What if other teachers behaved like Snape?

[davewitley]

No: HPFGUIDX 101213

Ooh, can I jump in?  Can I?

Pippin:
 
> > Shall we count the times that Snape has rushed to Harry's aid or 
> > acted on his behalf?
> > 
> > 1) The troll (PS/SS)

Darrin:
> 
> Snape was running to the troll. I doubt he had any idea Harry, 
> Hermione and Ron were there.

As I recall it, Snape went to the third floor to head off Quirrell.  
That does not show any special concern to protect Harry.  It does, 
however show an intelligent and flexible devotion to duty, which IMO 
is fairly often seen in Snape.

Pippin:
> > 2) The broomstick (PS/SS)

Darrin:
 
> Yes, he distracted Quirrell long enough for Hermione to finish the 
> job.

The point here, is not whether Snape was effective or not, but the 
maturity and responsibility of his actions.  I see nothing to 
complain of, and Hermione's contribution was luck (knocking Quirrell 
over).
> 
> > 3) Referree-ing the second Quidditch match (PS/SS)
> 
> Dumbledore showed up, making Snape's gesture pointless. 

We don't know the background to this.  Of the various possibilities 
(contingency plans, communications foul-up, independent action, 
etc.) the only one that reflects badly on Snape is if he decided to 
go ahead and referee the match without reference to Dumbledore, or 
despite his orders.  At worst, that, IMO, reflects only an excess of 
zeal. 
> 
> > 4) Confronting Quirrell (PS/SS)
> 
> And yet Quirrell still managed to make it all the way to the Stone 
> and nearly killed Harry. Good job, Snape!

Again, we are limited in our knowledge of the background.  
Dumbledore had as much reason to be suspicious of Quirrell as 
Snape.  There is the interesting possibility here that, as a former 
DE, Snape had sympathy with Quirrell and wanted to give him every 
chance to reject Voldemort and side with Dumbledore.

In any case, it seems to me that the entire staff, and especially 
Dumbledore, bears responsibility for letting Quirrell and Harry get 
to the stone.  In OOP, Dumbledore denies that he wanted Harry to 
confront Voldemort at this age, yet, given what we now know about 
the prophecy, once he suspected Voldemort was on the loose, there 
was in fact very little other choice.  It is not easy to interpret 
Snape's role in this wider context, but it is hard to see that he 
was undermining Dumbledore's strategy.
 
> > 5) Guarding Harry  when no one else thought the boy was in any 
> > danger (PS/SS)
> 
> When was this?

I think Pippin has already adressed this.
> 
> > 6) Searching for Harry on the grounds (CoS)
> 
> We don't know what precipitated this. D-Dore might very well have 
> ordered him to do it.

I'm not sure how that makes any difference.  Are you trying to argue 
that Snape is unconcerned or actively trying to undermine Harry's 
welfare, but only behind Dumbledore's back?
> 
> > 7) Keeping him away from the one-eyed witch (PoA
> > 8) Entering the willow after he found Harry's cloak and knew he 
> > might be inside with a suspected Death Eater (PoA)
> 
> And he failed to listen to anything Harry, Hermione and Ron were 
> saying, nearly got two Order members killed, and nearly took 
Harry's 
> godfather away from him.

This particular episode in the history of Snape's motivations has 
been discussed at enormous length.  See my general commetns below.
> 
> > 9) Taking care of unconscious Harry (PoA)
> 
> Had Snape left Harry down there with the Dementors AND a werewolf, 
> his job wouldn't have been worth 10 cents. I never said Snape 
didn't 
> fulfill basic teacher duties (except when Hermione got hit with a 
> curse) but c'mon, that's not above and beyond.
> 
> And besides, Harry's work later saved the unconscious Snape, so 
let's 
> call that even.

My reading of this part is that Snape was doing what any decent 
person would.  I doubt he was secretly wishing he could get away 
with seeing all the people there Kissed, but deciding that he 
couldn't.

As for calling it even, I feel it is fruitless to work out a tally 
of the good and bad Harry and Snape have done each other, and seeing 
who is in credit.
> 
> > 10) Confronting Mad-eye, whom he fears, on the stairs  to 
> > ensure Harry's safety (GoF)
> 
> Or how about just trying to catch a student out of bed? 

I think we probably don't have enough information to say more than 
that, on hearing a disturbance, he goes to investigate.  In typical 
fashion, he does jump to conclusions about what is going on, but, 
well, he was right, wasn't he?
> 
> > 11) Revealing his dark mark to Fudge (GoF)
> 
> On orders from D-Dore.

This has already been discussed.
> 
> > 12) Believing Harry when he reported Sirius was in danger 
> > (OOP)
> 
> Had Snape kept that to himself, what good is he to the Order?

I don't understand this comment.
> 
> > 13) Searching a forest full of hostile centaurs when Harry was 
> > missing (OOP)
> 
> He intended to. Did he make it?

Again, I'm not sure what you are arguing here.  I think it is 
possible to try to make the case that Snape is in reality a 
Voldemort supporter, or in pursuing some nefarious deep game of his 
own, but I had the general impression you are mostly trying to say 
that Snape is immature and a loose cannon, considered as a supporter 
of Dumbledore.

My reading of the sweep of canon is that Snape is a fairly tireless 
and effective supporter of Dumbledore.  He does, however, have a 
tendency to independence of mind and action, which often takes him 
down the wrong path, and makes him all the more vulnerable to giving 
in to some of his worse motivations.  He also has a tendency to 
believe the worst of Harry, despite the evidence.  In these traits, 
as list members have pointed out, he is something of a mirror to 
Harry.  This has little to do with moral equivalence, it's just a 
literary observation.

David