Why don't we ask why Snape wants Harry and Neville to hate him?

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 150559

Pippin wrote:
>
> We keep asking why Snape hates Harry and Neville so much,
> but what if that's the wrong question? What if Snape wants
> Harry and Neville to hate *him*? 
> 
> Why? Well, of course it helps with his cover. Look how hard it
> is for us to believe that Snape has their best interests in mind
> when Harry and Neville have every reason to loathe him.
> 
> But there's another reason. Neville and Harry are the prophecy
> boys, and as far as Snape knows, he's the reason they don't 
> have parents. He's not allowed to tell them. But if this is, as
> Dumbledore says, the greatest regret of his life, how could
> he bear to have them look up to him or admire him in any way?


Potioncat:
Think pre-HBP for a moment, or at least think, a DDM!Snape would not 
have expected to one day kill DD in front of Harry. If the boys 
never have reason to trust him or to have any fondness for him; he 
could not be expected to manipulate them in the way Crouch!Moody 
did. Nor would he have to be as concerned about what LV might be 
able to Legilimens out of them.

Hermione was surprised that Snape wasn't nicer after the summer of 
reporting to 12GP. I think the last thing he would want is for any 
of the Trio to have trusting thoughts about him. Yes, of course, if 
they did, he could say he was "acting" just as C!M had been. But I 
think he's safer not taking that route.

Besides, it fits his nature better.

I'm not sure if the next example came up in this thread or another, 
but someone mentioned the time Snape prevented Harry from seeing DD. 
(GoF, when Harry is trying to tell DD about Mr. Crouch.) Yeah, Snape 
was a real pain in that scene. I think he was staying in character 
and keeping Harry occupied while DD prepared to come down. We know 
Snape had been reporting to DD about the Dark Mark growing darker; 
it seems they had been making plans for the eventual summons. I 
think they had just had a planning session and DD was gathering his 
thoughts from the Pensieve and was on his way down. Snape came down 
to keep Harry close by.

Yeah, I know. He could have said, "Wait here Potter. The Headmaster 
will be down in his own good time. He heard you. I dare say, the 
entire village of Hogsmeade heard you. Goodnight." But where's the 
fun in that?