Snape's DADA speech (wasRe: CHAPDISC: HBP9, The Half-Blood Prince

[Shelley]

No: HPFGUIDX 147720

Potioncat wrote:
>
> Snape then has them partner off and practice silent spells, both
> attacking and defending. Snape turns his wand on Harry who panics (my
> words) and knocks Snape off balance. There is the bit
> of 'conversation' which ends with Snape saying..."I do not take cheek
> from anyone Potter...not even the '*chosen one.*'" (Interesting that
> in my book the words are '  ' and italics.)
>
> Snape is reminding Harry who Harry is, and that it's important he
> learns nonverbal spells.


Shelley (wolfe275): 
I think your point here is really interesting, and ties
in with something I noticed in rereading OotP.

It seems to me that Snape's attitude and tactics toward Harry when he's
teaching Harry Occlumency and DADA differ from when he's teaching Harry
potions.  Snape seems to let his loathing for Harry run free when he's
teaching potions; he has no trouble actively undermining Harry's efforts to
produce competent potions and he marks him unfairly.  He *wants* Harry to do
poorly in potions, and takes obvious pleasure in Harry's failures.

Harry perceives Snape's pedagogical attitude towards him to be the same (or
worse) in Occlumency and DADA, but it doesn't read that way to me.  I think,
for instance, in Occulmency he wants Harry to learn what he's teaching him
(and yes, this is DDM!Snape we're talking about).

For one thing, he acknowleges and even praises Harry's displays of
competency.  He starts his first demonstration with: 'I have been shown that
you have already shown aptitude at resisting the Imperius Curse. You will
find similar powers are needed for this.' (OotP, Ch. 24).  Granted, not
gushing encouragement, but on the adjusted Snape-to-Harry scale, it's
positively positive.  In fact, as far as I can remember, I think it's first
time Snape has every acknowledged that Harry can do anything well.  And as
the lessons go on, Snape does give Harry credit each time he successfully
repels his legilimency.  To be sure, it's Snapish credit-- 'for a first
attempt that was not as poor as it might have been...You managed to stop me
eventually' (Ch 24) and 'that was certainly an improvement...I don't
remember telling you to use a Shield Charm...but there is no doubt it was
effective...' (Ch 26).  But it's still real acknowledgement, and it
contrasts with his usual practice in Potions of deliberately ignoring the
successful performance of the students he dislikes.

And Snape's different attitude in teaching Harry Occulmency vs. Potions is
even more marked when Harry fails.  Snape often takes a cool, composed
pleasure in Harry's failures in Potions class.  He savours pointing out
Harry's mistakes.  But when Harry fails again and again in Occlumency, Snape
gets frustrated, and finally angry.  He gets 'furious' when its becomes
obvious that LV is leading Harry further and further into the DoM, and yells
that Harry is 'not working hard enough!' (Ch 26).

Whether Snape is doing a good job of teaching Harry Occulmency is another
question and another conversation, but to my eye these scenes read as if
Snape genuinely wants Harry to succeed in learning it.

Which fits with your analysis of DDM!Snape's response to Harry in DADA
class.  He doesn't chide Harry for producing a powerful shield charm; he
chides him for not following instructions, and not working on the nonverbal
spellcasting that Harry obviously needs to learn to survive.  And I suspect
almost any teacher-- certainly McGonagall-- would have given a student a
detention for then mouthing off the way Harry did. In fact, given that its
Harry and Snape, Snape's response seemed to me surprisingly mild.

As if, perhaps, he's more concerned with Harry learning what he's teaching
than in punishing the kid he hates above all others...

Shelley