Is Snape really THAT good in Potions?(was: Snape and the Kappa)

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 119420


Neri wrote:
> 
> After Nora found a textbook example that Snape might not be such an
> expert in DADA as he is cracked up to be, I had a REALLY strange
> thought: Why do we all assume that Snape is such a wiz in Potions?
> I've raked my brains, and as far as I can remember the only canon
> source for that is Lupin, who tells Harry in PoA that the Wolfbane
> Potion is very complex and very few potion masters are up to it. 
Can someone corroborate Snape's expertise from a different source?

Potioncat:
Brace yourself, Neri... I think you have a good point.  HPfGU!Snape 
is generally seen as a Potion Master (something like a StairMaster) 
one who is so skilled, he was Potion Maker to the Evil Overlord and 
never needed to soil his hands with less tidy crimes. We really 
don't know if he ever so much as looked at a cauldron as a DE.

Snape is a Potions Master which  translated into modern American 
English is a Potions teacher. It does not correspond to Master 
Carpenter or some such. The title alone does not mean he is far more 
talented than the standard wizard. Although one would always hope 
that a teacher knows more about his/her topic than the standard 
individual does.

I can't recall anyone (other than Lupin) ever talking about Snape's 
particular skill in Potions although all sorts of people seem to 
know about his skill or interest in Dark Arts/DADA. We've been told 
by several people and by Snape that he first applied for the DADA 
position.  So as fond as he seems to be of potion making (per his 
speech 1st year) he is more interested in DADA. Assuming he is 
telling the truth and the others are correct.

However:

Lupin comments on Snape's outstanding skill.  You either believe 
Lupin or you don't.  Snape was not in hearing when Lupin said it, so 
he wasn't trying to appease Snape.  And I don't see any reason for 
Lupin to go out of his way at that point to make Harry trust Snape.  
(Now if it's ESE!Lupin trying to get Harry to trust ESE!Snape then 
you might be right.) By the same token, Lupin says he cannot make it 
himself and  he apparantly trusts Snape to make it correctly...and 
in a non-toxic mixture. And for some reason, this isn't given to 
Madam Pomfrey to handle, so it's out of her expertice.

Umbridge comments that Snape is teaching an advanced potion.  How 
advanced that is that?  Perhaps the ministry only wants the kids to 
be able to brew tea.  But if is she is correct, and Snape's 5th 
years are surpassing the standards which have been in effect for 
years, then Snape must have more than the usual amount of skill. If 
he could barely squeak by, then he could hardly teach at an advanced 
level.  And if the Ordinary Wizarding Level students are advanced, 
what are the N.E.W.T level students learning?

We have Snape's word, not confirmed, that he has a high pass rate in 
O.W.L.s.  I know, that doesn't show he is a genius potion maker, but 
if he didn't know his material, he couldn't get those results.

Veritaserum:  If Snape is correct and the ministry controls it, does 
the ministry know he  has it?  Of course, Umbridge asks for some, so 
she must believe he does.  Does he make it himself?  We don't have 
proof.  But as Dumbledore trusts him to have it and to know its 
potency, he apparantly has faith in Snape's skills.

Someone in another post used his abiltiy to magick the directions 
onto the board.  Neri countered that teaching potions wasn't the 
same as making potions.  But the atmosphere in Potions class is that 
Snape knows his stuff. He has an air of confidence.  He knows what's 
going on.  Neri also countered that with his experience running a 
lab session...but I offer that Neri must have known what he was 
doing as well, or he couldn't have managed.  (I know the point is 
that it doesn't take a genius to do that and Snape's HPfGU 
reputation is a genius.)

Neri also countered that Umbridge had memorised information, but it 
didn't make her talented.  Umbridge very obviously did not know how 
to do anything.  She didn't know beans about DADA nor about 
Potions.  That is not the situation we see with Snape.

McGonagall does not ever comment on his Potion Making Ability.  
Well, I don't know why she should.  Although she doesn't believe in 
speaking ill of other teachers, she doesn't hesitate to drop hints.  
And she's never dropped any hints that Snape isn't up to speed. She 
doesn't really say anything except that he absolutely refuses to 
take anyone with less than an "O" into his NEWT classes.  Now, if he 
wasn't better than than the average potion maker, why would he 
surround himself with exceptional students?

Looking at the teachers at Hogwarts, I think most of us would agree 
that McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick and Sprout are all competent 
teachers, highly skilled in their areas.  We would not be so 
enthusiastic for Hagrid, Lockhart, Umbridge, Trelawney and possibly 
Quirrell.

And has anyone said that McGonagall is more highly skilled than any 
other transfiguration witch?  Sure, she's an animagus, but we know 3 
teenagers who could transfigure themselves. Yet there is something 
in her bearing and in the way her class is managed that indicates 
she is.  I think the same is true of Snape.

Now, what exactly is Snape's reputation with this HPfGU?  He is a 
highly competent potion maker, possessing a skill above the standard 
wizard, and perhaps more highly skilled than those who make potions 
for a living. Sound about right? How far above that level is 
anyone's guess.  And while we don't have a second quote on it, I 
think we've been shown enough to accept it.

Potioncat