Snape's "Outcast" Status

[dicentra63]

No: HPFGUIDX 42142

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "darrin_burnett" <bard7696 at a...> wrote:> 
> Snape is the only Slytherin (if that truly was his house) so far that 
> fits the profile of an outcast. He's the only skateboarder, Goth, 
> class brain, kid from the other side of the tracks who is picked on 
> because of his or her wealth, etc... that we know was Slytherin.

Uhhh... How do we know Snape was picked on at school?  He might have
been in opposition to the "alphas," James and Sirius, but that doesn't
make him an outcast.  If he ran with a crowd of Slyths, he at least
had friends, and it's doubtful they were all outcasts, either.  

It's more likely the dynamic between the Marauders and Snape's crowd
was a full-blown rivalry: the alphas of *two* houses constantly
competing for everything from House Cup to Quidditch Championship to
duelling to acquiring followers.

--Dicentra, who thinks the "Snape was picked on" is a clear case of
fanfic contamination