The Half Blood Prince (WAS Re: Unbreakable Vows)

[Dondee Gorski]

No: HPFGUIDX 165610

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Ronin_47" <Ronin_47 at ...> 
wrote:
<snip>  
> Another thing I've just thought of is in that scene (Flight of the 
Prince),
> Harry tries to use levicorpus on Snape and Snape tells him that he 
will not
> use his own spells like his filthy father did. It was Snape's 5th 
year when
> James was seen using levicorpus on Snape. So, either Snape was in 
an
> advanced potions class for his age or they used the same book for 
OWLs as
> they are now using for NEWTs, 20 some years later.

Dondee responds:
We know Snape is a bibliophile because we see his extensive book 
collection at Spinner's End. We know the book was published 50 years 
or so ago and can therefore surmise that it origionaly belonged to 
Eileen, Snape's mum. 

It is very easy for me to believe that Snape came across this book 
at home and started studying and annotating it way before 6th year 
NEWT lessons. I have books of my mother's from her college English 
courses days that I discovered packed away in storage when I was in 
my early teens and I enjoyed reading them then even though they were 
considered above my academic level. 

It is also very easy for me to believe that young Snape would have 
found refuge in books to escape from a troubled home life. Often 
times I have used books as a temporary escape. It is easy to take it 
a step further and assume that Snape threw himself into his studies -
 self guided studies outside of school- because of Blacks comment in 
GoF "Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the 
kids in seventh year..."(p.531). Where do you think he learned such 
advanced spells? Probably from his mum's old schoolbooks and any 
other books he could get his hands on.

Cheers, Dondee >^,,^<