Severus Snape
Nov. 9th, 2014 05:54 amIf you hate Harry Potter, go ahead and skip this post. Maybe go out shopping for a sense of whimsy or maybe a soul.
One of the things that has always bothered me about the HP series is how we're supposed to forgive Snape at the end of the last book. Spoiler alert, he dies. Then we learn via penseive that Sev loved Lily Evans more than life itself. He couldn't look at Harry without hatred because Harry looked like James and James is who stole Lily away from him.
Okay, fine. That explains why Snape couldn't control his temper around Harry. I think that's some bullshit since he was a professor, but whatever.
What about Snape's treatment of Neville? Sev certainly wasn't in love with Alice Longbottom. So why should we forgive him for his treatment of Neville? After all, one might argue that Neville is far less able to stand up for himself than Harry. Maybe Voldemort could sense that, since he chose Harry instead of Neville to be the chosen...
Oh...
If Neville had been the Chosen One, Lily Potter would still be alive. Well, maybe not because James and Lily could have just as easily met the Longbottom's fate--which would be worse than death IMO. But that's got to be why Snape hates Neville--he's furious at his very existence, even though Neville had exactly nil to do with how that all went down.
Honestly, I kind of feel better having figured that out.
One of the things that has always bothered me about the HP series is how we're supposed to forgive Snape at the end of the last book. Spoiler alert, he dies. Then we learn via penseive that Sev loved Lily Evans more than life itself. He couldn't look at Harry without hatred because Harry looked like James and James is who stole Lily away from him.
Okay, fine. That explains why Snape couldn't control his temper around Harry. I think that's some bullshit since he was a professor, but whatever.
What about Snape's treatment of Neville? Sev certainly wasn't in love with Alice Longbottom. So why should we forgive him for his treatment of Neville? After all, one might argue that Neville is far less able to stand up for himself than Harry. Maybe Voldemort could sense that, since he chose Harry instead of Neville to be the chosen...
Oh...
If Neville had been the Chosen One, Lily Potter would still be alive. Well, maybe not because James and Lily could have just as easily met the Longbottom's fate--which would be worse than death IMO. But that's got to be why Snape hates Neville--he's furious at his very existence, even though Neville had exactly nil to do with how that all went down.
Honestly, I kind of feel better having figured that out.