Snape's minor memories (Was: Snape and Dumbledore on the Tower)

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 165397

Pippin:

> Brave but stupid is not the way I would characterize 
> Snape. A poor flyer who  has to keep most of his 
> attention on controlling his broom is not going to 
> be much use if anything bad happens. He'd be much 
> better off on the ground, where he can devote his 
> whole attention to Harry.

houyhnhnm: 

I shouldn't have used the words "poor flyer".  
Maybe "not fond of flying" would have been better.  
I myself am quite competent at climbing up on ladders.  
That doesn't mean I don't hate every minute of it, nor 
that I am not white-faced and tight-lipped by the time 
I climb down. I expect Snape had managed to overcome 
his awkwardness on a broom by the time he was potions 
master and HOH.  That doesn't mean it wouldn't still 
have been an unpleasant experience, especially in 
front of a large crowd.

I wonder why he did it.  Quirrell says, "... he needn't 
have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore 
watching." And Dumbledore's comments to Harry in the 
hospital wing seem to imply that Snape was acting on 
his own initiative rather than following DD's instructions.