The holes in Snape's story

[Anna Black]

Oooh...But, why did he not harm Harry when he was escaping Hogwarts.? I remember reading that and thinking how strange it was. He has always hated Harry, always wanted Harry to suffer, but DD would never allow that. So why, with DD gone and Snape's position with the DEs out in the open, why did Snape refrain from hurting Harry? He had the perfect opportunity to exact revenge on Harry. No one but Harry was following him. It would have been so easy. I haven't heard any theories on that one yet. I used this fact from the very beginning to defend Snape, vile as he may be. I cannot believe that if he was really bad, that he wouldn't, at the very least, have put the Cruciatus curse on Harry after he was found out. He'd have nothing to lose. Harry is running after him, trying to hurt him as much as possible, and all Snape does is deflect the curses. It doesn't make sense and only works if Snape is still really on the Order's side. All that hatred he has felt; he could have hurt Harry and enjoyed evry second of it.

I think he is awful, but that he is still trying to help in the fight afainst Voldemort.

[Tanuki]

Lord Voldermort said Harry was his, and Snape knows the prophecy. If I were going to side with Voldermort, I'd follow his orders to the T if I wanted to stay alive. Plus, Snape's concern was keping Draco safe. Fighting Harry would have put Draco in danger. Plus, Snape enjoys frustrating Harry and insulting him. What other way to show his innate superiority than to merely flick Harry's spells away. He's always said that Harry was substandard and that was his ultimate display of that opinion

[Dutchess42]

But Snape could have hurt Harry without killing him. That would not violate the Dark Lord's order.

[Snow_Crystal]

Depends if LV wants Harry to be completely untouched so that LV can inflict complete damage on him himself. Does that make sense? We know LV wants to kill harry himself but maybe in some sick way he wants Harry to be without any injury that would impair him during the final confrontation. - It makes them equal doesn't it.

[Tanuki]

Plus, by his actions, he damaged Harry where it counts most, he hurt his pride

[Mistress Siana]

Even if he thinks that "he is so arrogant that all criticism will simply bounce of off him"? I don't think he hurt Harry's pride, at least not more than in any other potions lesson since his first year.

[Tanuki]

Except, it did. snape has a very rich imagination when it comes to Harry's personality. He seems to substitute James for Harry. The only thing Snape didn't hurt from his constant insults to Harry was his ability to do things. According to the books, actually making potions was much easier when Snape wasn't around, so he must obviously have had an effect.

Snape is a bully looking for an excuse, so he'd have to say something about Harry to the effect of arrogance to actually understand why he hadn't bullied him into a lump, like Neville.

Try to remember their first potions lesson together. Harry was still young and had no pride; yet Snape felt compelled to act as if anything bad that happend was due to Harry trying to show someone up. Can we really say that a personality like that should be relied on to pass judgement on Harry?

[crystallised_pineapple]

i always thought when he said to harry about the arrogant thing he was hurtuing both harry and i think sirius? by insulting james... it wasn't neccessarily what he actually thoguht, more a way of getting to the people he most hated through someone they both loved...

[Mistress Siana]

Sure, Tanuki, what you said was actually my point as well. Compared to how Snape usually insults Harry, his behaviour during his 'fight' with Harry wasn't so terrible at all.

[malfoy_is_good1719]

I am so impressed that someone actully looked that hard. I mean, i have always thought Snape was on DD's side, but to look that closely..

I agree with most of what you said. The thing that Trelawny remembered Snape during th eprofecy surprised me, becasue i hadnt even thought of that. It makes so much more sense.

But i still have to wonder why Snape killed DD then. I mean, i know about the unbreakable vow, but if Snape told DD about the vow, surely DD could have come up with somethign to stop Snape from dying if Snape didnt kill DD.