What might Snape consider cowardice?

[Mike]

No: HPFGUIDX 163960

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, puduhepa98 at ... wrote:
> Nikkalmati:
>  
> <snip> 
> By referring to murder, as in "why don't you murder me" ?
> Harry is demonstrating that he totally fails to "get it." Here  
> Snape has been protecting Harry all along, he just  killed DD to 
> protect Harry, and he is refraining right then from harming him 
> and the idiot boy still doesn't see it. <break>

Mike:
I'm going to assume that this is sarcasm on your part and the "idiot 
boy" is coming out of Snape's mind, right? It's so hard to read 
sarcasm on this board, I'm not always sure if someone is writing 
from the character's perspective or giving their own opinion??!


> Nikkalmati:
> I think that is the main reason Snape loses his cool and why he 
> slaps Harry with a hex to drive home that he is deliberately not 
> doing anything to Harry. His rage is over the perception that 
> Harry is so stupid that he may make all of Snape's efforts 
> fruitless.  

Mike:
I think you are closer to the reason than any other theory presented 
so far. If I could tweak this just a little; I think Snape is indeed 
infuriated with Harry here. But not so much because Harry doesn't get 
it right now, I think he has never seen Harry as capable of being the 
instrument of Voldemort's ultimate downfall. So, yeah, in Snape's 
mind, all this may prove fruitless, just as he has predicted all 
along (off screen, obviously). He probably reached the end of his 
rope just as Harry tried to use a couple of his own spells against 
him. At this point Snape just wants to get the remaining DEs out of 
there and wants Harry to SHUT UP. Bad enough he had to make himself 
Public Enemy number 1A, he's had just about enough of Harry's 
ignorant (in Snape's eyes) berating.

Mike, who thinks we shouldn't be too hard on Harry, yet.