Snape and Harry again.

[Hannah]

No: HPFGUIDX 114050

> Kelsey wrote:
<snip>
> Snape almost seems to be competing with Harry for heroism and, 
consequently, Dumbledore's attention. The occlumency lessons are an 
example, when Snape says that it's not Harry's job to find out what 
Voldemort is doing, then smiles when Harry says that it's Snape's 
job. It's almost like sibling rivalry (maybe going back to the James 
days) when he wants Harry to get into trouble and is angry that 
Dumbledore lets him get away with everything.
> 
> I love "He is a teacher after all.  No one can be a teacher and do 
the job for as long as he has without truly loving his work and that 
includes at least being able to tolerate your students, not hate 
them." I have always thought this about Snape. I think that he 
really does enjoy his job and his students. In COS, he emotionally 
grabs the back of a chair when he hears that Ginny Weasley is in 
danger of being killed. He's always saving Harry's tail, even if he 
acts like he doesn't want to. Even when he's cruel or mean, he seems 
to be alerting his students to a greater danger (for instance, 
assigning the werewolf essay to warn them about Lupin). Snape likes 
his students, the big softy.

Hannah: Hi Kelsey, welcome to the group.  I like your description of 
Snape competing with Harry for DD's attention.  I think that is a 
large part of Snape's problem with Harry: he sees him as a threat.  
I think that's partly why he attacks Harry in the first lesson in 
PS/SS; Snape wants to defend himself against the boy that he 
percieves as a threat to his standing with DD, and he attacks as a 
means of defence.  It isn't rational to do this, but since when has 
Snape been rational around Harry and his own emotions?

Snape has spent the last 16 years (approx) trying to redeem himself 
to DD, to justify the great man's trust in him (IMO, anyway).  I 
think he would like to be DD's 'right hand man.'  He sees Harry as 
someone who will take DD's attention away from him, perhaps as James 
did when they were at school.  The fact that trouble maker James was 
head boy, and knew DD very well at school and afterwards suggests he 
was something of a favourite with the Headmaster; maybe Snape would 
have liked that status but never got it/ wasn't prepared to share it?

I also liked the point that someone made in another thread (can't 
remember who now) that Snape would have been very angry about 
Umbridge and her approach to writing lines.  I agree with this.  I 
think that while Snape considers it OK for him to be horrible to the 
students (and maybe he doesn't see it as being that bad), he would 
not condone another teacher harming them (such as when he stopped 
Quirrel jinxing Harry's broom and refusing to help Umbridge 
interrogate Harry).

I don't know if Snape enjoys being a teacher or not, I can never 
make up my mind.  But I do think that he has a very strong sense of 
duty, and that as such he will protect his students, even when, as 
in Harry's case, he doesn't like them.  I always thought that he was 
given the job post GH (there has been some debate on this) because 
DD wanted him nearby, perhaps where he could keep an eye on him, or 
perhaps for Snape's own safety.  I always felt that Snape was made a 
teacher for those reasons, rather than because he wanted to teach.  

Hannah