Favoring Crabbe & Goyle? [was:Re: OT: Drill Sargeant]

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 94790

Neri wrote: 
> > <snip> Snape blew up even his drill sergeant 
> > credibility when he has discriminated against Gryffindors and
> > favored incapable students such as Crabbe and Goyle. Snape may be 
> > a superb secret agent, but none of his "trainees" will follow him 
> > as a commander under fire.
> 
Carol:
> Quick question here. What evidence do we have of Snape favoring 
> Crabbe and Goyle? As far as we know, they could be among 
> the "dunderheads" who received D's (for "dreadful") on the essays 
> that Snape graded to OWL standards. I also can't recall him 
> praising them in or out of class. IIRC, he mostly ignores them.

Siriusly Snapey Susan:
One quick one for you, Carol.  Though it's perhaps not outright 
*favoritism*, it could perhaps be argued as favoritism [haha--have I 
covered myself w/ that?].  Anyway, one of the times when 
Snape "vanishes" Harry's potion and gives me a zero [1st potions 
lesson of OoP], Goyle's potion also went horrendously wrong and it 
was ignored by Snape.  After the lesson Hermione points out how 
unfair Snape was being, to have singled out Harry, and she said that 
Goyle's potion actually broke the flask & caught his robes on fire.  
Now, we do NOT know whether Goyle received a zero or some other 
grade, but we do know that Snape did not "evanesco" Ron's, Seamus', 
Neville's, or Goyle's, as he did Harry's.  

In sum, that might be seen as favoritism towards the others, or it 
might simply be seen as unfairness towards Harry.  [I know, I know--
*or* as trying to get Potter to pay attention.]

Siriusly Snapey Susan...who still thinks this takes nothing away from 
Neri's point that a drill sergeant who loses credibility through 
favoritism also potentially loses his underlings' commitment to 
follow him.