Snape and Draco (Was: Despised Lackey or Social Equal?)

[rach9112000]

No: HPFGUIDX 90240

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, eloiseherisson at a... wrote:
> Sigune muses:
> 
> >Malfoy Jr may 
> > have a certain talent for potion-making, but apart from that... 
Draco 
> > strikes me as much too stupid (sorry Draco fans) for Snape to be 
able 
> > to really respect him or care for him. >

Eloise writes:  
> I agree with all of that, actually.
> 
> But I don't think that Draco has a happy home life and I think 
Snape may well 
> identify with that. There are hints (I'm not going down the abused 
child 
> road) that Draco doesn't really get on with his father all that 
well. It's a cold 
> relationship. I always envisaged Snape having a cold, distant (or 
absent) 
> father, things that are strongly implied in OoP. I suspect that 
Snape knew Draco 
> or at least his situation to some extent before his arrival at 
Hogwarts.
> 
(snipped)
> I just have a feeling that if Severus had fallen off his broom, 
probably 
> no-one would have worried about him or asked anyone to cut up 
*his* potions 
> ingredients for him (hence perhaps part of his willingness to 
molly coddle Draco). 
> Ability or not, Draco is the most prominent Slytherin in his year. 
Snape 
> probably was too (all those curses, ability at potions, possible 
implications of 
> flying ability). And given his character, he probably didn't feel 
he got the 
> recognition he deserved. So it was part of my mental picture of 
Snape (who I think 
> tends to project rather) that in his relationship with Draco he 
rather trieds 
> to treat him as he wishes he had been treated. 

Rachel replies:
   On reading the books, I have never got the impression that Snape 
is trying to "molly coddle" Draco and I can't think of any canon to 
support his feeling of sympathy towards Draco(but if you can find 
any please do tell me because it could be an angle that I have just 
never seen before). 
  I took the scene where Snape orders Dracos ingredients to be cut 
up for him, more as Snapes way at getting at Harry by forcing his 
best friend to do work for Draco. 
  I agree with Sigune in respect that Draco is too stupid (not 
academically but with regards to common sense and awareness), for 
Snape to respect him all that much.  I get the feeling more that 
Snape likes to portray overt favouritism towards Draco, in order to 
annoy Harry and highlight his dislike for Harry and show that just 
because other people think he's so great, Snape definately does not 
agree. In Snapes eyes, the more he supports and favouritises Draco, 
the more it puts Harry in his place. 
Rachel