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

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 139014

**Replies to several people on this thread**
> lady.indigo at g... wrote:
> <<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." It's a lot of his own failings and pride that has 
> allowed this relationship to fester into something even worse than 
> what he began it to be. (Though Snape has a huge part in this too, 
> certainly, and I don't excuse his bitterness or cruelty towards 
> all of his students in the least.)<<<

JenR.: Harry learned something very important from that Pensieve 
incident and he said it himself--Snape was right about James, and 
Harry himself identified with Snape more than James in the memory.

I can't help but think of Tom Riddle, who might have been the type 
of person to apologize to Snape at a surface level with absolutely 
no conviction his actions were wrong(if he ever cared enough about 
someone, good or bad, to look into their Pensive to begin with). But 
my point being that Harry actually learned something important from 
the incident whether he told Snape or not, and his internal shift 
was much more crucial to moral development than the words--it makes 
a conviction in spoken words possible. I believe this subtle change 
is what made him trust Snape enough to tell him 'he's got Padfoot in 
the place where it's hidden!'. After watching Snape and Sirius 
interact, Harry knows the bitterness between them. But Harry seems 
to finally believe Snape is trustworthy enough to put aside personal 
feelings and act as an Order member and Dumbledore loyalist in that 
situaion. Second-hand trust as Nora calls it <g>. Whether Snape was 
worthy of that trust remains to be seen.

Then later in OOTP in DD's office, we see the slide back 
downhill: "he felt a savage pleasure in blaming Snape, it seemed to 
be easing his own sense of dreadful guilt, and he wanted to hear 
Dumbledore agree with him." (chap. 37, p. 833, Scholastic). Harry, 
stressed and wallowing in his own guilt, falls back on the old stand-
by--hating Snape. Little does he know at that point how much reason 
he really *does* have to hate Snape-as-Eavesdropper.

I have a point here, I think ;). Well, it's mainly that in a normal 
relationship Harry's apology and Snape's acceptance of said apology 
just might work. But they don't have a chance from Day 1 for a 
normal relationship, not with James' ghost between them (and 
probably Lily's as well). Just the fact that Harry could see Snape's 
POV through his Hero!James complex seemed like a huge leap to me, 
more than I expected to see after books 1-4. 

Merylanna:
> I think Sirius had to die in order to fuel Harry's hatred of Snape
> and his reaction to the events in Book 6, which of course, sets up
> the big pay-offs in Book 7. I get that. I don't get where Harry's
> ungodly rage toward Snape is coming from during the early and mid
> going of OoTP. It's like Harry isn't paying attention to the Snape 
> in front of him, but to the Snape in his mind. When did Harry 
> become so DETERMINED to hate Snape so ferociously? It seems much 
> more intense in OoTP than before, and very marked because the
> Snape in front of him is far more nuanced than Harry is perceiving.

JenR.: Several things may have combined to fuel that rage. For one 
Harry was mad at everyone, so it makes contextual sense his anger 
toward Snape might intensify. He's also dealing with Dumbledore 
ignoring & excluding him after giving him attention and praise in 
previous years.  Harry expected to be more involved in the 'Anti-
Voldemort Movement' than he was, and seeing Snape act as an 
important Order member doesn't help. So, Harry identifies even more 
with Sirius as another person left out of the important work of the 
Order.

Pippin's excellent point below could have fuled the anger too, 
especially after the graveyard scene. Harry barely escaped, and 
thinks luck was the only thing that got him out alive. Thinking 
Snape would agree with that assessment, that he's only a so-so 
wizard, could definitely fuel the fire. And the last thing I hope we 
hear more about in Book 7 is whether Voldemort messing around in 
Harry's mind contributed at all to his hot-headedness in OOTP.


Pippin:
> I mean, Harry thinks Snape hates him and needles him because Snape
> believes that Harry is a weak and unworthy wizard. That's what
> makes it hurt so much -- because Harry is afraid in his heart that
> this is true. But OFH!Snape can't believe this; after all he's
> only keeping Harry alive because Harry is the Chosen One, right?
> So Harry has to be wrong. And we're back to OscarWinner!Snape, too.

JenR.: Every once in awhile something rings completely true, and 
this is a big one Pippin. We never hear Harry actually think this to 
himself, but HBP made it clear Harry doesn't feel he's up for the 
task of the Chosen One. He started dabbling in Dark arts, and acted 
out that charade in Slughorn's classroom. He's trying to feel 
powerful by co-opting strategies from other people because he saw 
Dumbledore and Voldemort fighting and KNOWS he's not a wizard equal 
to Voldemort in the traditional sense. 

Dumbledore keeps trying to reinforce to him it's not power that will 
defeat Voldemort, it's something only Harry can do. Like retrieving 
the memory from Slughorn but on a giant scale! I loved how good 
Harry felt about retrieving that memory, how he rushed to 
Dumbledore's office to share it with him the minute he learned DD 
was around. Maybe Harry will finally believe Dumbeldore in Book 7 
and stop trying to be someone he's not.

JenR.