Snape's Childhood/Making fun of Snape & Voldy/Royals/R&D

[judyserenity]

No: HPFGUIDX 33558

I have a bunch of short replies to post.

I said:
> > I'm convinced he [Snape] could not be muggle-born, because I'm 
> > convinced  there are no muggle-borns in Slytherin

and SpyGameFan replied [message #33486]
> Wasn't it stated that 1st year Snape knew more about poisons (or 
> something similar) than most 7th years? That would imply that he
> had a magical childhood.

I think Sirius says that Snape "knew more curses when he arrived at 
school than half the 7th years." That is additional evidence that 
Snape came from a magical family, but it's not proof by itself.  
Hermione is muggle-born, and she knew a lot of magic before coming to 
school, from her spellbooks.  It's possible that after he was accepted 
at Hogwarts, Snape spent the summer learning curses.  


Pippin said, in regards to Neville's Boggart: [message 33505]
>  I would love to think  that everyone at Hogwarts, including 7th 
> years who aren't trying  for a N.E.W.T. in Potions and the 
> irrepressible Peeves, is so solicitous of Snape's feelings that 
> no one ever did anything like walk behind him and make vulture 
> noises, or imitate his distinctive walk while pretending to carry 
> an oversize handbag
.

I just can't see students making fun of Snape, at least not when he's 
around.  Too risky.  This quote brings up some other interesting 
points, though.  Are 6th and 7th year students required to take 
potions?  If not, Harry would be sure to drop it, and then we'd see a 
lot less of him interacting with Snape (rats!)  Maybe for literary 
reasons, JKR will make potions required for all 7 years. 

On the topic of making fun of teachers, who remembers that back in 
SS/PS, Fred & George Weasley were punished for enchanting snowballs so 
that they followed Quirrell around and bounced off the back of his 
turban?  Of course, it's not until later that we learn Voldemort's 
face is back there.  I just love the thought of Voldy being pelted by 
snowballs, and unable to do anything about it because it would blow 
his cover!  So, are Fred and George supposed to know whom they were 
attacking?  Will Voldy come after them? 


"Eric Oppen" wrote:
> Wouldn't it be..._interesting_....if one of the Royal Family turned 
> out to be strongly magical, and got The Letter From Hogwarts?

Yeah, and imagine how very interesting the scandal headlines would be. 
"Prince caught drinking butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks!  Also 
suspected of nicking Cannabis Sativa from Potions' storeroom! Father 
makes him visit with patients at St. Mungo's!" 


On the topic of "Magic Research and Development", Dicentra said: 
[message 33521]
> I'm pretty sure there's a spell R&D--otherwise how would they have
> come up with the potion to make Remus "tame" after it was too 
> late to cure him?

I haven't envisioned any sort of R&D department like large 
manufacturing corporations have.  Instead, I've imagined that some 
wizards and witches do research on their own, and then publish the 
results in journals (like "Transfiguration Today"), similar to 
academics in the real world.  Of course, one would expect that the 
professors at Hogwarts would be involved in such activity, although 
the books have never said so.  

I've long suspected that Snape came up with Wolfbane potion.  The 
timing is right (it became available after Snape finished school) and 
Snape is presumably one of the top potions experts in England (and 
England would be a center of werewolf research -- London has that big 
werewolf problem!)  Also, having Lupin is his debt is exactly the sort 
of thing Snape would want.  Plus, I find it interesting that Lupin 
says "Professor Snape has kindly concocted" Wolfbane Potion for him.  
As my dictionary notes, concocted can mean "mixed together", but it 
can also mean "invented."  (If Snape didn't invent the potion, Lupin 
could have just described him as *brewing* the potion.) 

By the way, thanks to everyone who supported me on the "Women in the 
Potterverse" debate. {Especially Sirius, who said my posts were 
excellent and made my day!)  I'm trying not to say any more in this 
topic, though, because I've basically made all the points I wanted to 
make, and I really need to sign off and get some work done eventually.
-- Judy