Harry's story , NOT Snape's (was Re: "An old man's mistakes")

[lady.indigo at gmail.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 138985

> > lady.indigo:
> ><snip> I think a lot of Snape's continuing problems have to
> > do with Harry being an utter idiot towards and about him. 
> > The instant he discovered that his father was a lot of 
> > things that Snape had always claimed he was, Lupin's "well, 
> > we were very young then" nonsense or no, the *first thing*
> > Harry should have done was gone to Snape and both apologized 
> > about poking into his very private things and said "What my 
> > father did was unforgiveable but I am not my father."

msbeadsley <msbeadsley at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I think a lot of *Harry's* continuing problems have to do with 
> not seeing beyond the hatred Snape has so efficiently engendered 
> in him. And I can just imagine the scene if Harry had done as you 
> propound.  I believe Harry was actually prepared to say something 
> at least vaguely conciliatory to Snape when Snape became outright 
> violent. (This is an old argument; I was here for it after OoP 
> came out. I am on the side that says Snape's behavior towards 
> Harry was and always had been unconscionable and that Harry's 
> response had been, erm, to be expected. Otherwise known as 
> deserved. See my previous paragraph +1.)


I have to admit I haven't read OotP for a while now and have come 
up short on the details thusly. But yes, bad for Harry and bad for 
Snape both, because Snape is fostering a hate in Harry that Harry 
doesn't seem to realize he needs to overcome (and this is what I 
mean about the cycle that needs to be broken). But while Snape 
believes exactly what he wants to believe of Harry, and yes, 
Harry's response to this is generally to be expected, I still 
think he has to rather grow up and learn a thing or two about 
people to at least *try* and communicate with the man. 

If it were up to me I simply would not let Snape think badly of 
me once I realized where he was coming from - and while it's from 
a very angry, bitter place it's also easy to see a great deal of 
what drives him. I'd have persisted in getting a very humble, 
respectful moment alone with him, written a letter, asked for
advice from Dumbledore, anything. That's coming from someone with 
a therapist from a mother who very much thinks about the 
psychology of things, but I simply can't have someone thinking 
that badly of me now that I understand why he's so upset. I'd at 
the very least think it's my obligation to make reparations where 
my father didn't, and I'd certainly not be wishing death on the 
guy and mouthing off to him much in the manner of my hated dad
by the next year. It's my own damn fault I was poking around in 
his magical diary, after all.

- Lady Indigo