Apologizing to Snape?

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 139130

Eggplant: 
> And if Snape were your kid would you also tell Snape to apologize to
Harry for prying into his mind and not giving him the same
opportunity to hide his most embarrassing memories in the Pensive? 

Pippin:
For Harry to put his most vulnerable memories in the pensieve, he
would first have to think about what they are.  That would be 
self-defeating, since the problem was that Harry was vulnerable
to Voldemort, not Snape.

Voldemort had,  as they thought,  access to every one of those 
embarrassing experiences all the time, not just during occlumency
lessons.   So, unless Harry got very good at occlumency very quickly, 
for Harry to identify his most vulnerable thoughts  would have been 
like handing Voldemort a road map -- and it would have 
pointed straight to Cho Chang.

Isn't it telling that Voldemort used Harry's feelings for  Sirius,
not her?
 
Snape did respect Harry's sexual privacy -- he did not actually force 
Harry to relive his memory of kissing Cho, and did not try to access
this memory again. He also didn't make Harry recall being 
embarrassed by Myrtle in the prefect's bath or any of the thoughts 
Harry had about Cho that the text said he didn't want anyone to know 
about. 

I wish I could say the same for Harry, who showed
every indication of  staying in the memory to find out
whether Snape got pantsed or not.


Eggplant:
>And if Harry  had apologized how do you think he'd feel about it now 
after he watched Snape murder Dumbledore?

Pippin:
If Harry thought Snape was a murderer at the time,  he shouldn't have 
been studying with him. But Harry  has never had the courage of his 
convictions where Snape is concerned, never had the guts to walk
out as Hermione has. He might be ashamed of himself for that --
or maybe he's known in his heart all along that his suspicions were
unfounded.

Nobody is suggesting that Harry should have whined, or 
grovelled or kissed Snape's feet, or said, "You are right, I am a
jumped up miserable cur who is unworthy to study wizardry. 
>From now on please treat me as horribly as I deserve." <g>

 All he needed to say was, "I shouldn't have looked in your pensieve,
sir, and I'm sorry."  Since Harry was  indeed sorry he looked, and
knew it was wrong, what on earth would he have lost by admitting it? I
really don't understand the notion that Snape could have somehow used 
this against him. How? Snape might, what, act like he'd scored a
point or something? Wouldn't that be just another instance of
childish behavior on Snape's part, and another reason for Harry to
feel superior, knowing he, at least, had acted like a grown up?


Pippin