First lesson WAS: Re: Marietta, was Slytherin's Reputation LONG

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 185805

> Alla:
> 
> Frst of all I do not need Dumbledore order Snape to act as if he
liked  Harry. That would be nice, but I really do not think Snape is
capable  of human kindness to anybody but Lily and maybe Malfoys?. I
want  Dumbledore to order Snape to act as if he was ANY other student
in his  class, would be nice if he included Neville and Hermione in there.

Pippin:
Huh? Harry is being treated the same as Snape treats any other student
who appears to be full of himself and not doing acceptable work. Snape
treats Draco just that way in HBP: insults and threats. It works with
Draco, who stops his loose cannon efforts  and goes back to his
original plan.

I agree that it never works with Harry. Lupin and Dumbledore are
wiser: they make Harry's arrogance work for them. When he disappoints,
they make it clear they expected more, and Harry never thinks it is
unfair that they should do so. (A method, incidentally, that
is entirely wrong for Neville, who has seen far too much of it.) 

Snape, poor guy, keeps trying to squash the arrogance out, and that
doesn't work at all. 

But Snape sees arrogance as the fatal flaw that destroyed James, and
so I can't really blame him for thinking that he has to try. Of course
he's wrong to think that Harry is arrogant about being a celebrity.
But Harry *is* arrogant, IMO. Not every child would insult a bully
who wanted to be friends, or argue with the Sorting Hat, or sass a
tough professor on the first day of class. 

Anyway, I thought you wanted Harry treated so as to reach his maximum
potential, which might not accord with treating him just the same as
everyone else. And who is to decide what his maximum potential is?
Dumbledore, who hopes he will lay down his life for his friends? The
DE's who see him as a future Dark Lord?  Harry, who doesn't give a
hoot about his maximum potential and would like to spend his days
playing Quidditch and goofing off?

Alla: 
> But I think a very reasonable possibility would be of somebody
turning them off the studying forever.
> 

Pippin:
Only Umbridge drives people out of the school, and she goes far beyond
anything Snape ever did. I think one of JKR's points is that kids
don't need to be coddled  as much as we think and will learn more from
a teacher who is unfairly tough than one who is too lenient. YMMV.

I've often wished JKR had shown us how Lupin dealt with his Slytherin
classes. I have a feeling he was tougher on them. We know they didn't
like him much. 

> 
> Pippin:
> There would be a lot more people in Azkaban if Dumbledore's word was
> enough to put them there. It isn't.
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Of course not, but I am left with the opinion that Dumbledore's
"Snape  is no more a DE than I am" was the deal breaker that saved him
from  Azkaban.  We did see what happened to those at the hearing that
 Dumbledore did not vouch for.

Pippin:
LOL!  Fudge wouldn't believe Snape was a DE even when Snape waved the
Dark Mark under his nose.

Pippin