Hog’s Head PubCast #4

Another enjoyable podcast, Travis!

I have $0.02 to throw in to one of your comments.

Mary J of HogPro and LJ believes as you do that Snape’s comment to Harry in the Shrieking Shack (“You would have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black . . . . “ PA19) indicates Snape personally told James about Voldemort’s imminent attack but that James didn’t believe him. I disagree because I think Snape was referring to James’s refusal to give up Sirius Black as Secret-Keeper in favor of Dumbledore.

Specifically, I think Snape’s comment directly refers to this conversation from back in PA10 when Hagrid, Flitwick, McGonagall, and Fudge were in the Three Broomsticks and telling Rosmerta about Black’s seeming betrayal of the Potters.

***

“So Black was the Potters’ Secret-Keeper?” whispered Madam Rosmerta.

“Naturally,” said Professor McGonagall. “James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would rather die than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself . . . and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters’ Secret-Keeper himself.”

“He suspected Black?” gasped Madam Rosmerta.

“He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements,” said Professor McGonagall darkly. “Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who.”

“But James Potter insisted on using Black?”

He did,” said Fudge heavily. “And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed—“ (PA10)

***

So since all the teachers and Fudge knew James had refused Dumbledore as Secret-Keeper in favor of Sirius back in October 1981, Snape would have known as well (since he was both a teacher at Hogwarts and spying for Dumbledore against Voldemort). It just makes sense to me that when Snape said, “You would have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black,” he was specifically referring to James’s insistence on using Sirius as his Secret-Keeper when Dumbledore offered himself for the job.

I should have added that I do believe Snape was frustrated that James had insisted on using Sirius because I suspect it was Snape who told Dumbledore that there was a traitor in the Order and for that reason, Dumbledore had offered to be the Potters’ Secret Keeper. So Snape did attempt to repay the life debt to James at least twice IMO: first by telling Dumbledore that Voldemort had interpreted the prophesy to refer to Harry Potter and second by telling Dumbledore that there was a unnamed traitor in the Order who was betraying the Potters. So Snape did try to save James, Lily, and Harry; he just didn’t do it in person IMO.