Snape and DADA!

[Athena Appleton]

Well, I was thinking more along the lines of in June, after the exam results are done, and the war is over, Snape gets shifted to DADA and Hermione is offered the Potions job... but we never actually see Snape teach DADA and Hermione teach Potions... just take the job for the next year.

[pandora315]

If a student will stay on my bet is on Neville because no other student has ever showed an interest in one subject before except Harry with DADA. Hermiones good at lots of things and she shows and interest in lots of things, and Ron doesn't like any school subject. If Harry doesn't teach DADA then Neville will teach herbology (the only subject he's exceptionally good at that he carries on into his personnal leisure time with books about herbology and caring for a rare plant.) As for Snape I've always though he didn't get the DADA post because DD didn't want him teaching Dark Arts to students. Sirius or Lupin (can't remember which) says that SNape knew more curses when he came to the school than most seventh years.

[Evil Wizard Petting Zoo]

I don't think Dumbledore would be worried that Snape would be teaching students Dark Arts because Dumbledore trusts Snape. I think theres some other reason as to why Snape doesn't get the DADA job.

[Athena Appleton]

Trusting someone is different than putting them in the position of being tempted. Like I said, I liken it to a recovered alcoholic... now, long after they recover, you don't think of them as an alcoholic, you're proud of them for being sober, but you don't take them to a bar. You don't leave them in the house with a six-pack in the fridge. However, I think Snape will do something in book 7 that will impress Dumbledore enough that he will allow Snape to teach DADA.

I just don't think Neville will stay on at Hogwarts. Yes, he has shown interest in Herbology mostly, but I still think that was part of Rowling's plan to have us think of him as a loveable dunce until OotP. He's gaining power... he's gaining enough power that he's second to Harry in DADA. Hermione is the only one who really enjoys school, she's wonderful at a lot of subjects, yes, but I just have a feeling that Snape will be shifted to DADA and Hermione will get the Potions post.

[Nobby]

interesting...that would be a big twist! especially as harry and ron dread potion lessons!

[Athena Appleton]

I don't think it's really that much of a twist... I see it as the next logical step...

And Ron and Harry only dread potions because Snape teaches it...

[Nobby]

precisely! so i would be a shock that harry and ron might actually enjoy a potions lesson

[Athena Appleton]

yeah... ummm... 'cept for the fact that they'd be out of Hogwarts and wouldn't be taking potions anymore, anyway...

[pandora315]

I was just thinking that wee know Ron and Harry both want to be aurors, but Hermione has never mentioned what she wants to do other than take spew further. I guess she could end up teaching potions. She's have to move the classroom though, a dungeon seems the right place for Snape but not for hermione. My bet is still on Neville though. And I wanted to ask where does it say that Neville is the second best in the DA? I thought it said he had improved at an alarming rate, but he still can't produce a partronus where as hermione and a few others can.

[Athena Appleton]

It doesn't say that, that's my personal opinion... he's gaining talent at DADA faster than anyone (this we know), and when they were in the ministry of magic, he was the last one to be fighting by Harry's side... I feel like, before too long, he'll surpass the others. But, already, I don't think his main talent lies in Herbology any longer.

[pandora315]

Fair enough. My opinion is that since Neville was using his fathers old wand he was never that great at spells but since his fathers wand broke he'll have to get a new one and since "the wand chooses the wizard" he'll be a bit better. But the point I wanted to make is that Neville would improve faster than anyone else because he has the most room to improve in. I think Harry thinks Neville has improved but is no where near the "top of the class" so to speak because he even says that if he were to pick members of the DA to chase Voldy he wouldn't pick Luna, Ginny, and Neville. I think we'll see a lot from Neville but we havn't as yet.

I also think that Hogwarts is a home to Neville almost as much as it is to Harry, or even more so. Harry is famous and gets attention everywhere, he has two wonderful friends who would gladly give their lives for him, and he has the respect and friendship of some of the greatest witches and wizards of the time, so Harry thinks of Hogwarts as home becuase it helped him to leave the Dursleys, but he has so many other confidence aiding factors that I don't think Hogwarts is as important to him anymore, at least not in the way it was his first year being Quidditch hero and all. Whereas Neville has never really had many friends, girls don't really like him, he doesn't get any encouragement at home, and Snape picks on him constantly-BUT I think when Neville comes into his powers in the next two books and people start respecting him more he'll discover a feeling of home in Hogwarts that he has never felt anywhere else before and not want to leave it, thus making him feel that a proffesor at Howarts would be the best place for him. THats my feeling anyway.

[Athena Appleton]

Ahhh... I see your point, but I don't think Neville's had it that bad. The way I see it, he's having a better chance with the girls at Hogwarts than I think he would at home (at least Hermione and Ginny treat him really nice), he's got good friends (Ron and Harry are sticking up for him at the very beginning... remember in P/SS, when Ron and Neville take on Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle? And all the times Ron and Harry encourage Neville?)... he is scared of Snape, but he's almost as scared of his gran (he didn't want her to show up as the boggart, either )... I think Neville's home life is really pretty sad... he's constantly having to live up to a glorified reality (Frank Longbottom was probably a great wizard, but you know how it is, Neville's gran probably looks at Frank and sees all the good and none of the bad, so Neville's having to live up to that), I'm sure his gran really adores Neville, but she is hard to take... at school, he has Snape but he also has people who encourage him and make him stronger... but I don't think he'd want to stick around Hogwarts if he had to without Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny around...

When Harry thinks if he had to pick anyone out of the DA to come with him, it wouldn't be Neville, Luna or Ginny... Well, I think that's a writing tactic J.K. Rowling is using... She's depending on us not giving Neville, Luna or Ginny the credit they deserve, based on their first impressions. Rowling seems to want us to think of Ginny as the shy, dependant baby sister (she's obviously not, but even in OotP, Harry just notices late in the book that she's not as quiet as she used to be). Rowling wants us to think of Luna as the spacey ditz (she's obviously not, she's the one who kept her wits about her in the heat of battle). And she wants us to see Neville as the loveable dunce who is only good at Herbology (he's obviously not... especially in OotP, he is able to hold his own pretty durn good)

When we meet someone, if they come across as a shy baby-sister, or a spacey ditz, or a loveable dunce, that's how we see them even after they've proven to be otherwise. That's what Harry's doing (he's even told flat-out that Ginny may be small, but she has exceptional powers, by Fred and George, who don't give out compliments about their siblings too willingly.) And I think Rowling's doing that on purpose so that it seems to come out of the blue when they do something good, like Quirrell being the bad guy, or Lupin being a werewolf (we had the hints, but didn't realize until after the fact that that's what they were).

[Groo]

i read what Athena said about a recovered alcoholic. that might be the best reason to keep Snape away from the post (i have a gut feeling it is true)but i personally dont agree with the analogy

i think snape would be using a bit of dark magic in the presence of Voldemort not to attract suspicion of being a spy. he would be spending time with the worst of the DEs watching them doing or planning to do cruel things , things which he used to do when he was a fullfledged DE.
now if this company doesnt raise old memories and induce him to become bad again, i dont see how teaching DADA to a bunch of kids would make him bad. he wont be doing any DA in front of them , but showing them the defences. also i see snape as a strong character and doing DA wont make him change his ideology.

i have a strange theory. snape is refused the post as there is a jinx that whoever becomes DADA stays only a year at hogwarts( which DD hasnt been able to break so far) and snape is to precious to lose from hogwarts
how's that?

[Athena Appleton]

Hmmm... that's a very interesting theory... and as soon as I read it, I started thinking of different things... one of the kids (I don't remember who) makes a comment that there's a rumor the DADA job is cursed... Dumbledore doesn't seem to be too suprized at all to be having to hire DADA teacher after DADA teacher...

Very very interesting... I'll have to think about that...

About the Snape and the alcoholic thing... I think advanced DADA classes probably involve more of what Moody was doing, with actually doing the Dark Arts stuff for them to have to defend themselves against... I just think Snape could get a little carried away and have a little too good a time putting curses on students whose names begin with H and end with arry.

I'm going to have to reconsider now, though...

[AngelicS_89]

Interesting theory Groo,but I don't think that that's truth,I think it's just a rumour...I mean cursed job? That's kids story only.