Dumbleodre and Snape

[snuffles]

No: HPFGUIDX 1219

It has taken me more than 2 hours to catch up the weeks' posts - WOW!

but to Dumbelodre and Snape. Dumbledore could MAKE Snape be nice - 
but he won't. Because Snape is going to have to come to curtisy 
(thank you Peg - great post)on his own time. Having been a Slytherin 
and a DE it seems he has a long way to come from. 

But what about the damage he does in the interum, Why doesn't 
dumbledore stop this? Well, I think because part of growing up is 
experanceing challenges and surving them. What Snape does is 
emotinally damaging (think Hermoine's teeth, taking points unfairly, 
forcing Nevelle to pickele frogs)but despite Snape's many threats to 
posion or phycically hurt Harry he hasn't actually done it, and when 
aceidents do happen in the class they seem to happen equally to the 
Slytherins and the Griffs (eg the swelling potion). 

Which leads me to another point, the Harry and co don't seem like 
children, they do seem more emotionally robust like uni age kids. I 
mean that they have the potienal (and are) changing and evolving but 
they are so together! This comment is limited by:
1. by the fact that I don't actually know any children, only dogs 
(fortuately the two are not the same). 
2. I know uni kids are not all that emotionally stable - having been 
one - but it was better than being 11, 12 etc.
 
Also maybe I am more comfortable with Dumbeldore's failure to 
intervine if I see Harry and co as older than their stated ages.

I'm not trying to defend Snape, but I am interested to consider why 
Dumbeldore does not interviene. I don't want to beleive either that 
he is bad or loosing it due to age and infermity. (when someone 
suggested that Dumbeldore might go over to Voldy's side I just 
wanted  to cry - NNNNOOOOO!) I want him to be really good. but it is 
hard to reconcile this need with his behaviour towards Snape.

SO - what do you think?