Broken potionvial WAS: Re: Bad Writing? (was: JKR and the boys)

[wynnleaf]

No: HPFGUIDX 162994


>
> > Potion-"The Wall"-cat:
> <SNIP>
> > Usually he's 
> > using his power, but for a teacher to drop the vial seems weak. I 
> > can't see Snape making himself look weak in front of the class. 
> > However he often supports Slytherin misbehavior against 
> Gryffindors 
> > cough"I see no difference"cough and this seems more in that vein.
> > 
> > You realise, Snape doesn't come out any better if Draco is the one 
> > who broke it.
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Well, I agree with Wynnleaf whom I snipped completely that this is 
> just supposed to be what it is IMO.

wynnleaf -- (who sees that the door is open on JKR's site)

I didn't say that "this is just suppose to be what it is."  I said
that if one is going to theorize that all was not as it seemed, then
you also have to theorize how or why JKR is going to reveal the real
circumstances in Book 7.  I thought that sounded unlikely, but was
quite willing to see anyone's ideas for why JKR might do that.  

After all, there may be many things revealed in Book 7 that we don't
expect, or that are new perspectives on things we thought trivial in
the past.

Further, I think the notion of proposing that some other student
intentionally caused the vial to drop and Snape did nothing about it
is quite a stretch.  Snape may let Slytherins get by with things, but
what we've been shown in the past are incidents where Slytherins do
something that Snape doesn't see and could possibly "excuse" himself
with the notion that he didn't really have proof of a Slytherin doing
it.  If Draco caused the vial to break in full view of Snape, yet
Snape did nothing and even taunted Harry with it, then this goes
beyond what we've been shown in the past of Snape's allowances for
Slytherins.

If Snape did not actually drop the vial, and JKR was deceiving both
Harry and the reader, then it would almost certainly be because she
wanted Harry to think something bad about Snape that wasn't exactly
true.  Simply to have Harry and the readers deceived about the type of
nastiness, just so Snape can be "differently bad" is pointless.  If
Snape didn't drop the vial, then it was more likely that he did
nothing more wrong than taunt Harry with Harry's own mistake or
accident in placing the vial so that it toppled on its own.  But as
I've said before, if Snape didn't drop the vial, we'll have to find
out in Book 7, or any "deception" on JKR's part regarding this has no
point.

wynnleaf --