Snape as Neville's teacher (was:Re: Snape as Noble teache...

[Dana]

No: HPFGUIDX 168424

zgirnius:
> This is debatable. The cure was effected by administering a Potion 
> which includes as its main ingredient the root of a mature 
> Mandrake plant. Madam Pomfrey administered it, but we do not know 
> who brewed it. I believe it was Snape, my canon follows.
> 
> CoS, Chapter 9:
> "We will be able to cure her, Argus," said Dumbledore 
> patiently. "Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some 
> Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will 
have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris."
> "I'll make it," Lockhart butted in. "I must have done it a hundred 
> times. I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep -
"
> "Excuse me," said Snape icily. "But I believe I am the Potions 
> master at this school."
 
Dana:
Granted as Carol points out as well but a pharmaceutical company 
that produces medication is still not the same as a hospital. 
 
The problem is that we are now debating knowledge of magic against a 
profession that needs compassion to heal the sick. Snape does not 
have a passion to heal the sick, he has knowledge about how to brew 
potions and counterbalance Dark Curses. 

It doesn't state that Snape was the only one that knew Mandrakes can 
heal the petrified. He can brew Lupin's potion but it doesn't mean 
Snape would ever have wanted to go to the trouble of inventing such 
a potion to help the poor werewolves. He might be able to if he 
wanted to use his knowledge that way, I'm sure, but he does not have 
to compassion to heal the sick and therefore he is not a healer. He 
just has knowledge. 
 
Tom Riddle knows more about Magic then anyone, even DD admits this, 
but would that make Voldemort a healer even if he could lift Dark 
Curses, probably with more ease then Snape could? No, it doesn't 
because the man does not have compassion to heal the sick.
 
Snape is not a regular Florence Nightingale swooping around the 
castle to heal the poor little children. To me the above canon quote 
could easily be read that Snape would not allow someone else to 
steal his glory of brewing potions and nothing to do with Snape's 
intent to brew it because these people need to be healed as soon as 
possible. That DD even needs to have it made instead of him stating; 
Professor Snape volunteered to have the potion made as soon as the 
mandrake is ready speaks volume to me too.    
 
zgirnius:
> This seems to me a semantic argument. Surely pharmacist is one of 
> the healing professions? In many countries they can sell things 
> like antibiotics based on a customer's account of their symptoms, 
> which certainly can cure certain diseases. In response to your 
> later comments about Snape stabilizing people so the specialists 
> at St. Mungo's could heal them, surely being a paramedic is also 
> one of the healing professions? 
 
No, a pharmacist is not a healer, he sells drugs and has knowledge 
about that drugs and he can make the drugs but he can't diagnose all 
ailments and is actually not legally qualified to do so. The only 
drugs he can sell to cure an illness (by himself) are those that do 
not need a prescription, for instance if you go to the pharmacy with 
an ear infection then sure the pharmacist will give you an 
antibiotic that he is legally able to sell without a prescription 
but he does not say to the patient if it doesn't clear within a week 
come back we try something different, he tells the patient that if 
it doesn't clear then he or she needs to go see a Doctor. 

Pharmacists are not in the healing business, they are in a related 
medical profession of producing and selling drugs, there is a 
difference, I do not have to go to the Doctor if I have a headache 
once a month and can go pick up aspirin without a prescription but 
if I have terrible headaches everyday then I should not go to the 
pharmacist to get me something stronger to kill my headache, I have 
to go see my Doctor to see if there is a specific reason why I have 
headaches everyday, being a Doctor is more then just giving people 
medication. Most Doctors do not make their own medication, most 
Doctors actually do not know how to. 

Snape does not stabilize the people he counterfeits the curse, just 
like a park ranger can give a victim of a snake bite first aid to 
give the victim enough time to get to a hospital, antiserum does not 
cure the victim of the effects of the snake bite it only neutralizes 
the venom. We do not see Snape heal people besides Draco, his 
knowledge does not have anything to do with the human body but with 
the curses themselves. 
 
 
zgirnius: 
> Ay any rate, in the case of Katie Bell he would have had to make 
> the diagnosis before treating her, because no one else competent 
> to do so was available. Apparently, he managed.

Dana:
Who says he diagnosed Katie and not the necklace? Again I am not 
trying to downplay Snape's knowledge but you also should not 
romanticize his efforts in to assuming he has the natural instincts 
to be a healer because he doesn't posses the compassion for it. 
Imagine some kid throwing up all over Snape's robe, could you 
imagine his reaction? I could and it isn't a pleasant one. 

He has a passion for knowledge and be the best in the things he is 
interested in but that does not qualify him automatically as a 
healer. And your suggestion that he might always wanted to become a 
healer is ridiculous because he came to school knowing more (dark) 
curses then most kids in the 7th year. Curses are harmful to people, 
someone with a natural instinct to be a healer would never want to 
know so many ways to harm another human being. Snape did not know 
these curses so he could one day counterfeit them, he knew them 
because he wanted to stand out knowing more about the Dark Arts then 
any other student.  


zgirnius:
> This is a fallacious argument; its conclusion does not follow from 
> the premise. That adult Snape knows something does not imply 11 
> year old Sevvie was famous for it. For example, I am a Mathematics 
> PhD; but anyone at my high school will remember me as that kid 
> that won  English and foreign languages prizes. Math was my 
> weakest subject.

No, it isn't because it amplifies that Snape was indeed to his 
elbows in to the Dark Arts as he proofs when he is called up on this 
knowledge. The Dark Arts are bad in the Potterverse and it proofs 
that Sirius wasn't lying that Snape used this knowledge to gain 
himself some fame and he could only get that fame if he showed 
people that knowledge just as you describe your prizes will make 
people remember you for that specific knowledge. It wasn't Defense 
against the Dark Arts Snape was famous for but the use of the Dark 
Arts. 

zgirnius:
> Regarding Neville, Goyle, and their boils - I suspect Snape was 
> sending them off to Madam Pomfrey so that she could administer the 
> potion for curing them which he had made. He definitely knows how 
> to - it is the effect Neville's potion in PS/SS *would have* had, 
> if he had made it correctly.

Dana:
He does nothing about Hermione's enlarged teeth either. Just because 
he functions as the pharmacist for the hospital wing does not make 
Madam Pomfrey work there non-important as you want to imply or that 
she is just there to give Snape's brewed potions, who says all 
potions Madam Pomfrey are made by Snape, she could get her supplies 
from other sources as well, Snape would probably not have all 
ingredients at hand and he certainly is not brewing potions every 
second of the day to keep up the medical supplies. Just because the 
pharmacy in a hospital wing has all medication in stock does not 
mean you don't need the Doctor's there anymore either. 

Just because he knows the effect of brewing a potion the wrong way 
does not make him the diagnosing wonder of Hogwarts. 

That is the problem isn't it, for some reason everything Snape does 
is lifted to such a wonderful noble level, no one could ever reach 
but Snape. His character is romanticized to the maximum contributing 
characteristics to the man that he just does not posses like being a 
noble teacher for instance. Snape is not a healer for the simple 
reason that he does not care about people enough to go out and heal 
the sick on a regular basis. In Katie's case he both needs to clean 
up Draco's mess as perform his duty as a staff member that has 
enough knowledge to do something about it. It doesn't make him more 
noble because he does but it would make him guilty of murder if he 
didn't while DD knows Snape has the knowledge to do something. He is 
not given any medals for it now is he? 

JMHO. 

Dana