Quesiton for Snapeophiles and -phobes RE Dumbledore, Snape, and Harry

[M.Clifford]

No: HPFGUIDX 114812



> Amandageist:
> My husband mentioned, after reading the (at that time) three 
books, that Snape is a grown man and Harry is a child; 
any "struggle" between them is mostly in Harry's mind. Snape has 
higher priorities than making Harry's life
> awful; bedeviling Harry doesn't dominate his thoughts and dreams. 
Snape is a far larger factor in Harry's life than Harry is of 
Snape's.
> 

Valky:
Hi Amandageist! It's been so long since you dropped us an On Topic 
Pearl of Wisdom and it's really nice to hear from you.

I agree with your husband, Harry is not a consequence in himself to 
Snape. Most likely when Harry is not around Snape isn't at all 
brewing anger about him. With the exception of perhaps the week 
after the pensieve incedent in OOtP which incedently had Snape 
*ignoring* Harry. Thats a good indication that if Snape *was* 
overcome with continual thoughts of Harry hate then he'd probably 
act like that most of the time, which he doesn't.



> Amandageist:
> I still believe that Snape's nastiness is his "autopilot" mode, 
the way he operates when he's not really thinking about it. I think 
it's probably easy for him because of his past, and that it fits 
well with his nature--but I also still believe that it is 
deliberate, so that the memories he has of places and people will be 
appropriate when facing the skilled Legilimens Voldemort; so that 
the memories he must suppress are minimal and in a very
> few, controlled, locations.
> 
> That, I think, is why Snape will not eat at Sirius' house;


Valky:
I couldn't agree more, recently I posted to Snape threads how I see 
that Snape has chosen to put on a nasty front. A front I have 
noticed falls down like a ton of bricks twice in HP history. Both 
times are when he is confronted with Sirius Black.
To add my own POV to yours the way I see it Snape, the fascinating 
creature (but I think we are starting to peg him to the wall if I 
dare speak so soon ;P), is able to live in relative peace and think 
nothing of Harry until he is confronted with him. Because then he is 
facing a pain he cannot escape, not Harry, but James.
I am speculating, and I am going to do a lot of that this week JKR 
so I hope you *ARE* watching, I shall write clearly ;D, and it goes 
thusly:

Sirius is like a compound unscratchable inner itch, he irritates 
Snape so deeply. Snape doesn't feel he is at all inferior to Sirius 
and he never has and blow it Sirius is just lucky most of the time 
as far as Snape is concerned. Sirius was the one who wriggled out of 
the prank on a technicality, he's the one that Snape so wants to 
show up and take down with *two-hands!* tied behind his back. But 
more than that Sirius had the spot that Snape himself coveted, 
James' right hand.  

You see I think the wound that goes too deep for healing, and this 
is NOT A SHIP, is a broken heart. Let me first relate you a story. 
When I was five I complained to my mother that a child who sat 
behind me in class was throwing spitballs at the back of my head. My 
mother who is a very wise lady just laughed and said to me "Well 
actually, that means he *likes* you." 
Ok, now, not surprisingly I thought she was off her flamin rocker 
what on earth was she on about and fair dinkum the kid was pelting 
me with his germy saliva! Surely he was trying to make me suffer, 
right? 
Wrong! She asked him... and shyly he grinned and nodded. 
Snape attacked James all through his schooldays, by the end it was 
hate but in the beginning I am not so sure. 
Lupins shiny drop of insight: "James was everything Snape wanted to 
be Popular Good at Sports....."
AHA! Lupin was on to something there but, maybe he hadn't had it 
quite right. Maybe Snape hadn't wanted to be James but instead just 
wanted to be James' friend.

Now here's where I imagine it could *really* hurt forever. Imagine 
you were rejected by the person you admired for seven years learned 
to despise them, wondered what you ever saw in them, finally reposed 
satisfied in your judgement that they were scum and it didn't matter 
anymore and then one of the SOB's, the one you looked up to all 
those years ago, saves your life!

You get up brush yourself off and say " Yeah right! I could've been 
grateful BUT YOU'RE A FEW YEARS LATE TO BE NICE NOW!!!"

So I think what Snape sees in Harry is not just a James that he 
hates and thinks is scum, but a James that he is confused about, 
wishes never existed, someone who *could* have been his friend but 
blew it.