Snape and Redemption (was: JKR's best interview)

[Tara]

No: HPFGUIDX 75765

Hello all.  This is my first time posting to the list, and I had to jump in
on the Snape discussion.

e wrote:
> Until book 5 I was never very fond of Snape as a character.  He seemed to
be
> there as yet another way to make Harry's life miserable.  But after
reading
> the end of Book 5 I suddenly realized that Snape and Harry are in the same
> boat when it comes to Voldemort and that makes some of Snape's actions in
> the earlier books much more interesting.

I never liked Snape much either, but there was something I found interesting
about Snape teaching Harry the Occlumency lessons, and it kind of ties into
what you said about Snape and Harry being in the same boat.  Forgive me if
this ground has been covered already.  Harry and Snape are in the same boat
in more ways than just being against Voldemort.  From Snape's memories about
his days at school with James and the gang we've discovered that Snape was
bullied and was a bit of an outcast in school.  This is something that Harry
knows only too well from the Muggle schools that he was in before going to
Hogwarts.  For his entire life with the Dursleys, he's always been Dudley's
favourite punching bag.  I believe it's said in other places in the series
that Harry was bullied bullied at school frequently by Dudley's gang, and
outside of school as well.  He learned how to avoid them for the most part.

When Snape is teaching Harry Occlumency, he sees a lot of Harry's personal
memories outside of Hogwarts, and these unpleasant memories are probably
things that Snape never considered Harry to have gone through.  He has seen
for the past decade what Harry has meant to the Wizarding World, but he's
probably never had to consider that Harry means nothing to the Muggle World,
and is nothing but a joke to his cousin.  During the Occlumency lessons,
Harry remembers being chased up the tree by one of Aunt Marge's dogs and his
family laughing at him and leaving him up there.  After the memory is over,
Snape actually asks Harry who the dog belonged to.

Anyhow, I just wondered if this might come into play later on... and if
there ever might be some kind of understand that would develop between Snape
and Harry.  I always thought that one of the reasons Snape was so eager to
drop the Occlumency lessons was because perhaps some of these memories that
he was seeing of Harry's had the danger of humanizing Harry to him.  I don't
think Snape wants to feel anything other than dislike for Harry.  I'm not
saying it's the entire reason, but I wondered if it wasn't a factor.

e:
> But, we also now know that James tormented Snape in school and so his
> feelings of animosity towards Harry based on the treatment by Harry's
father
> are fairly justified.

I'm not sure I agree that James' torment of Snape justifies Snape in turn
tormenting Harry.  It wasn't Harry that picked on Snape, and therefore it's
not Harry that should have to pay the price.  Why should he have to be
punished for something that happened before he was even born.  On the other
hand, I can see how Snape wouldn't be able to forget his hard feelings, but
that still doesn't justify him acting badly.

e:
> So Snape has now become one of my favorite characters.

He's not one of my favourites, but I like him and the way his character
deepens the further we go along. :)

Brief Chronicles:
> My impression of Snape is that he *doesn't* really hate Harry. Remember
how Mrs. Figg said she purposely tried to be boring so that Harry would hate
going there, and therefore be sent to her house regularly. What if Snape
works hard to make Harry hate him so that Draco Malfoy can report home to
his DE family that Snape is definitely *not* on Harry Potter's side?

Me:
That's an interesting thought that I'd never considered... but I like it.
It doesn't have to mean that he likes Harry all that much, just that he
doesn't hate him as much as he pretends to. :)  And it's something I could
see him doing for sure... it also kind of explains how Dumbledore has let
Snape's prejudice towards Harry continue unchallenged for 5 years.  Surely
Dumbledore and the other teachers haven't been completely blind towards the
animosity that Snape shows Harry.

Tara