How should Harry deal with Snape? (was: Why Snape doesn't have to be human)

[melclaros]

No: HPFGUIDX 107581

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "nkafkafi" <nkafkafi at y...> 
wrote:
> OK, we are all here much wiser than Harry, and if we were in his 
> place, we would have known EXACTLY how to deal with Snape. Right? 
We 
> would have, er, we would have... erm... do what???
> I surely don't know.
> 
> Does anybody have an idea, how should Harry deal with Snape? I 

Mel:
Well, let's see. By attending to his lessons and studying. By 
minding his own business. By following the rules once in a while and 
even occassionally listening to something told him by an adult. 
*Any* adult.

Sure he can roam around muttering about how much he hates Snape and 
how unfair and blah blah blah just like every other kid in Hogwarts 
who's had to deal with this. He can indulge in his violent 
fantasies. He does *not* have to mouth off to him at every 
opportunity. Good lord, he knows what the man is like by now, 
doesn't he? He knows he's being watched for any mistake. He could at 
least *try* to learn something.

Your claim that Snape's dislike of Harry is not due to his incessant 
rule breaking is no longer rings true. While it does seem true that 
there was a prejudice of some sort there from the start, we're 5 
years on now and Snape has *plenty* of Harry Potter's *own* behavior 
to hold against him.

It's far too much to ask for even a mumbled thanks and/or apology 
for everything Snape *has* done for him so far, but perhaps some 
sort of acknowledgement that something "went down" at the Quidditch 
match (to pick one of the fav examples) would be nice. It would also 
be a way to one-up Snape, if that's how he wanted to approach it. 
Knowing that he's expecting no thanks or apology and delivering 
something of the sort might give Harry a moral upper-hand of sorts. 
Well it might have if he'd done it less than 5 years later.

The thing is, this "I hate Snape he's so unfair!" has become a one-
trick pony. Harry's latest "I hate Snape he's to blame for 
everything!" tantrum at the end of OoP was a deal-breaker, really. 
It looked like he might show some growth after the pensieve debacle, 
but that was snatched away. There was very little to like about the 
young man in book 5, which I appreciated just because it was a 
fairly accurate depiction of a pouty teenager, but that little 
tirade finished him for me. He'd better have a personality 
transplant over the next summer or Snape won't be his only problem.



.> But what should Harry do, how 
> should he behave, in order to get from Snape a reasonable 
treatment? 
> What can Harry do that would actually work?

Mel
Herein lies the problem. After 5 years, why is he still--why are 
readers still--expecting "reasonable treatment"?
*That* is the question!

Melpomene