LOLLIPOPS responds to the attack on Snape/Lily!

[Tabouli]

No: HPFGUIDX 31115

On Snape's past with a capital P...

Elizabeth (who seems, gasp!  to have disembarked from the good ship LOLLIPOPS!):
> Then the kid shows up at Hogwarts and (from Snape's point of view) has the same
stubborn, arrogant conviction as his father that he can choose his own friends,
thanks, and that rules don't apply to him.
>
>To my mind, this is a much more powerful motivation for Snape's constant
snarling at Harry than anything involving Lily (and I had formerly been in the
torch-for-Lily camp).<

What, what?  Are my crew abandoning ship?  Allllll right.  Can't have this.  Now, I'm at a disadvantage here, having lent out my copy of PS/SS, but I'd like to remind everyone that Snape was ALREADY glowering and persecuting Harry when he had NOT see any evidence of Harry's "stubborn, arrogant etc." at ALL.  In the book, Harry, IIRC, snubbed Draco On The Train.  He walked into the Hall, was sorted into Gryffindor, and sat down.  What an arrogant prat, just like James!  No wonder Snape was glaring viciously at him.  Clearly he was going to be troublesome to protect (says Tabouli sarcastically).  Was he hoping Harry would be humble enough to be sorted into Slytherin, where he could keep a closer eye on him??  Chh.  Then Harry turned up at the first Potions class.  How dare he?  Obviously asking to have his teacher first sneer at his "celebrity status" and then attempt to humiliate him by asking him three questions he knew perfectly well that no first year raised by Muggles would be able to answer (Hermione aside).  Snape knows this perfectly well.  He is launching into an unprovoked persecution campaign before Harry's even said a word in his presence.

Then we have the evasive Hagrid, who won't meet Harry's eye when Harry suggests that Snape hates him.  Obviously there is a very good reason why Snape would hate Harry.  OK, by that stage Harry's already earned special privileges by getting a broom and becoming Seeker, so you could argue that Snape has some evidence of Harry's privileges, arrogance, etc., but um, surely Hagrid's reaction suggests that the reason is rather more significant than that and stems from a past well predating Harry's arrival at Hogwarts which even he knows is not fit for an 11yo boy, or which Dumbledore has made very clear is private property.  Hagrid's not known for his ability to keep secrets: if it was just that Snape resented Harry because James was a Quidditch star and Harry now is too, I don't see why he couldn't say  "Snape was jealous of yeh dad, Harry, and I reckon he's likely a mite jealous of you as well, now yer playin' Quidditch an' all" and reassure him that though Snape might resent him a bit, he'd never kill him over it.

The Quidditch factor is another clue, I think.  *Everyone* is carrying on about Snape being jealous of James, yet the reason they come up with always seems to be that James was good at Quidditch.  Dumbledore says that Snape was jealous of James' Quidditch prowess, Snape hisses that James' arrogance was Quidditch based... how important can Quidditch actually *be* to someone like Snape?  Rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor fuelling enmity I can credit, but undying, generation-crossing jealousy based on James' performance at sport??  Nahhh.  Sounds like everyone's telling Harry only the half the truth to me.  On the other hand, throw in James the Quidditch star who is Admired By The Girl Snape Wants, and it makes resounding sense. How can she go for that strutting jock over him??  How can Lily, so pretty, so kind and clever, fall for that prat just because he's good at chucking Quaffles???  My, how the resentment would grow.  And then James gets to play hero by saving Snape's life... hoooo.  And then *marries* Lily and then gets her killed and has a son who looks just like him with Lily's eyes...

... phew, poor Snape.  Under the circumstances, just the sight of Harry would offend him, let alone Harry repeating history by getting onto the Quidditch team.

Nope, I won't be moved on this one, not until OoP provides some conclusive evidence to the contrary.  (Amanda, Amanda, back me up here!)

As for Snape's Past, you know what they say about bullies.  They tend to repeat history.  Maybe Snape was bullied cruelly as a child, and probably by an older man, his father or stepfather, older brother, maybe even a nasty persecuting teacher.  (we could even theorise that he had a brother, killed by Voldemort, who famous, handsome and everyone's favorite Snape brother...).  At the time he felt powerless to object, resentful, bitter... then as he got older and bigger and a position of power, he began bullying his students as he was bullied...

Koinonia (quoting me):
>>As for Snape leaving Voldemort before James and Lily died and the 
>reasons therefor (?), those of you who got to the end of my 
>Unauthorised Biography of Severus Snape.... 

>Sorry, I don't read any fanfic :-)

Accckkk, it *wasn't* fanfic!!  I'm beginning to see that titling my speculations about Snape in this way was a serious tactical error... all the anti-fanfickers refused to read it.   I know my posts are long and verbose, and some may not have to patience to read them, but not reading what was effectively a summary of everything about Snape, past and present, I could find (hours of research, I put in!) and how it could be explained, which I put into a vague narrative structure to give it some coherence and continuity, on the grounds of it being "fanfic"... gssssss.

In a final billow of the LOLLIPOPS sails, look, I have some sympathy for those who think any form of tragic romance sub-plot is too eww to be treww, blaggh, spare us the smoochy stuff.  Once upon a time, I would express similar sentiments and would sigh gustily whenever the obligatory Love Interest violined her/his way onto centre stage.  But that doesn't mean that (a) it's too yikky to be a possibility, and (b) JKR couldn't do a tasteful job of it.  I'm sure she can.  After all, she handled the Yule Ball with great style.  (Wangoballwime?)

Tabouli.


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