Please explain. . .

[nrenka]

No: HPFGUIDX 144181

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Irene Mikhlin 
<irene_mikhlin at b...> wrote:

<snip>

> No he did not. We've went through that episode many times before. 
> Trevor was in no more danger than when Flitwick used him for 
> demonstrating levitation.

On the other hand, does Neville *think* that Trevor is in danger?  If 
so, then the point of the exercise is, in part, to scare Neville with 
the life of his pet.  For Neville's state of mind, whether Trevor is 
actually in danger is irrelevant, because he doesn't *know* that 
nothing will happen.  [A scaled-down version of Dostoyevsky's story of 
the man on the gallows; the Tsar isn't actually going to have him 
executed, but wants him to feel what it's like to think he's going to 
be.]

That fits nicely in with JKR describing Snape as 'sadistic'.  But hey--
what does an author know about the actual motivations of her characters?

-Nora now feels the need to kick back with some Russian lit