More Snape topics

[sashibuya at hotmail.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 12457

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., MMMfanfic at h... wrote:
<snip>
> 
> 1. The Pensieve scene with Bertha Jorkins.  Why is Dumbledore sad 
> over a harmless gossip among students?  It just isn't the right 
> reaction.  Would this have connections with the werewolf incident? 
> Who was the boy that put a hex on Bertha?  Snape? Sirius? Who is 
> Florence?  Why did Sirius seem to dislike Bertha so much?

I don't think he dislikes her, just seems to think little of her. As 
for Dumbledore, I read it as him remembering one of the few times he 
interacted personally with her, and being sad over her untimely 
death. 

> 
> 2. Anyone notice that Potions seems to a very important plot device 
> in the books?  In book 2, it's Polyjuice and Mandrakes restorative; 
> book 3 it's the Wolfsbane Potion; book 4, it's Polyjuice again and 
> Voldie came back using a Potion.
> Anyone want to bet that Snape was the one who found the recipe for 
> Voldie in the first place?  Would that be somehow related to his 
> *mission*?

You have some original comments here.... No, I hadn't really thought 
about how important the potions were to the books. No wonder it's a 
core subject at Hogwarts. I personally received the impression that 
Voldemort was using a very archaic spell, because we rarely see 
people recite things over potions, but that has no basis in canon. 

<snip>
> Now, remember Neville's Boggart?  The most horrible and frightening 
> thing ever happen to Neville was the torture of his parents.  Okay, 
> Snape can be intimidating but Neville's fear is unnatural.  What if 
> Snape was present on the night the Longbottoms were tortured and 
> Neville knows it, subconsciously?  Was he there to save Neville or 
is 
> he just a plain evil man pretending to be good to save his own skin?

Hmmm. The incident with Neville's parents happened post-Voldemort's 
fall. I'd have to think that Snape, even if evil, was pretty foolish 
to get involved at that point. But as for fear, I don't think he 
"fears" his parents' torturers coming after him. It could be that 
while traumatized, he regards this as a sad illness of theirs, rather 
than feeling anxiety over the return of the DEs; after all, most of 
the wizarding world thinks that Voldy's gone for good. It seems that 
Snape is just the person right now causing the most anxiety to 
Neville. 

Charmian