.