Abuse, etc., was Snape, Apologies, and and Redemption--Lupin vs. DD

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 152683

  
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Harry did not learn about bezoar on Snape's lessons. Harry did not 
> learn about it while listening to Snape's insults. He read about it 
> in the book. <snip>
>
Carol responds:
The bezoar lesson is part of the very first Potions lesson and is
presented in a way that Harry and the others are unlikely to forget:

"Let's try again, Potter, where would you look if I told you to find
me a bezoar?" . . . 

"I don't know, sir?"

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" . . . 
"For your information, Potter, . . . a bezoar is a stone taken from
the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons" (SS Am.
ed. (137-38).

That's a very important piece of information, imparted specifically to
Harry but overheard by the entire class. (Snape tells them to copy it
down.)

Nor has Harry forgotten this lesson. When he sees the HBP's cheeky
little note, "Just stuff a bezoar down their throats," he remembers
what a bezoar is *from that lesson*:

"Harry stared at these words for a moment. Hadn't he once, long ago,
heard of bezoars? Hadn't Snape mentioned them in their firts-ever
Potions lesson? '*A stone taken from the stomach of a goat, which will
protect from most poisons*'" (HBP am. ed. 377, italics in original).

If it hadn't been for both Snape's original lesson and the HBP's
marginal note, Harry would not have used a bezoar in that lesson nor
would he have known that the same bezoar was what he needed to save
Ron's life in "Birthday Surprises." So Professor Snape taught him what
it was and what it was used for; Teen!Snape (the HPB) taught him how
to use it.

Slughorn at that moment is completely useless. It's Harry, armed with
the knowledge Snape gave him (twice) who saves Ron's life. Quite
simply, Ron would be dead if it were not for that very valuable lesson.

It was also Snape who taught Harry (and others) Expelliarmus in the
one and only session of the duelling club in CoS. And Expelliarmus
saved him and Ron from Lockhart's memory charm. It also indirectly
saved him from Voldemort in the graveyard and came in very handy in
the MoM battle. FWIW, it was Snape who taught Hermione how to
recognize a werewolf.

I'm sure there are other valuable Snape lessons, but the bezoar is, of
course, the most important. That it could have been imparted more
tactfully is obvious. But perhaps, if it had simply been mentioned in
passing in a lecture, or even if Snape's tone had been less sarcastic,
the lesson would have been forgotten. What's important is that Harry
remembered it. Had he not done so, Ron would almost certainly have died.

Carol, noting that directly or indirectly, Snape saves four lives in HBP