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

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 185845

Geoff:
> In my opinion, anyone who sees that exchange as being 
> cheeky on Harry's part has no conception of the concerns 
> and insecurities which go through a boy's mind in a new 
> situation such as see here... I can recall being a new 
> boy in grammar school at the same age as Harry was here, 
> sitting in a class suffering the same sinking feeling in the 
> stomach because of a teacher who had the same dismissive 
> attitude to our feelings and lack of knowledge.

Magpie:
Yes, Harry's "cheek" is classic Snape shooting himself in the foot. 
He pushes at Harry, Harry says something-possibly just in panic 
because it's really what he was thinking (please, God, just call on 
Hermione!). People laugh because it's funny. Not because Harry's so 
witty but because Snape's hammering on Harry for some reason even 
with Hermione jumping out of her seat next to him.

As I said in another post, I can totally imagine a teacher asking 
questions on the first day to prove the class' ignorance--a jerk 
teacher, yes, but a teacher. But Snape is obviously concentrating on 
this one student, and he's stressing Harry's ignorance without even 
trying to make the point that the rest of the students are in the 
same boat. 

Snape set up a situation where Harry saying what he felt had a good 
chance of making people laugh and so making Harry sound pretty funny.

-m