Nice vs. Good, honesty, and Snape: Was Snape, Apologies, and Redemption

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 152967

> >>Betsy Hp:
> > <snip>
> > Actually, Snape does more than bat an eyelash.  He conjures a 
> > number of stretchers and carries Harry (and Sirius and Hermione 
> > and Ron) back to Hogwarts and up to the hospital wing. [PoA      
> > hardback, scholastic p.412]
> > <snip>

> >>Lanval:
> <snip>
> About Snape and the stretchers. Correct me if I'm wrong, but we    
> only hear of this from Snape himself, right?
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
No, we, along with Harry, witness it happen.

"Snape had regained consciousness.  He was conjuring stretchers and 
lifting the limp forms of Harry, Hermione, and Black onto them.  A 
fourth stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at his 
side.  Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved them away 
toward the castle." [PoA hardback, scholastic p.412]

> >>Lanval: 
> If anyone else, say, Lupin, had brought the Unconscious Four up to 
> the castle, would you still classify the stretchers as kindness -- 
> or perhaps as a practical decision (because I would imagine 
> stretchers from a magical hospital already to be equipped with a 
> levitating spell of some sort, hence making it much easier to move 
> along, instead of walking while having to maintain a spell on four 
> different people.)? Just a thought.

Betsy Hp:
With Lupin I'd chalk it up to his usual politeness.  Since the text 
describes Snape as "conjuring" the stretchers, I don't think they're 
special ones from the hospital wing.  I do agree that they're 
practical, but floating things is the first piece of magic young 
witches and wizards are taught.  There's no reason to presume 
floating stretchers is easier than floating bodies.  But they are 
more comfortable and safer for the unconscious people.

> >>Lanval:
> <snip>
> Besides, it must have looked pretty impressive, arriving with 
> the stretchers. :)

Betsy Hp:
I seriously doubt Snape cared about how he looked.  He's not 
Lockhart after all. <g>

> >>Lanval:
> <snip>
> As you will have noticed, I tend to think of him more along the   
> lines of Pathetic Meanie, rather than Byronic Hero, but here he   
> has a certain je-ne-sais-quoi... he's a polite host, he serves    
> wine, he's clearly in control (and who can find fault with a man   
> whose home consists mostly of books?)

Betsy Hp:
I *loved* seeing Snape at home.  I wouldn't call him Byronic, myself 
(too much logic, too little emotional moor wandering <g>), but I 
certainly see him as one of the heroes of the books.  (The anti-
hero, I guess?)

> >>Lanval:
> <snip>
> He really does seem to care for Narcissa, that's true. However, as 
> long as I can't tell if, how, why, or how much he's lying in this 
> scene -- I can't decide on whether we see a Kind!Snape here.
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
And there's the rub.  We can't be sure of what motivates any of the 
characters in the books except for Harry.  We can only go by what 
they do.  And in this scene Snape *does* act kindly to Narcissa.  It 
appears to be genuine, and Narcissa takes it as such.  

> >>Betsy Hp:
> > We *do* see our good guys act in ways that could never be       
> > defined as nice.
> > <snip>

> >>Lanval:
> But that's why I wrote that not one of the good characters is 100% 
> kind. They ALL do bad things at times. It's the frequency of it    
> that counts for me. Snape's meanness, on the other hand, seems to 
> be his default setting.

Betsy Hp:
I think "seems" is a key word there.  Plus, it's difficult to 
measure the frequency of the "good characters" actions, because we 
generally only see them around people they like, for the most part.  
We are stuck in Harry's POV, so we don't see how Snape interacts 
with his Slytherins (or in the teacher's lounge for that matter).

It's easy to be nice to your friends.  It's how you treat those you 
dislike that can be the real sticking point.  Sirius treated an 
unconscious Snape one way, Snape treated an unconscious Sirius 
another.  Which way struck you as more nice?

Betsy Hp