Harry, Neville, and Snape

[Berit Jakobsen]

No: HPFGUIDX 90276

Sigune wrote:
I may be too positive towards Snape here, but it has always seemed to 
me that what fuels our Potion Master's contempt is the fact that 
Neville definitely has something in him but doesn't work hard enough 
to make it come out.

Now if Snape's antipathy towards Harry and Neville has anything to do 
with their both being the "one" from the prophecy, that would be 
really unsettling

Berit replies:

So, the reasons I have seen listed so far, are:

1. Snape is being cruel to Neville because like the bully he is he 
picks on the weaker students

2. Snape is angry at Neville for not working harder

3. Snape is "toughening" up both Neville and Harry because of the 
prophecy, getting them ready for the fight.

I guess it's possible all three could be right. There's also a 
possible fourth reason why Snape is picking on Neville: Neville 
regularly visits his parents at the ward at St. Mungo's. They share 
the room with barking and hairy Agnes who has an as of yet unnamed 
son. If she turns out to be Snape's mother, the likelihood of Neville 
knowing about it is very high. So maybe the reason Snape is cruel to 
Neville is the same reason he is cruel to Harry: Punishing him for 
being his father's son (punishing Neville for being so tactless as to 
know about the humiliation of his mother). Well, this is my pet 
theory at the moment :-)

Berit
http://home.no.net/berjakob/snape.html