How should Harry deal with Snape?

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 107658

 Neri now:
> 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. <snip>
> Does anybody have an idea, how should Harry deal with 
Snape?<

Well, he should stop lying and sassing back, because that is the 
behavior that Snape interprets as arrogant. *We* know Harry only 
does it because he's insecure and frightened of Snape, and the 
more Snape insults him and accuses him, the more insecure 
and frightened Harry becomes.  But Snape doesn't dig that, and 
maybe never will.

It doesn't really matter whether the core reason for that  
misunderstanding is rage, social ineptitude,  prejudice or sheer 
cussedness--whatever it is, Harry didn't make Snape the way he 
is and isn't responsible for making him change the way he 
thinks -- on the other hand he can, by modifying his own 
behavior, hope to change the tenor of their interactions.

 Harry made a start at this at the end of OOP, when he freely 
admitted he was about to curse Malfoy instead of lying about it. 
And nothing very terrible happened, did it? He lost a few points. 
The worst that could have happened was a detention, and 
Snape's detentions, while not much fun, are certainly not in a 
class with Umbridge's. 

Now, if only, the next time Snape insults him, Harry could bring 
himself to say  "You could be right about that, Sir." I've stopped 
bullying bosses in their tracks with that one.

Of course it probably won't happen next time, because the Harry 
Snape conflict won't be resolved until Book Seven. But as Jim 
has challenged us to imagine how it would come about, here's 
my guess.  

Harry knows that lying, sassing back, and matching insults aren't     
constructive behaviors, but his attitude right now is "I only have to 
behave myself if Snape does."  What could convince him to go 
the extra mile?

 JKR has said that Harry's glasses are the key to his 
vulnerability. What would happen if Harry lost his glasses at 
some critical moment and had, not only to trust Snape, but to 
avoid the behaviors that have confirmed Snape's poor opinion of 
him?


Pippin