"Snivellus"

[shyfoxling]

Is it James or Sirius who first calls Severus "Snivellus" on the Hogwarts Express? I've tried to look up the quote (it's not in hp-lexicon as far as I can find, but I may have the dumb) but I can't help feeling something is missing from the following rendition of the passage:

"Come on, Severus, let’s find another compartment

Comments

[nemesister]

When I read it I thought it was Sirius, but then I realised that it's not clear at all and was probably meant to be James...?

It being Sirius gives the scene a better balance: James and Sirius did this - James did that - Sirius said Snivellus. If it was James it makes the whole thing more about the Snape/Lily/James triangle. Who knows, not me, but my gut feeling was the same as yours.

[shyfoxling]

I think it's going to be easier to go with the fudge of "Potter and Black" having come up with it rather than trying to single out either one. Thanks for your thoughts.

[nemesister]

Yeah, especially since I bet that whoever said it first, the other one said it second. It was how they bonded.

[pica_scribit]

My gut says Sirius too. With his Black upbringing, he probably has more of in instinct for cruelty than James at 11. After a while, they would have rubbed off on each other, and it would be harder to say, but here I think it's Sirius.

[shyfoxling]

I think I'm just going to fudge it with "...that nickname that Potter and Black bestowed upon him when he was eleven", rather than trying to name either one singly. Thanks for the reply.

[girlspell]

I first thought Black too, but now...I don't know. It could be James Potter. Snape really hated him.