Snape/Neville/Trevor

[lindseyharrisst <lindseyharrisst@hotmail.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 53023

Hello CP, I extend a hand of welcome on behalf ogf the rest of the
group (I'm sure they won't mind me taking that liberty). I too am
obsessed, particularly with Snape as he is the most complex character
and I am a girl with a bit of a complex about apparently unpleasant
byronic hero types. 

I wonder myself if Snape's attitude to Neville could be purposive, or
memrely an unfortunate collision of their two personalities. With
regard to the former....I have some random, devil's advocate thoughts.
I suspect that magical ability is mental, though not related to
intellect ncessarily. I imagine that what Bertha was exposed to was
psychological torture of the sort used by a muggle holding someone
captive to extract information, though it may well have ben
administered with magic the physical effects on the brain would be the
same. (e.g it could be argued in this way that veritaserum is in fact
a sort of imagination and logic supressant, so it is n't possible to
pretend or to construct a scenario that fits). I don't know if muggle
therapists would consider re-exposing someone to conditions of
stress/fear to be an effective way of forcing them to remember the
original situation and if this in itself would help them to recover
from the memory loss that was a reaction to the trauma. Maybe someone
here has experience of that area?
 Perhaps Snape would've given up on this by now anyway, if it was
indeed his original plan, because in 4 years it has not worked. I
doubt his personality is touchy feely enough to enable him to go to
the next stage of helping Neville wiht acceptance or positivity, even
if the memory charm was broken and the reason for his trauma and the
consequential numbling revealed.

The alternative view is that Snape just hates Neviile, and this could
again be for several reasons. Perhaps he is a teacher who like a lot
of teachers, dislikes those who struggle in their classes because it's
frustrating demoralising and sometimes incomprehensible to someone who
does have a skill, that someone else does not. This might lead to the
conclusion that Neville is n't trying and being a rotter is Snape's
way of trying to focus the boy's concentration.

He might even do it because he feels guilty about Neville being a
virtual orphan and also responsible - either as a former DE or as a
spy who could n't protect the Longbottoms with information. Neville is
a constant reminder of his moral and professional failure and that
must be exteremely intolerable for someone with so much pride and to
whom power is so important. Rather than trying extra hard to be nice
to Neviile due to guilt, Snape's temper causes him to be unable to
respond in that way. "Toughening up" sensitive children is a method of
aleviating his feelings that Snape can feel better about. 

At some level Snape might blame people like Neville for allowing him,
through their weakness, to exercise his worst impulses as well. He
feels like his victims as a DE were culpable for his actions
perpetrated aginst them. I think he takes responsibility on an
intellectual level but is angry that he turned out that way and does
n't believe anymore in pre-determination. 

Sorry it's long.
I could write a PHD thesis on Snape easily and become the first ever
Dr. of Snape-Apologistics (sounds suitable posh, i think!).
Hope that helps
Sanpesangel xx