Snape's DE past

[syroun]

No: HPFGUIDX 111421

Julie wrote:
> > I do think that part of Snape's job is to keep Harry's ego in
> > check. I'm not sure Snape *knows* it, but I think that is why 
> > Dumbledore allows their contentious relationship to follow its
> > course rather than putting a stop to it. And if Snape is aware
> > of this, or has figured it out from Dumbledore's lack of action,
> > there's no doubt he very much enjoys this part. He doesn't like
> > Harry, or certainly not those personality traits of Harry's that
> > remind him of James-- which is pretty much all of them!--and I'm
> > sure he gets a perverse pleasure in bringing the brat down a peg
> > or two whenever he can.


> Magda: 
> I so completely agree!  
> 
> There's a lot of casual talk on HP sites about how Snape "hates"
> Harry and treats him "like dirt" (or worse) but I don't see it that
> way.  Dumbledore just wouldn't allow it to happen.  And once you
> remove the Harry filter (ie, all events coloured by Harry's
> perceptions of a person) it's possible to see things in a clearer
> light.  Snape isn't nice but he's not a monster.  Umbridge is a
> monster - not least because she's always so poisonously nice about
> the whole thing.


I tend to agree with Magda. I find that Snape may be awful towards 
Gryffindors but, on the other hand, he did save (try to save) Harry 
in CoS. He isn't insisting on torture punishment like Filch, but he 
is a Slytherin at heart, not only as the head of the house but in 
every way, and must keep in character, whether or not he is remains 
on the side of LV. If he did not maintain this premise, there would 
be great concern on the part of his own students that would 
ultimately lead to his dismissal and/or harm at the hands of the 
DE's. 

He seemed genuinely alarmed when showing his dark mark and 
explaining it as proof of LV's return. I think that his hatred of 
muggles is innate and will not easily be turned, as is the case for 
Nazis or the KKK but this does not mean that he cannot otherwise see 
that the entire system of destruction to come is not productive for 
wizardkind. 

Also, his skills, dark or otherwise, may be more formidable than has 
been apparent to this point. He is valuable as a teacher, regardless 
of his personal slant on muggles. I find it good, that people can be 
valued for their most admirable qualities, rather than merely 
villified for their worst.

I anticipate that Snape will play a significant role in keeping 
Harry safe, and Harry will see past his treatment at the hand of 
Snape to recognize that he (Snape) was the victim of the 
mistreatment that he himself grew up with, leading to a type of 
understanding between the two. When Harry saw his own father treat 
someone, albeit Snape, as he had been treated by Dudley for years, 
that he gained a bit of sympathy for him...and Harry is much like 
his mother in that regard. I predict that this connection will lead 
to something significant in books 6 & 7. Compassion tends to get 
Harry into trouble.

Snape is intelligent- he must be to have his position at Hogwarts, 
but he is no spy; DD would see through that. He is simply a 
profoundly unhappy man still scarred by his childhood. That, in and 
of itself, should be a lesson to Harry...

Syroun