Why Hermoine trusts Snape

[Lee]

No: HPFGUIDX 69424

Derrin: > I mean, this guy knows EXACTLY what Hermione is going 
through. 
> Taunted for a physical flaw, looked at differently because of her 
> dedication to school, and he, an authority figure who is supposed 
to 
> responsible for student safety, piles on? 
> 
> Why? Because she's the FRIEND of the son of the guy who tormented 
> him? 
> 

 
Oooh Ooh! I know why I know why! *raises hand*

Now, lets look at this very carefully. Snape KNOWS, how Hermione, 
Neville, and all the students who get picked on feel. He KNOWS how 
they will react, THE SAME WAY HE REACTED TO BEING TAUNTED!

In them, he may see himself, his own weakness, pain, humiliation, and 
because of this, feels what my councellor told me is a form of "self-
loathing"

When you meet somebody who is very similar to you, how you were or 
how you are, and its in a negative connotation, you tend to lash out 
at them, tend to fight the very things which caused you pain.

I'm not saying that Snape was RIGHT to do this, I'm saying, he may be 
practicing his own form of self-loathing by being spiteful to those 
people who he sees as being weak and taunted, the very same way he 
was, and not doing anything about it! He may have even been trying to 
GOAD Hermione into going to Dumbledor to fire him. BUT, instead, she 
simply ran. After all Snape has been through, he has very little 
patience, and respect, for people who let themselves be stomped on.

Because he KNOWS how it feels, AND he eventually, *possibly* overcame 
it! He found ways to deal with it! 

Derrin: >3) Being the show-stopper at the Yule Ball -- take THAT, dog-
faced Pansy! -- made up for it.

And I think, that the Pansy thing did indeed do it for Hermione. 
Although what Snape did was spiteful, proving herself before Pansy, 
Snape and the entire school gave her the self-confidence she needed 
to stand up to those who abuse her.

And behaving exactly in a way that Snape would approve of. So lets 
return to Neville for a moment.

If Snape is picking at Neville's potions and abilities in class, 
trying to make him feel inferior, seeing Neville AS inferior, what 
could Neville posibly do to undermine Snape? Learn to defend himself! 
And he has been, with the DA! 

So lets assume that Snape really hates how he used to be, how he 
acted as a student, and that Neville is as he once was? Wouldn't that 
be a painful reminder to have to see in school each day? Snape would 
probably vent his frustrations on the source of the pain.

So, assuming that he's hurting Neville, and other students, as a form 
of self-loathing. What would have to happen for him to change?

My biggest thought on this, is that Harry, seeing into his pensieve, 
will have to help him someway. It seems like Rowling has a lovely 
open door for Harry to bring out all Snape's pain and frustration, 
and try to help heal that pain somehow. Maybe Snape will WANT to help 
with the DA lessons in the next book, after having that happen. 
Maybe, and back to the DADA thing again, teaching students to Defend 
themselves is what he really wants. He doesn't want students to be 
weak, but the only way he has learned to overcome that weakness is 
through bullying.

But teaching students how to have confidence and defend themselves 
may actually improve him. So then, why won't Dumbledor give him the 
job? To hide him from the Death Eaters?

Maybe, because, Snape hasn't come to the reality yet of what he could 
REALLY accomplish as a DADA. Maybe he's still at threat of using DADA 
to bully people rather than help them improve. He has to come to his 
own understanding, maybe with Harry's help, in order to get to 
that "safe" point.

If this is the case, his behavior, and Dumbledors makes sense. And 
Hermione's as well. She may have noticed the bullying tactic as a way 
to lash out at weak people, and the only way to battle bullies is to 
have confidence in ones own ability to defend oneself.

All this makes more sense now, if you put it that way. But all the 
points everyone has made make sense in my mind as well. :)

Cheers!

Lee
http://www.livejournal.com/users/dee_dolly7/