HBP (Snape's) old school textbook: FIFTH year text

[Little lama]

No: HPFGUIDX 137017

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "greenfirespike" 
<feenyjam at m...> wrote:
> 
> 
> I was having a bit of trouble with the HBP book itself.  I read a 
few 
> posts eariler discussing how the spell Harry uses against Draco 
could 
> be the same one Snape uses against James in the Pensive.  Which got 
me 
> thinking about a prior post discusisng, from what we see, the 
> beginning of the HBP's potions book shows a student trying to 
become 
> the best potions master they can.  It only appears later during the 
> school year that the HPB (Snape) begins to create his own dark arts 
> spells.  
> 
> Thus, are we to assume that, based off of what we see with the 
> development of the HBP through Harry, that Snape's worst year would 
be 
> his sixth year?  I assume this because I assume that Slughorn would 
> use the same book for the same year as he did before.  Any thoughts?
> 
> Greenfirespike



Actually, I have been intrigued by the fact that Snape was already 
using the Advanced Potions textbook in his FIFTH year, although it is 
now a sixth year text.  The Pensieve scene where he's tormented by 
James took place, if you remember, after they had just sat one of 
their OWL exams, which take place in fifth year.  I am confident that 
the sectumsempra spell is the same one SS used in the Pensieve 
scene ... and that JKR laid this as an early clue for wide awake HBP 
readers as to the HBP's identity.

Speaking of early clues, another one was the 'small, cramped 
handwriting' with which the back cover of the book was labelled ... 
very reminiscent of the 'minuscule, cramped handwriting' (quoted from 
memory) which Harry had previously observed teenage Snape using to 
write his exam paper in the Pensieve scene.

So, a teensy slip up by JKR? ... or was teenage Snape working a year 
ahead of his peers - seems he was entirely capable of it - or did the 
school later decide that the fifth year potions syllabus was too 
demanding for sixteen year olds?   ;-)


Lama  

(long, longtime lurker)