SNAPE the baby-sitter?

[curlyhornedsnorkack]

No: HPFGUIDX 119356


Wrote Chrusotoxos:
> Was just wondering, we know that Snape favours Slytherin students
....
> So why the hell Snape, so rigid and demanding, is supporting a group
of idiotic teenagers when nothing compells him to?
> 
> I've read that helping them in reality he spoils them and makes
them 
> uneffective in war - but I don't like this theory. Even he should 
> understand that Neville's bullying is not making him stronger...
> 
>... ...
> So why is Snape baby-sitting them?


I think Snape quite likes being head of house. He loves respect, and
he loves to brag to MG about his charges' successes. I don't think he
is doing anything to mold the Slytherins into anything less than ideal
Slytherins (by their own standards.)  He just doesn't seem to have
impressive raw material to work with at the moment. 

What Snape seems to me is very protective of the Slytherins, which is
why he doesn't seem to punish them much for doing wrong. It could be
that he feels they are discriminated against by the other houses so he
has to tip the scales a bit by bringing everyone else down to make
things more fair. This thought could emanate from his own paranoia and
have no basis inreality. But then, people like Hagrid are saying
things like, "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who
wasn't in Slytherin." (PS/SS) We learn in POA that it's not true and
even that Hagrid knows it. Snape has reason to be defensive of his house.

-snorky