[HPforGrownups] Re: Harry in Snape's DADA?

[Wendy St John]

No: HPFGUIDX 76028


GEO wrote:
"And remember many of the "top" students in Snape's potions class 
didn't earn their positions, but got them because they were 
Slytherins and thus favored by Snape. "

Now me (Wendy):

While on the whole, I agree with your post, I have a bit of a quibble with
this statement. Well, it' a rather big quibble, actually. Will you please
provide us with some canon to back up this claim? I know there's a lot of
talk about how much Snape favours the Slytherins, but I have yet to see
actual evidence of this in canon with one tiny exception - during the first
potions class in PS/SS,  Harry notes that Snape goes around criticising
everyone except Draco, whom Snape seems to like. (PS, page 103, UK
hardcover). I cannot think of another instance in canon where Snape favours
anyone in Slytherin House. Yes, we see him taking points away from
Gryffindor, but that's not the same thing. If anything, we have canon which
shows that the top student in Harry's class is Hermione, not a Slytherin at
all. (CoS, page 44, UK hardcover, when Lucius criticises Draco for being
beaten out by Hermione in *every* exam). 

I think Snape has a lot of issues, and can be cruel and petty when it comes
to Harry and his friends. And I think he does a nice job of acting like he
favours the Slytherins. (The scene in OoP where he gets Goyle  to stop
choking Neville is priceless - or was it Crabbe? Can't find the citation
just now). But until I see some canon showing that he really *does* favour
the Slytherins (by awarding gratuitous house points, or by grading unfairly
in their favour), I refuse to believe that he actually *is* favouring them.
I think this is one area in which he's not getting the credit he deserves
for being -  dare I say it? - fair. 

:-)
Wendy