Who's the bully was Re: Snape's Reaction to Harry assuming that he is a DE spy

[rubyxkelly]

No: HPFGUIDX 108734

MAJOR, MAJOR snipage...
Regarding the coversation between FakeMoody (whom Snape believesto be geniune).
> > 
> Potioncat:
> I just happen to be reading that section and it still amazes me how 
> JKR does the conversation between Harry and C!M and still, knowing 
> what we know, the conversation doesn't give anything away.

Try reading it this way: Snape thinks Moody isthe real thing. We now  that Aurors were permitted broader authority dealing with DEs; before Severus Snape was revealed as a spy for Dumbledore he was likely arrested and interrogated (non too gently) by the REAL Moody (who probably still retained the deep-seated attitude of resentment/suspicion ove freed DEs FakeMoody shows. I think Snape would still be afraid of Moody (although doing hid best to conceal it). Moody-fake or genuine-would be aware of this; the conversation rees of intimidation towards Snape followed by Snape's hastily backing down (even though he DOES make the point that Harry is foolishly taking unneccessary risks yet again). Snape would naturally be furious about the search of his office-he might well be frightened that something Moody found could be improperly construed as harmful evidence against him by a powerful Auror with a grudge. Add to that the distinct possibility that both men are trying to Legilems each other, and while perhaps notpicking up EXACTLY what's going on they may each detect a subtle overtone of "not what he appears to be". Of course Snape knows Harry is there-but he does have to back of since at least Harry would be with Moody and therefore safe (as far as he knows). Theremark about Harry's careless wanderingsand not being held responsible for any misfortune Harry meets thereby is certainly intended for Harry-but I think not so much to excuse gimself as to try to get Harry to THINK about what he does BEFORE acting on impulse, for a change. (We already know what a waste of time THAT is!)
Remember, wesee everythingthrough Harry's very subjective, not to mention immature, viewpoint. That is the biggest red herring in the deries, IMO. (I've often wondered if the symbolismof mirrrors is that people think they reflect the world around, when they actuall reflect the world in REVERSE.)
Sometimes it's best to ignore Harry's emotional reactions to events, and just pay attention to the action more objectively.
  
> 
> And I still find it very creepy that the "nice guy" is the bad guy 
> and the "mean guy" is the good guy.
> 
But this has been a pattern from the very first book! Quirrell, whom Harry believes to be the poor victim of Prof. Snape's threats, turns out to be carrying You-Know-Who around on the back of his head; and quite willingly.
In CoS, Prof. Lockhart-the-buffoon turns out to be nastily unethical; and that nice Tom from the diary, is...Mr. Evil-to-be!
In PoA, whaddaya know-it'sthe damn rat! (Am I the only one who was suspicious of Scabbers right from the get-go? Rats don't live long enough to be hand-me-down pets through 3-4 beothers! And when te Peter Pettigrew story waas told, tattered-ear-missing-finger I knew why the pet-shop man was surprised at Scabers' length of life! Not to mention nice Prof. Lupin admitting that during his stint as prefect he didn't behave as strictly as he ought-we saw that in OotP.
Andspeaking of OotP...therei's Harry who's carrying around the Lord Thingy connection, yetnever bothers to report the strange sensations. He also doesn't bother practicing the skill that, had he mastered it, might have prevented Sirius' death. No, by the end of the book, he's let himself be duped; violated Prof. Snape's huge (for him) leap of faith by trusting him to stay alone with te pensieve and respect his privacy; then manages to end up blaming Snape for Sirius' death. I can certainly foresee bad things to come resulting from that mindset!
So, Moody fits into this pattern. Harry blinds himself to what might be suspicious were he to widen his perspective, and projects/reflects hostility  most especially onto the Potions Master (the series' 2nd major red herring).
Oh, and BTW Potioncat-the Persues legend refereces: remember the king that snt Perseus to kill the monster snake? Notice in CoS, in the Duelling scene, Gilderoy the "false king" creates a situation where a deadly snake is conjured and which is destroyed by Severus?
 :)

KAT/rxk