Hokey/Eileen/StatOfSecrecy/HalfbloodSlyths/HBP Book/Wands/Quidditch/HandOfGl

[montavilla47]

No: HPFGUIDX 183873

On the subject of Snape's Potions Book:

> Julie:
> Alas, no such revelation appeared in DH. So the most reasonable
> explanation does seem to be that Snape kept the book and stored
> it in his Potions classroom. What seems odd is that he left it
> behind when he switched positions to become the DADA professor...
<snip> 

Montavilla47:
The explanation that I always found most plausible was this one:

For whatever reason, Snape's book ended up with Slughorn when
Snape left school.  When Snape started teaching, he stopped 
assigning the book to his students.  So, the elves packed up the 
book along with all the others and Snape never realized it was
in storage.

When Slughorn returned to the school and assigned the book 
again, the elves brought the old books out of storage.

As to how Snape's book ended up with Slughorn, it could simply
be that Snape donated the book to the school, or that Slughorn 
asked him for it (collecting a souvenir from a talented student).
My favorite theory involves the Marauders....

In this theory, the Marauders stole the book as one of their
delightful adventures.  In this way, they got the pleasure of 
driving Snape nuts (and to disrupt his studies)  and a chance to
study his spells.  (Of course, had they done that, Lupin should
have realized that Snape invented Levicorpus..)  Then, at the
end of the year, they simply tossed the book into Slughorn's 
common book collection--and Snape was never the wiser 
about it.

Which, of course, would make him angrier when he realized
Harry had it, because he'd assume that James kept the book
and that Harry had found it along with all his parents' 
things.

Julie:
> Stranger to me is that Snape didn't force Harry to give the
> book back to him when he confronted Harry in HBP. Harry wasn't
> willingly going to give it up of course, but I'm sure Snape
> could have gotten it back on his own or with Dumbledore's help,
> if he'd been determined to have it.
> 
> Or maybe he did get it back. It would be like Snape to have
> some sort of tracking spell on a possession of his, so maybe
> he retrieved it from the Room of Requirement later. Certainly
> Harry never went back for it or even thought of it again, and
> since I hate to think all that knowledge turned to ashes in the
> Fiendyfire (sp?), I like the idea that Snape did retrieve it
> at some point.
> 
> Julie, personally wishing we'd seen or heard about that 
> Potions book again in DH.

Montavilla47:
I like that.  I'd hate to think about that book burning up.
Maybe Draco found it when he was working on the cabinet. :)