My current opinion of Snape (Longish) / Re: Clues to Snape's Loyalties

[Zara]

No: HPFGUIDX 170825

> Biff:
> Actually I seem to remember, littered throughout OoP, scenes where
> Harry is in Potions class and Snape empties his cauldron, sneering
> at his efforts. Since his cauldron is empty, Harry gets no marks for
> his attempt. I remember one of these scenes where Draco is in the
> backround laughing.

> Magpie:
> I need to see some canon on that one--I really don't think that 
> happens. 

zgirnius:
Biff is right, in a way, though the scene is open to interpretation 
as to *why* Harry got a zero:

> OotP:
> At Harry's cauldron, however, Snape stopped, and looked down at it 
with a horrible smirk on his face.

> 'Potter, what is this supposed to be?'

> The Slytherins at the front of the class all looked up eagerly; 
they loved hearing Snape taunt Harry.

> The Draught of Peace,' said Harry tensely.

> Tell me, Potter,' said Snape softly, 'can you read?'

> Draco Malfoy laughed.

zgirnius:
So here we have Draco laughing, as Biff recalls.

> OotP:
> 'Yes, I can,' said Harry, his fingers clenched tightly around his 
wand.

> 'Read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter.'

> Harry squinted at the blackboard; it was not easy to make out the 
instructions through the haze of multi-coloured steam now filling the 
dungeon.

> '"Add powdered moonstone, stir three times counter-clockwise, allow 
to simmer for seven minutes then add two drops of syrup of 
hellebore."'

> His heart sank. He had not added syrup of hellebore, but had 
proceeded straight to the fourth line of the instructions after 
allowing his potion to simmer for seven minutes.

> 'Did you do everything on the third line, Potter?'

> 'No,' said Harry very quietly.

> 'I beg your pardon?'

'No,' said Harry, more loudly. 'I forgot the hellebore.'

> 'I know you did, Potter, which means that this mess is utterly 
worthless. Evanesco.'

zgirnius: 
And there goes the potion. On the other hand, Snape has had a good 
long look at the potion, and knows what was done wrong. In other 
words, he presumably has gone through the process he would go through 
in marking a sample of the potion, were Harry to hand one in. Would 
he give a zero anyway, so that is why he Vanished it? We don't know. 
*Does* he actually give a zero? We also don't know, though a later 
scene of the same type suggests he did, see below, this one is from 
the day Dolores visits the Potions classroom.

> OotP:
> She turned away, walked over to Pansy Parkinson and began 
questioning her about the lessons. Snape looked round at Harry and 
their eyes met for a second. Harry hastily dropped his gaze to his 
potion, which was now congealing foully and giving off a strong smell 
of burned rubber.

> 'No marks again, then, Potter,' said Snape maliciously, emptying 
Harry's cauldron with a wave of his wand. 'You will write me an essay 
on the correct composition of this potion, indicating how and why you 
went wrong, to be handed in next lesson, do you understand?'

zgirnius:
(Note the 'again', suggesting Harry received no mark in the first 
instance I cite). In this instance, the potion is in awful condition -
 Harry was paying no attention to it, since he was watching the 
interaction between Snape and Umbridge. But again, is Snape Vanishing 
it because he wants to give Harry a zero even though he knows it 
deserves a higher grade if it was handed in? Or is a zero what he 
would surely give that potion, and so he is Vanishing it, in order to 
do so in a public, embarassing way so everyone knows Harry got a zero?

The final instance is the one Magpie refers to, in which Hermione 
Vanishes Harry's potion before his flask breaks, so that Harry is not 
able to turn in a second sample for marking. In this instance, if 
Snape has seen Harry's potion and formed an opinion (Harry thinks it 
is good), neither we nor Harry know about it, because this is a post-
SWM scene in which Snape is ignoring Harry. It is possible Snape has 
not, in fact, noticed it.