I agree.

10char

 

Maybe so, but consider a situation where one person has to deal with several bullies if not more.

Bullying is a serious issue that shouldn't be dismissed by saying "oh you just need to toughen up".

Pranks are a form of bullying, because to prank someone is to humiliate them.

That being said, fanfics shouldn't be turned into essays on the issue. I'm more interested in the actual plot and characters of a given story rather than the author's views on bullying.

 

I'm not saying being ganged up on by people s a part of growing up, I'm saying things like the Harry/Malfoy conflict is.

And I'm not going to call pranks bullying either unless you're maliciously targeting a single group repeatedly.

 

James and Sirius at least bullied Snape, that you have to agree on. Fuck man, Sirius tried to KILL him.

 

That's bullying.

That's a prank. (Not to say that Fred and George didn't also do some bullying.)

Pranks don't usually have a target - letting a bunch of crickets loose in your school's hallways is a prank. Or, if there is a target, the prank is engineered in a way that the pranked person gets to laugh along with everyone else, not just get laughed at.

 

It was mutual and neither wanted to stop. It was pretty heavily implied they spent every moment they could cursing each other in the back. The only difference between them was that Sirius and James were popular while Snape was hated by nearly everyone.

 

You don't really know that.
It was implied by Lupin, who was good friends with one side of that conflict.

The exact same actions that can be fun and innocuous if done between friends, can be cruel bullying if done to the unpopular guy in the class.

(Obviously this doesn't excuse Snape's bad behavior later on.)

 

Because all we saw was Snape's selected memories on the matter. It's not exactly like he'd be up for giving an unbiased view on the full picture.

 

Yes, we don't know for sure what was going on. We don't have enough information. Either scenario is plausible.
Since that is imho the case, one can't say that one or the other interpretation of canon is wrong.

 

He didn't even wanted to let anyone see this memory.

 

Maybe...

On the other hand, let's see how Snape benefited from Harry seeing that memory.

1. He gets to show Harry that his dad and godfather were total assholes (or at least that's what they look like, in an out of context memory).
2. He gets a plausible excuse to blow his top at Harry (not that he really needs one, but it helps).
3. He gets a handy excuse to end the occlumency lessons.
4. It's not like Harry has access to another pensieve, to actually show people the memory. Without that, all Harry can say is, "Haha! This one time Snape got hung upside down and everyone saw his pants, lol!" Not especially damaging.

What's the bad side of Harry seeing that memory?

1. Harry sees a memory that Snape, believing others to be as small and petty as himself, probably figures Sirius (and maybe Remus) have already bragged to Harry about, anyway.
2. Harry might tell his friends about it (which is a moot point if item 1 is true, either because Harry would have already told them what Sirius told him or because they heard it from Sirius, firsthand).
3. Harry might even tell others outside his circle of friends, but the fact of the matter is that they might not believe him, and if word of this does work its way back to Snape, he has another excuse to officially and/or unofficially punish Harry.

Frankly, Harry seeing that memory is more of a benefit to Snape than a detriment, especially if he pretends that he didn't really want it to be seen.


Sure, the whole situation may be as simple as it appears at first blush, but it's not difficult to see other layers there, either.

 

We're on DLP here, not at Infowars. Asking "Cui bono" is NOT a proof for foul play!

 

While your points are valid I don't believe that's what actually happened in canon.

 

The whole of Harry Potter has way too many "LOL Memories lying around in places conveniently for exposition" for me to really attempt to apply logic to it.

 

If you're right, there must be another plausible reason for Snape leaving that particular memory out in the open, unattended and unguarded, on the day of a lesson with Harry, around the time when Harry was supposed to be there.

Or JK must have been blind to have written this scene like this and not realize that any mildly intelligent person will assume Snape's deliberate intent, when it was actually meant to just be a coincidence.

 

He had removed the memories in case of a backfire where Harry enters his mind like he did when he shielded the spell earlier. He didn't intend to leave it unguarded but was called away urgently and either didn't realise Harry would notice it or forgot about it. Mistakes happen.

At least that's how I remember it.

 

I might be remembering the book incorrectly. That seems totally plausible. Good point.

 

That was also the memory in which he had his fight with Lily.

 

Yeah I kind of doubt he would have wanted Harry to see him call his mother and his own childhood friend - not that Harry knows that - a mudblood.

 

Wasn't that his "what memory" (forgot where or if the books said it)?