[HPforGrownups] Re: Filling in the blanks: Snape, DD and Snuffles

[Shelley Gardner]

No: HPFGUIDX 190418


>> I don't think it was a matter of Snape knowing that Sirius was innocent
>> or not. It's a matter of forgiveness. The bad blood that was between
>> Sirius and Snape happened while James was yet alive, and Snape is just
>> continuing to hold a grudge over it. The death of James was irrelevant-
>> it just meant the Snape had to continue his bad attitude towards those
>> still living- Harry and Sirius. Snape never separates James from Sirius,
>> nor does he separate James from Harry. I think he would have been bitter
>> to his dying breath, even if he had lived long enough to see Harry end
>> Voldemort for good. I don't think there would have ever been an event
>> that would have changed his mind from that negativity.
>>
>> Shelley
>
> Julie:
> An apology from Sirius, perhaps? Seriously (no pun intended),
> it was far from a one-way street. I doubt anything would have
> changed Sirius's mind about Snape either, even if Sirius had
> remained alive to learn all that Snape sacrificed (including
> his life) to help Dumbledore and Harry defeat Voldemort. They
> both saw the other through their adolescent-colored glasses,
> and neither ever considered taking those glasses off to see
> if anything had changed in the intervening years.

Well, let's look at Snape in those interviening years- he became a Death 
Eater. Death Eaters did nasty things- torture and kill innocent people. 
Snape reported to Voldemort a Prophesy that lead to the death of 
Sirius's two best friends, and almost their child whom he was Godfather 
to. Seems to me that Sirius had every right not to trust the ADULT 
Snape, and that it wasn't adolescent glasses he was looking through. 
Even in Azkaban, we know he got the paper (that's where he saw Wormtail 
in a photo of the Weasley's on vacation) and no doubt he read of Snape 
on trial after Voldy disappeared, and subsequent news that he had been 
given a free pass on being guilty of the crimes he committed.
> I also have to say that I think Snape hated Sirius very
> much for himself and based on Sirius's own actions, not
> because he couldn't separate Sirius from James. (Harry is
> obviously another matter altogether.)
>
> Julie
Sirius's bullying actions were only during his adolescent years. By my 
5th year class reunion of high school, most of the really immature kids 
had, shall we say, grown out of their childish stupidity. By 10 years, 
it was clear how much maturing everyone had done. Here's Sirius- after 
he graduates school, he is trusted enough that the Potters made him best 
man at their wedding, Godfather to Harry, and Secret Keeper to protect 
three lives. Snape had no reason to keep hating Sirius, especially after 
Sirius was unjustly accused and spend many years in Azkaban. He have no 
evidence that beyond school, that he did anything to further provoke 
Snape, and yet still Snape doesn't give up his childish grudge, still 15 
years later. That's a long time to hate someone without fresh incidents 
to renew it. Sirius had very good reason to not like or trust the adult 
Snape, but I don't see any reason for Snape's adult behavior toward 
Sirius. The point at which I was getting at is that I think Snape is 
just a bitter person, that he doesn't choose to move on and live his own 
life, but we see that Sirius did, right up until he was imprisoned for a 
crime he didn't commit.

There might be an explanation for it Snape's bitterness in canon- and 
that is he needed to have a mental front to hide the truth from 
Voldemort. Forever keeping in the front of his mind hatred toward James 
and Sirius might be what Voldemort would read, shielding the truth from 
him about being a double spy. It would be memories that had strong 
emotions with it, and that is what he wanted to project about himself. 
He didn't want to project to Voldy his regret about Lily, any remorse 
about becoming a Death Eater to begin with, or anything that would have 
made him seem disloyal, especially not making friends or making peace 
with someone who was a known Order of the Phoenix member.

Shelley