Polyjuice potion (was Re: Spinner's End)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 156802

Ken wrote:
> 
> Well there is that famous cramped handwriting that Carol is certain
to bring up, or rather has brought up. Something doesn't seem right
about that handwriting though. We know that Snape's writing is cramped
> because of the pensieve scene. Is that the only reason? We "saw" his
> handwriting there but of course it is Harry who really saw it there.
> Harry, Ron, and Hermione have had Snape as a teacher for 6 years by
> the end HBP. Is it possible that *none* of them have become familiar
> enough with Snape's writing in all that time to recongnize it in the
> potions book? Does he *never* hand back an assignment with his
> "helpful" comments scribbled in the margins? And Harry for certain
saw it in Snape's memory. What do you think, Carol if you are reading
> this, is the handwriting a certain ID of Snape with the HBP or could
> it be a red herring? Why is it that none of the trio instantly
> recognizes the HBP's handwriting as Snape's?
><snip>

> Don't appeal to the "wonderful irony" either, JKR insists that
writers are cruel. DD's killer would not spare Irony.

Carol responds:
Since you ask, IMO, the description of young Snape's handwriting in
the Pensieve memory is there for two reasons: To show that he, like
Hermione, likes to get in as much information as possible into his
answers because he knows a lot about this subject (DADA), and to
prepare us for the HBP's virtually identical handwriting. Both pieces
of information turn out to be important in HBP: Snape is a Potions
genius, he's a DADA genius who invents his own spells (and 
countercurses), and he's a Healer (the bezoar is suggested both in the
book, in Teen!Snape's snarky style, and by Adult!Snape in his
first-ever Potions lesson with Harry.) Hermione thinks that the HBP
might be a girl because the handwriting resembles hers, but it not
only resembles but is identical to the minuscule, cramped writing of
Teen!Snape in his DADA OWL. So Hermione's idea that it must be a
girl's writing is a red herring. We have Snape's own word that he *is*
the HBP. (Sorry: not buying the polyjuiced imposter idea, which again
would destroy the irony of Snape having to kill Dumbledore to save
Harry, who would have been killed by the DEs if both Snape and DD had
been killed. IMO, but I've given my evidence elsewhere and it's OT here.) 

Teen!Snape's handwriting could be smaller than Adult!Snape's, which
Harry sees chiefly on the board, where it would have to be large
enough for the students to read (and he could use printing rather than
handwriting, for that matter). also, Teen!Snape is writing small for
two reasons, to cram as many words as possible into his DADA exam and
to squeeze words into the margin. Adult!Snape doesn't seem to write
comments on the student's essays. He just seems to assign the number
of points he thinks they deserve, or when the students are preparing
for their OWLs, the mark the essay would have received if it were an
OWL exam. With all those students and everything else he has to do,
including prowling the halls at night and holding detentions, he
really doesn't have time to make detailed comments. (I *know* how long
that takes, and I also know that some students don't even read them
after you've taken all that trouble!)

I've discussed the whole topic in great detail elsewhere, so I'll just
link you to that post:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/148895

And, sorry, Ken. I *do* insist that the lovely irony of Teen!Snape
teaching Harry and Harry identifying with and defending him would be
entirely lost if the HBP were anyone else. You're free to think
otherwise, of course.

Carol, apologizing for the hurried post, but I said it all better in
the earlier one