[HPforGrownups] Let's blame Snape.... again and again!

[GulPlum]

No: HPFGUIDX 45688

At 21:02 21/10/02 +0000, Fyre Wood wrote:
>A constant trend I've noticed in the Potter series is that our
>beloved Potions Master is always being blamed for harming Harry...
>when in fact, he's doing the exact opposite!

<snip examples>

You're not the only one who'se noticed. The stories are written to make us 
understand that Harry sees Snape in that light, and thus for us to see him 
in that light, too.

I would object to your use of the word "harm". Apart from the first book, 
by the end of which both Harry and we know very well that Snape tried to 
save him on at least two occasions when Harry assumed the opposite to be 
the case (after all, Snape was deliberately being set up as the red-herring 
baddie), Harry has never thought that Snape wished him deliberate 
*harm*.  But the fact by the end, Snape is clearly shown to have helped to 
save Harry makes it ridiculous to argue that anyone, either the characters 
within the books, or readers, would consider the opposite to be the case 
later on.

However, this does not mean that Snape *likes* Harry or that he wouldn't be 
happy if Harry were to get expelled. Indeed, there are frequent occasions 
on which Snape mistreats or otherwise belittles Harry, so Harry has every 
reason to dislike him, and perhaps even blame Snape for some of the nasty 
things that happen to him.

Of course, MAGIC DISHWASHER claims that it's all a front, and that Snape 
actually wants nothing but the best for Harry and his obnoxious exterior is 
nothing but a very good act. Apart from the fact that I see nothing to be 
gained in the long run by such a ploy, there are plenty of reasons for 
Snape to dislike Harry (people have despised others for less) and few for 
Snape to like him.

IOW, Snape might be basically honourable and takes his duties as a teacher 
very seriously indeed (which was his primary motivation for getting 
involved in the Shrieking Shack), but that doesn't make him a nice person, 
and it certainly doesn't mean that he has to be nice to Harry.

Incidentally, I've looked and the closest reference to Harry's suspecting 
Snape of having put his name into the Goblet comes after Ron has put the 
idea into his head after the First Task (Ron's suggests that *Moody* thinks 
Snape did it). Even so, it's just a fleeting suspicion, tempered by the 
knowledge that Snape had saved him during his first year. Even if he did 
suspect Snape, he'd be forgiven for doing so. When the Champions are 
selected, Snape's "black eyes were alight with malice".

Oh, and at the end of the "swapping suspicions" scene, Harry phrases the 
thought which has been the subject of much debate in fandom: "I just want 
to know what Snape did with his first chance, if he's on his second one". :-)

--
GulPlum AKA Richard, desperately trying to catch up after two days away and 
getting nowhere with completing his contribution to the Class debate...