"I thought he could overcome his feelings..."

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 129028

In Dumbledore's speech at the end of OOTP, he says of Snape, "I 
thought Professor Snape could overcome his feelings about your 
father.  I was wrong."

DD's speech is somewhat vague as to the time scale to which he is 
referring (e.g. when he talks about his mistakes does he mean just 
since the end of GoF or since Harry's birth or what?) and this part 
of the speech is no exception.  The more I think of it, the vaguer 
it seems to get.  I see three possibilities here, none of which are 
exclusive:

1)  DD meant that he literally thought that Snape could, upon 
request during Harry's fifth year, put aside his feelings about 
James.  If this is the case, it seems somewhat ... naive.  Of 
course, that is what DD may be admitting when he talks about how he 
forgot that "some wounds run too deep for the healing."  Still, has 
he been paying no attention AT ALL the last four and a half years?  
What, precisely, has he seen in Snape's attitude toward Harry that 
might lead him to believe that Snape is capable of such a change?  
Maybe, in fact, he is not as knowing as we have been led to 
believe.  Harry says in PS/SS that Dumbledore "knows everything that 
goes on at Hogwarts."  Well, that seems highly doubtful in light of 
some of his DADA teachers.  Perhaps he just hasn't been paying as 
much attention as he should to this particular problem?

2)  DD thought the experience of Occlumency lessons ITSELF would 
lead Snape to adopt a different attitude.  This is possible if, in 
fact, Snape is ignorant of the conditions of Harry's upbringing, and 
especially if DD thought this knowledge would lead to some 
sympathy.  Yet, if this is the case, why has DD not tried to correct 
Snape's misperceptions before now?  Is it out of some kind of 
misguided wish to preserve Harry's privacy?  Is it because he didn't 
know Snape HAD these misconceptions (hard to believe)?  Or, once 
again, because he just wasn't paying attention?

3)  The most interesting possibility is that perhaps DD was 
referring to a longer stretch of time.  Perhaps he was trying to 
say, "I thought that AS PROFESSOR SNAPE GOT TO KNOW YOU OVER TIME he 
could overcome his feelings about your father."  That is, he knew 
all along that Snape had bitter feelings about James, but he 
reasoned as Harry came to Hogwarts that once Snape got to know Harry 
and realized he was NOT like James a lot of those feelings could be 
allayed.  Thus he is referring to all the last five years.  This 
could explain something of DD's attitude even if he was paying 
attention.  To wit: "I know Severus has problems with Harry, but he 
just needs time to get to know the boy and understand that Harry 
isn't at all like James.  Once that sinks in he will be able to see 
past a lot of his bitterness."  And when push came to shove during 
Harry's fifth year, DD might have thought, "Well, we're up against 
it now.  Surely Severus has learned enough these past five years to 
know that Harry isn't James and to be able to do what has to be 
done."  In this case, DD has underestimated the ability of Snape (or 
anyone, for that matter) to willfully block out information they 
don't want to acknowledge.  Snape was convinced in advance Harry was 
like James, he in some sense WANTED Harry to be like James, and he 
wasn't going to acknowledge any evidence that Harry WAS NOT like 
James, no matter who asked it of him or how pressing the need.

Of course, some combination of all or some of these is also 
possible.  For instance DD might have thought that "Severus has had 
five years and he's not quite there yet but SURELY working with 
Harry will get him to understand the situation, finally."  

I think that the answer to this question (if it is ever revealed, 
and it may not be) would say a great deal about Dumbledore and his 
attitude toward both Harry and Snape.  Anyone else have any thoughts?

Lupinlore