"A" Teacher's Personality WAS: Lovely Snape

[slgazit]

No: HPFGUIDX 110505

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, An'nai Jiriki <xmezumiiru at y...>
wrote:
> It is also possible that DD (who I believe is ESE)
> gave Snape the power, however directly or indirectly,
> to abuse his classes like that.

JKR once said that DD (who I don't believe is ESE) wants the students
to experience different kinds of teachers, including unpleasant ones,
and that that is one of the many reasons he keeps Snape. Sorry I don't
remember where she said it.

>  We also don't know if
> it is only Harry's class:
> 
> Example: In PS/SS, when Percy tells Harry about Snape,
> he never says anything about his personality, only
> that he is into Dark Arts.

Regarding the above example, in PS/SS Ron also tells Harry that Snape
"always" takes off points from the twins (well, this may be
understandable... :-)). We know that he tends to favor the Slytherins
in the classes that Harry attends (ignores infractions, inflates
grades - e.g. Goyle) and is very mean to at least two Gryffindor
students (Harry and Neville) and occasionally to Hermione, despite her
being an exceptional student. Of course, he also shows clear
favoritism towards a Slytheron student (Malfoy). In the Quidditch
match he judged (in SS/PS) he gave unfair penalties to Gryffindor as
well. So there is plenty of circumstantial evidence here to show a
pattern of bias against Gryffindor students, not just Harry.

> Also, I do believe that Harry saw an abnormal amount
> of inspections during Umbridge's reign.  It could be
> passed off as she was inspecting NEWT classes, or she
> was after Harry, but I do not think this is the case.
> I think she inspected every year and Harry saw some of
> the first inspections (McGonnagal & Trelawney).

Umbridge's task was to get rid of teachers who were appointed by/loyal
to DD and replace them (using the regulation based on which she was
appointed that allowed the ministry to appoint teachers) by teachers
loyal to herself and Fudge. For that reason she was livid when DD
appointed a divination teacher himself after she fired Trelawny. 

Another goal was to get Harry expelled. She began by setting off the
dementors on him, then serving on the tribunal in his hearing, and
later on by deliberately provoking him and monitoring all his actions
(e.g. mail, Hogsmead meeting, etc.). All of that (with the possible
exception of the dementors) was almost certainly on Fudge's orders.

> As evil as Umbridge was, I do not think she would have
> let a bad of a teacher as Snape is to Harry
> continuously harass the students in every class. It
> would be devastating to the Ministry she is so
> attached to; no potion lovers exiting Hogwarts, no
> potion masters/experts entering the Ministry. This
> case would be a selfish 'saving our own neck'
> scenario.

I don't think that academic accomplishments mattered to her at all,
otherwise she would have made an effort to teach the students
something worthwhile in her own classes...

Salit