[HPforGrownups] Re: CHAPTER DISCUSSION Chamber of Secrets Ch. 5. The Whomping Willow

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 188811

lealess wrote:
> Did he really want Potter to be expelled?  I start from the premise that Snape was trying to fulfill his vow to protect the son of a woman he loved and whose death he felt responsible for.  I think this is what Rowling wanted us to believe, that no matter how imperfect Snape was, he kept his word and worked under Dumbledore's orders. 

Bart:
    Along those lines, and with no canon whatsoever to back it up, I 
would not be at all surprised if this were a sort of "good cop, bad cop" 
being put on by DD and Snape. While Snape absolutely has an antipathy 
towards Harry, especially when Harry is doing the kind of thing that 
James might have done, he also knows very well that there is no way that 
Harry would get expelled.

    Here, it definitely makes sense that Snape thinks that Harry thinks 
far too much of himself, which is not only annoying, but dangerous to 
Harry's future (and it is clear from Book 1 that DD thinks that such 
thinking would be bad for the boy, too, although he clearly does not 
think the problem is as bad as Sevvy does).

    Now, going back to guesswork. I think that the prospect of being 
expelled from Hogwarts is too easily bandied about. While at Hogwarts, 
there is the opportunity to correct errant behavior. Once expelled, we 
have a rogue wizard on our hands. Note that although there is 
theoretically home schooling, it also breaks the rules on underage use 
of magic. And, as Rowling seems to conveniently forget, especially as 
Morty starts coming to power, there ARE other countries out there (come 
to think of it, why the hell didn't Muggleborn magicians simply take the 
next boat over to France?). Therefore, it makes sense that if a student 
does something REALLY serious, they should be given cause to believe 
that there is a real possibility, if not a probability, that they WILL 
be expelled. So, if DD needed a "bad cop", Sevvy would certainly have 
been happy to oblige.

    Bart