Oh, one more thing...
Err... mild spoilers... but I don't know how to make an LJ cut. Anyway, not many HP fans are reading my LJ, and these spoilers aren't exactly big, IMO. Still... spoilerspace, I suppose:
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Sorry, I really have to learn how to write LJ code. I used to know how to link, but I keep forgetting how to do it, and I never found out how to cut. *sigh*
Anyway: about bullies and growing up. I would hate to be seen as a blindly forgiving Sirius apologist, but I must say that from my own experience, bullies growing up into decent people *does* happen. I was bullied at school (every bit as badly as Snape, I'd say - even including the underwear bit, sort of) and as the years went by I've seen some of the people who wouldn't let an opportunity to bully me pass become... well 'nice', for lack of a better word. I made friends with one or two of them, to a degree (we even talked about the issue), later on. So, to all the people whose comments I've read today (but who probably don't read my LJ anyway *g*) and who seem to think that nothing short of a major life changing event can change a teenage school bully: even as a mobbing victim myself, I wouldn't judge a grown-up person based on their behaviour at age 15. People can change a lot in puberty, and sometimes, maybe even quite often, they change for the better.
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Sorry, I really have to learn how to write LJ code. I used to know how to link, but I keep forgetting how to do it, and I never found out how to cut. *sigh*
Anyway: about bullies and growing up. I would hate to be seen as a blindly forgiving Sirius apologist, but I must say that from my own experience, bullies growing up into decent people *does* happen. I was bullied at school (every bit as badly as Snape, I'd say - even including the underwear bit, sort of) and as the years went by I've seen some of the people who wouldn't let an opportunity to bully me pass become... well 'nice', for lack of a better word. I made friends with one or two of them, to a degree (we even talked about the issue), later on. So, to all the people whose comments I've read today (but who probably don't read my LJ anyway *g*) and who seem to think that nothing short of a major life changing event can change a teenage school bully: even as a mobbing victim myself, I wouldn't judge a grown-up person based on their behaviour at age 15. People can change a lot in puberty, and sometimes, maybe even quite often, they change for the better.