What if Snape does not have to maintain any cover?

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 101563

Pippin wrote:
> 
> People aren't Chinese menus--you can't order a Snape special 
> with  extra cunning, resourcefulness and bloody-mindedness, 
> hold the resentment and sarcasm, please. :)

Potioncat:
Nothing to add, I just thought that was too good to snip!


Pippin: 
> Let me ask a question in return: if you were convinced that 
> Snape had made an honest effort to put his grudge against 
> James aside and done all that he knew to teach Harry 
> Occlumency, would you forgive him for stopping the lessons? 
> 
> Because on consideration, I think I can show that he did.  Once 
> the lessons begin there's not one reference  to Harry's father, 
till 
> Harry looks in the Pensieve. Snape puts his worst memory of 
> James where  it couldn't  possibly color his thoughts. And what 
> did Harry do? Went and fetched it out again. There's no way, 
> now, that Snape can escape it, because now it's part of Harry's 
> memories, too. 
> 

Potioncat:
I never thought of this as the reason for taking that memory out of 
his head.  And it sounds wonderful!  Agan:.."where it couldn't 
possibly color his thoughts."

So Snape's reasons for putting these thoughts out of his head, was 
to clear his head for task ahed of him, not so much to keep them 
from Harry?  So many of our first impressions in this book are 
wrong, we could have been wrong with this too.

I can almost see the converstion:
Snape: "Headmaster, how can I teach Potter Occlumency when I have so 
much bad history with his father!

DD: "Well, Severus, just put those thoughts out of your head."

Potioncat wondering just how big the Pensieve is?