Another replying to guest reviews chapter. Sorry about that!
Misaki Sexual harassment? Are you referring to him removing Snape's pants? If so, the canon text doesn't actually show him removing Snape's pants. Canon text only shows him saying "Who wants me to remove Snivelly's pants?" Whether he did it or not is up for debate. It could have been an empty threat. Someone could have stopped him. Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't. Why not give him the benefit of the doubt? Following the policy of seeing the best in people, I prefer interpreting it as he didn't actually do it since it still complies with canon.
If you're referring to him dangling Snape in the air, yes he was a jerk. But if you call that sexual harassment, then you'll have to call Snape, Harry and various people at Hogwarts sexual harassers too. Why? Because Snape created that spell. It's unlikely that he would create a spell and not use it at all. Even if he didn't use it, then the fact that Snape created such a spell makes him an accessory to sexual harassment (if the spell is sexual harassment). Remus said in the Half Blood Prince that the spell was vogue and everyone was dangling everyone up in the air in school during the period that James used that spell on Snape. So I suppose many people in their school were sexual harassers? Remus had no reason to make this up as he wasn't even defending James when he said it. Harry used that spell on Ron as a retaliation to Ron punching him. Even James used that spell as a retaliation to Snape using Sectumsempra on him. I'm not saying that James was right. He was wrong and a jerk for what he did in Snape's Worst Memory, but the fact that Snape created that spell and the fact that the spell was popular in use during the period have to be taken into consideration as well.
I was talking about bullying in general, not bullies who cause their victims to commit suicide. In general, killing is more cruel than bullying but of course it's not the same for each and every case of bullying and killing. Not all bullies are the same. James isn't one of those bullies who made his victims commit suicide. We only see one incident of his bullying. We don't know how often or to what extent his other bullying incidents were. We only have vague facts that can interpreted in various ways. The fact that the incident in Snape's Worst Memory happens right after the werewolf incident, and the fact that they just had a werewolf question in their exam does indicate that Snape trying to out Remus as a werewolf played a factor in James and Sirius's malice in Snape's Worst Memory. It's possible that they were more vicious that usual towards Snape in that particular incident because he had just tried to out Remus. I'm not saying it makes what they did right, but that it's possible they weren't as vicious until Snape tried to out Remus.
Plus, this is in the Wizarding world. The Wizarding is more dangerous and cruel than the muggle world. Kids are shown hexing people who annoy them all the time. Ginny bat-bogey hexes people who annoy her. Harry hexed Crabbe and Goyle for fun in Half Blood Prince. Ron tried to get Draco to cough out slugs. Fred and George shoved Montague in the vanishing cabinet which left him with brain damage and could have killed him. Hermione jinxed her sign-up sheet to leave a cruel pimple scar on Marietta's face. This is a world where they make kids learn dangerous creatures and spells and a world where it was considered okay to keep a large three headed dog in a school. So you have to lower the standards at least a little bit from the muggle world standards when judging James since the aforementioned is the environment he grew up in. Again, I'm not saying that he was right. Even by wizarding standards, he was above the line of acceptable behavior, but if measured by wizarding stadards, what he did is not as bad as you paint it (though it was still bad).
He got cold feet? Where in the text does it state that he was in the werewolf prank and got cold feet? Canon text states that Sirius and only Sirius played the prank and James saved him. Remus, Dumbledore and Lily all present it as a noble deed. The only counter comes from Snape who says James only saved him to save his own skin and his friends. Where does it state that James turned into a stag when he saved Snape? As far the canon text goes, he saved Snape in his human form. Remus says that he risked his life to save Snape. There's no reason for Remus to add the "at great risk of his life" part. A simple "your father pulled Snape out of there" would have sufficed to bring James up to Harry.
As far as the text states, James was not an accessory to Sirius' attempt murder as he was not involved in that prank. Sirius and Remus said that James found out what Sirius did and pulled Snape out of there. Just because he was a big enough jerk to bully Snape and dangle him up in the air, it doesn't mean he was cruel enough to kill him. It's up for debate whether or not he saved Snape out of humanity or for Remus, but either way, he was not involved in the prank. I personally choose to believe that he indeed saved Snape out of humanity since it still complies with canon. I also believe that's the author's intent. The only other person who risked his life to save his arch-nemesis out of humanity on HP is Harry (who saved Draco), so it's fitting that the author meant to parallel this with Harry's own father risking his life to save his own arch-nemesis out of humanity.
Again, I'm in no way denying that he was wrong. He was jerk. But he was said to have changed. He was said to have deflated his head and stopped hexing people for fun. If the author reformed Dudley and Draco, I'm pretty sure she intends that Harry's own father reformed. But this is just my opinion. I'm sorry if I offended you or if you don't agree with my viewpoint.