Whoops! Re: CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 29, Career Advice

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 115920



> > Potioncat:
> > Well, as much wicked pleasure as readers have gotten 
> from "Whoops!",  something doesn't fit here.   
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Hmmm, wicked pleasure. I don't know. I think Snape certainly got a 
> lot of wicked pleasure out of it, as for me, I am not so sure. :)
>

Potioncat:
In previous discussions of the Whoops episode, other readers have 
stated that they found it very funny. My son was being particularly 
obnoxious about the time I was reading OoP, so I tended to enjoy 
Snape's wickedness...things I might wish I could do, but never 
would. I never thought it was funny...although Snape standing there 
saying "Whoops!" does seem comical.

Alla: 
> I am curious, why do you think it was out of character for Snape 
to break a vial in front of entire class? The purpose is humiliation 
> and Snape certainly had no problme huimiliating Harry in front of 
> entire class over and over again. Why breaking his vial was so 
> different?

Potioncat:
For one thing, if he broke it, Snape looks silly, not powerful.  If 
he broke it, it was a "Clumsy me!" sort of approach. If someone else 
broke it, it's "I don't care." which is more powerful.

In this scene, Snape is ignoring Harry. In chapter 31,(I think a few 
weeks later.)  Harry wonders if Lupin ever talked to Snape about 
Occlumency:  "If he had, then Snape had ignored Lupin as thoroughly 
as he was now ignoring Harry."

Snape is ignoring Harry for a long time.  But, while ignoring Harry 
he drops and breaks a flask of potion?  In front of the class?  
Saying no more than Whoops?  And doesn't do any other mean things to 
him?  It just doesn't seem to fit. Once before that I remember Snape 
magicked away Harry's potion because Snape said it was no good.  But 
this seems different.  That was public, and with a sneer. Again, 
powerful.

And I'm not sure if his ignoring Harry is out of anger or out of 
retreat.  Goading Harry would make Harry want to tell what he saw, 
wouldn't it? We know that to Harry, his father looked worse than 
Snape did, but Snape doesn't know that.

I also just read it as flask, not vial.  So I agree, a flask would 
be less likely to roll off the desk and break.

What we are told is that Harry hears the smashing, Draco laughs, 
Snape "is surveying him with a look of gloating pleasure."  Snape is 
glad the flask broke.  I'm still not sure Snape broke it.

We don't know where Draco is.  It is the end of the lesson and 
students are taking samples to Snape's desk. Is Draco also putting 
his sample on the desk and did he just happen to brush against 
Harry's sample? How busy is it? Did a different un-named student 
knock it off?

I agree, Snape may have broken it, I think it is important to JKR 
that we don't know what happened.