McGonagall and Snape

[kmcbears1]

No: HPFGUIDX 111895

> Karen said:
> > Also, McGonagall and Snape have a 
> > different relationship (friendly rivalry) with each other than
they 
> > have with the rest of the staff.
> 
Aura said:
> So, do you we think McG and S like each other? Not in a shippy way,
but I
> just wonder how Snape gets along with the rest of the staff, if at
all.
> Since I want to see Snape as a 3D character, not a generic "mean
> grownup," I like to think that Snape can be capable of friendship,
> conversation, etc with people he's known long enough to trust. 
> 
> But what do the staff think of him? I think they respect him as a
decent
> teacher (or he'd been fired long ago), but on a personal level?
"Snape's
> a little difficult to get along with, but he can be pleasant when he
> wants to be"? "He's rough on the students because that's his
teaching
> style, but I like him"? Does Snape hang around the teachers' lounge
and
> chat with anyone? Do he and McGonagall play chess? Does he *ever*
crack a
> smile?
> 
> Aura
> 

Yes I think Snape and McG like each other.  Both are strict (remember
McG took 150 points from her own house in PS/SS) and know how to
control a class.  In POA we see Snape in the teacher's lounge sitting
on a chair.  The relationship of the teaching staff was shown
indirectly in both Cos and OotP. They banded together against Lockhart
and Umbridge.  IMO they are almost like a family but I don't think
Snape has figured that out.  I think Snape still holds himself apart
from the rest because of his childhood (at least the snippets we have
been able to see in OotP and POA).  

Snape had a very difficult transistion to make with the staff at
Hogwarts. He was a student there 5 years before he became a teacher. 
This would not be easy for anyone but he has gained the respect of
Hagrid, the trust of DD, a rivalry (Quidditch cup/house cup) with McG,
and Filtch provided first aid in PS/SS.

I'll even go a step further and say I think Snape has a closer
relationship with the students in Slitheryn than McG has with the
Griffindors.  It would not surprise me to learn that Snape spends time
in the Slitheryn common room making sure the Slitheryn's get all the
homework help they need to increase their chances of winning the house
cup.  After all, Crabbe and Goyle are still passing their classes.

Part of what interests me about Snape is that next to Harry, he is one
of the more complete characters we have in the series.  He has a past
and we have been shown enough of it to try and put motives to his
actions.

As for laughing - no I think Snape is one of those people who don't
laugh (the best I can get from my father-in-law after 35 years of
trying is a slight smile).  

IMO - Snape is one of those people who feel lonely in a crowd because
they can't figure out that people like them. 

- Karen