Judging a book by its cover

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 142278

(There, finally changed it's to its so I don't have to cringe 
looking at my own botched title<g>) 

> Sherry now:
> And just what part of Snape does the book show Harry?  Not
> something positive.  in spite of the brilliance of the potion
> instructions, the book teaches Harry several horrible dark 
> curses.  is this the glorious real Snape?  All through the book,
> HBP that is, we're led to feel distrustful of the effect that book
> has on Harry.  But then we find out it was Snape's book
> and that makes it ok?  It seems to me that the identity of the
> owner of the book should confirm Harry's suspicions of Snape
> rather than allaying them. the Snape who is the Half Blood Prince
> is not a very nice fellow and not one Harry should trust, forgive
> or emulate.  


Jen: I made a few internal leaps of logic in my post yesterday, 
hoping to write a short one (for once!), but will expand on those 
thought a bit. My view of the potion book is different from yours 
because I believe its significance is mainly metaphorical.

Dumbledore spent a significant amount of time in HBP showing Harry 
scenes from other people's lives, flawed lives, people who didn't 
think or act as Dumbledore or Harry would in the same situation. 
Throughout the Pensieve memories, Dumbledore encourages Harry's 
natural reactions to the scenes ("Could you possibly be feeling 
sorry for Lord Voldemort?") and reminding him there's often more 
than meets the eye ("...do not judge her too harshly Harry. She was 
greatly weakened by long suffering and she never had your mother's 
courage.") In a nutshell, I believe Dumbeldore's lessons were two-
fold: 1) showing Harry where Voldemort is weak and therefore, will 
make mistakes leading to his own destruction; 2) Equally important 
to Dumbledore, he was teaching Harry how to view others through the 
eyes of compassion.

I think the 'second chances' thing with Dumbledore is more than 
blind faith. He believes that trusting in other's goodness is not 
only the right thing to do, but will actually bring out those good 
qualitites inside of them. He truly did believe Riddle, given a 
second chance at Hogwarts and being exposed to love magic, would 
turn from the path he was on; he believed and told Draco three times 
he was not a killer and his affirmation helped Draco make the right 
choice; he believed Slughorn would put aside his terror and strong 
desire for a comfortable life and act bravely by giving Harry the 
memory. 

Given all that, I believe Dumbledore's trust of Snape is partially 
his belief in the person he knew as a student at Hogwarts. That in a 
sense, when Snape turned from Voldemort and the DE's, he 'returned' 
to his former state. An imperfect person, with a nasty streak and 
love of the dark arts, but also someone with an intelligent and 
creative mind, a dry sense of humour, and somewho who was literally 
an 'open book' for others to see. Unlike Riddle, Snape did not hide 
his motives or interests or his true nature behind a charming 
facade. He allowed others to see his nastiness, his obsession with 
the Maruaders, his interest in dark arts and etc. 

I think the potion book is merely a vehicle for Harry to see Snape 
with the same eyes of compassion Dumbledore saw him. Harry cannot 
see any good in adult Snape, and I don't blame him at all for that, 
especially when he found out about the eavesdropper thing. Snape has 
done nothing to encourage Harry to see him as a good person and is 
directly connected to his parent's death. But I'm also finding it 
very hard to accept JKR intends to send the message that hatred, 
even of enemies, is ever the right choice to make.

Jen