Snape's DADA lesson WAS: Re: CHAPDISC: HBP9, The Half-Blood Prince

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 147715

Irene: 
> You don't cut Snape any slack, even if it was a perfectly 
legitimate 
> teaching situation by any standards. (On the other hand, knowing 
the 
> name of the listee, one does not wonder ;-)

Alla:

Listee in question though just as any other listee is not a topic for 
our discussions. :-)

Irene:
> Their task was analogous to, say, doing mental maths. Harry 
produced a 
> big whopping calculator and was very quick in punching the buttons. 
Do 
> you think a maths teacher should have praised him?
> 

Alla:

Using your analogy, of course not, but I only agree with the first 
part of it. "Mental maths" - absolutely, nice analogy, but I would 
not analogize Harry doing verbal spell instead of nonverbal with 
using calculator, but rather with doing calculations on paper, 
instead of in his mind. I cannot translate this word to get the exact 
meaning, but you will get what I mean, I am sure. IMO what Harry did 
could be analogized to doing calculations "stolbikom". Harry did the 
work; he used nothing to help himself, only his own power.

Now, that is absolutely true that Harry was not able to do what he 
was asked to - namely to produce non-verbal spell and for that he 
should not be praised, BUT correct me if I am wrong, isn't the idea 
behind nonverbal spells to hide from your opponent what is your next 
move is going to be, in essence to WIN the battle with your opponent, 
no matter what type of the battle it is?

Harry's VERBAL spell was faster and more effective that Snape's 
NONVERBAL one, IMO. Should Harry be praised for that? IMO yes, at 
least something like -" that was effective, but now go back to try 
doing it nonverbally."  

In any event though, I acknowledged in my earlier post that 
Potioncat's argument is supported by that piece of canon and mine is 
just based on Snape's previous actions.

It is just based on Snape's despicable treatment of Harry throughout 
the books (IMO of course), I have a very hard time believing that 
Snape would take it graciously to Harry out beating him.

If that was any other teacher, I would have no problem believing that 
this detention was given to Harry for talking back to Snape. If I met 
Snape for the first time during that lesson, I would have no problem 
believing that detention was given to Harry solely for talking back 
to Snape.

But based on what I know about Snape, I don't believe it. I mean 
surely talking back played a part in it, but I do think that the fact 
that Harry knocked him down played a part in it.

I speculate that Snape wanted Harry to talk back to him. I mean, 
really, what exactly was wrong with Harry's first answer to Snape 
question?

Harry just answers "yes", that is all. Okay, he answers stiffly, but 
I will be hard pressed to find ANY disrespect here.

Does Snape really has to insist in EVERY sentence for Harry to call 
him Sir? I am still looking for ANY other Hogwarts teacher doing the 
same thing. I am trying to say that I would not put it past Snape to 
provoke Harry into that kind of answer. As I said - am just 
speculating here, nothing more, but based on how I see Snape I think 
I have some reason for my speculations.

I think I have even more reason for my speculation that Harry 
overpowering Snape played a part in assigning him detention, when I 
read about what type of detention was assigned. Absolutely, teacher 
has a right to assign ANY kind of detention, but to specifically give 
the task that will give an extra pain and humiliation, it is a 
typical Snape IMO, who wants to pay Harry back.

Again, let me stress that my argument is mainly based on Snape's 
previous behavior towards Harry.

JMO,

Alla