reassessing
(Anonymous)
"what does it say about me"
Possibly that you haven't reassessed all the old information in light of the new?
The reason we originally thought Snape hated Harry for being like James is that Dumbledore said so at the end of PS. But we now know that his comments then were both untrue (The motive was Lily, not James, and Snape was so far from considering himself indebted that it didn't even come up in his post-prophecy return to Dumbledore) and made in almost complete ignorance of the circumstances (the Cloak, the Map, the Animagi transformations and motive, even perhaps the bullying ... or one would like to be able to think that last was ignorance and not callousness). And Dumbledore's not a reliable speaker at any time.
What evidence is there in the *narration* or in Snape's own actions that the loathing was about James? It's a feasible explanation, but it's not that well-supported. Snape doesn't even mention James until PoA, and then only because he's trying to make Harry keep out of danger.
Harry reminds him of his mistakes/guilt, not because he has James's face, but because he has Lily's (contemptuous) eyes. And that's enough to make him constantly angry and miserable around Harry.
"spit-flinging tantrums at 13-year-olds"
If you mean in the hospital wing after the Shack, he was probably still suffering the after-effects of a moderate concussion. (Moderate = between mild and severe.) One common side-effect is emotional lability. And he was also greatly distressed at the escape of someone he thought had murdered Lily and was still trying to murder Harry.
"he stops midflight to rebut an accusation that he's a coward"
No, he doesn't. In the movie, yes, but not in the book. He stopped running when Harry shot off his first Stupefy, and turned to duel Harry to allow Draco to escape. He doesn't *stop* when Harry calls him a coward; he shoots a minor hex that sends Harry tumbling backwards, gets attacked by Buckbeak and starts running again.
"he torments Sirius"
No, he replies in kind when Sirius torments *him*. The few times we see them together, it is Sirius who both initiates and escalates hostilities.
"breaks Lupin's secrecy in petty revenge."
So Lupin implies. But nobody ever appreciates a whistleblower, especially the exposed wrongdoers (and that's what Lupin is).
That night, Snape heard Lupin confess to wilful endangerment of the entire school community and neighbourhood, both as a teen and (by withholding vital security information) during the *entirety* of his employment as a teacher. He has seen Lupin's disregard for the safety of others repeatedly demonstrated, first by his failure to collect his Wolfsbane, then by his failure to separate himself from the children despite being reminded of the danger, then by his negligence/carelessness wrt injured-Snape. And he has seen Dumbledore protect the criminal werewolf from justice. To keep the students safe from Lupin, who has shown himself to be a danger to all, what alternative to exposure is there?
"doubt he managed to forgive"
Snape and Harry are the *only* characters in canon that ever return good for evil to past enemies. Snape warns Dumbledore in OotP that Umbridge is after Sirius and tries to save Lupin's life in DH, although they have remained entirely careless of his life and limb as adults.
Yes, Lupin too; he left a "lifeless"-looking Snape unconscious in the Shack for the better part of an hour without even checking he was alive until they left it, and then gave only the most cursory check (pulse only) and no treatment. Without checking for neck or spinal injury, he then lifted him with a head-lolling Mobilicorpus and let someone who'd once tried to kill him (and still didn't regret it) transport him unsupported and unstabilised down a narrow passage, bumping his head repeatedly against the ceiling.
"wangled a debt from it (by Severus's view)"
No. It's Dumbledore who suggests it is a debt. Snape sees the incident as a trap set by James. He says so to both Lily and Harry, and even when Voldemort targets the Potters on his information, it's *Lily* Snape's concerned about; there's no indication either that he's concerned about his supposed debt to James or that Dumbledore expects him to be.
duj
Possibly that you haven't reassessed all the old information in light of the new?
The reason we originally thought Snape hated Harry for being like James is that Dumbledore said so at the end of PS. But we now know that his comments then were both untrue (The motive was Lily, not James, and Snape was so far from considering himself indebted that it didn't even come up in his post-prophecy return to Dumbledore) and made in almost complete ignorance of the circumstances (the Cloak, the Map, the Animagi transformations and motive, even perhaps the bullying ... or one would like to be able to think that last was ignorance and not callousness). And Dumbledore's not a reliable speaker at any time.
What evidence is there in the *narration* or in Snape's own actions that the loathing was about James? It's a feasible explanation, but it's not that well-supported. Snape doesn't even mention James until PoA, and then only because he's trying to make Harry keep out of danger.
Harry reminds him of his mistakes/guilt, not because he has James's face, but because he has Lily's (contemptuous) eyes. And that's enough to make him constantly angry and miserable around Harry.
"spit-flinging tantrums at 13-year-olds"
If you mean in the hospital wing after the Shack, he was probably still suffering the after-effects of a moderate concussion. (Moderate = between mild and severe.) One common side-effect is emotional lability. And he was also greatly distressed at the escape of someone he thought had murdered Lily and was still trying to murder Harry.
"he stops midflight to rebut an accusation that he's a coward"
No, he doesn't. In the movie, yes, but not in the book. He stopped running when Harry shot off his first Stupefy, and turned to duel Harry to allow Draco to escape. He doesn't *stop* when Harry calls him a coward; he shoots a minor hex that sends Harry tumbling backwards, gets attacked by Buckbeak and starts running again.
"he torments Sirius"
No, he replies in kind when Sirius torments *him*. The few times we see them together, it is Sirius who both initiates and escalates hostilities.
"breaks Lupin's secrecy in petty revenge."
So Lupin implies. But nobody ever appreciates a whistleblower, especially the exposed wrongdoers (and that's what Lupin is).
That night, Snape heard Lupin confess to wilful endangerment of the entire school community and neighbourhood, both as a teen and (by withholding vital security information) during the *entirety* of his employment as a teacher. He has seen Lupin's disregard for the safety of others repeatedly demonstrated, first by his failure to collect his Wolfsbane, then by his failure to separate himself from the children despite being reminded of the danger, then by his negligence/carelessness wrt injured-Snape. And he has seen Dumbledore protect the criminal werewolf from justice. To keep the students safe from Lupin, who has shown himself to be a danger to all, what alternative to exposure is there?
"doubt he managed to forgive"
Snape and Harry are the *only* characters in canon that ever return good for evil to past enemies. Snape warns Dumbledore in OotP that Umbridge is after Sirius and tries to save Lupin's life in DH, although they have remained entirely careless of his life and limb as adults.
Yes, Lupin too; he left a "lifeless"-looking Snape unconscious in the Shack for the better part of an hour without even checking he was alive until they left it, and then gave only the most cursory check (pulse only) and no treatment. Without checking for neck or spinal injury, he then lifted him with a head-lolling Mobilicorpus and let someone who'd once tried to kill him (and still didn't regret it) transport him unsupported and unstabilised down a narrow passage, bumping his head repeatedly against the ceiling.
"wangled a debt from it (by Severus's view)"
No. It's Dumbledore who suggests it is a debt. Snape sees the incident as a trap set by James. He says so to both Lily and Harry, and even when Voldemort targets the Potters on his information, it's *Lily* Snape's concerned about; there's no indication either that he's concerned about his supposed debt to James or that Dumbledore expects him to be.
duj