Question for Snape Bashers

[Wanda Sherratt]

No: HPFGUIDX 102471

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" <drednort at a...> 
wrote:
 
> Constant abuse of Neville?
> 
> Incident 5: Prisoner of Azkaban, p.97-98.
> 
> Continuation of the previous incident. Neville is obviously 
working 
> hard (with Hermione's help which she shouldn't be giving). Snape 
> carries out his threat to test the potion on Trevor the Toad. It 
> works as designed.
> 
> Now, this one interests me - because Neville *is* working hard - 
> Hermione is helping but Neville is doing the work. We know Snape 
> can tell if this potion is mixed correctly by its colour - so he 
> presumably knows Neville has mixed it correctly. He administers to 
> Trevor - and when it work restores Trevor with an antidote - and 
> then he takes 5 point from Hermione for helping Neville.
> 
> He doesn't punish Neville at this time, for accepting her help. 
> Even though, frankly, it's tantamount to cheating. I can't fault 
> him at all here.

It interests me, too, because it's clear that he knows all along 
that Hermione is helping Neville, but he doesn't stop her.  He 
doesn't separate them to put a stop to it, he just lets it continue 
and at the end docks a few points.  I see this as the mark of a good 
teacher: he isn't interested in killing Neville's toad, or making 
Neville suffer, so he lets N and H break the rules in the interest 
of helping N actually learn something.  But he can't let the 
students think that they can fool him, so he re-establishes his 
authority afterwards by inflicting a mild punishment.  It's the 
old "I have eyes in the back of my head" treatment, just to make 
sure they don't get the idea that they can get away with anything in 
his class.
> 
> McGonagall uses this technique:
> 
> "Professor McGonagall pulled herself back through the portrait
> hole to face the stunned crowd. She was white as chalk.
> 
> 'Which person,' she said, her voice shaking, 'which abysmally
> foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them
> lying around?'"
> 
Yes, and who DID leave the passwords lying around?  Why, it was 
Neville again!  So if Snape is guilty of abuse by publicly 
chastising Neville for a fault, then so is McGonagall.  Which is to 
say, that such actions are not abusive at all, they are an accepted 
part of the world of Hogwarts, and everyone knows it.

Wanda