[ SECRET POST #1509 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #1509 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 16 pages, 376 secrets from Secret Submission Post #216.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 3 4 - too big ], [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[criedtherabbit.livejournal.com]

Snape was responsible only as far as his agreement to Dumbledore, and he fulfilled that responsibility. He did his best to keep Harry safe and he laid down his life for him. However, he had no societal/emotional/familial responsibility to Harry. If your childhood friend/ex-boyfriend/old classmate dies and leaves their child an orphan, chances are no one will call you and ask you what you intend to do about it. It is a sad situation, but it isn't your burden.

Petunia, however, was Harry's aunt. She agreed to take him in and raise him. In my opinion, that is a much more important responsibility than the one Snape agreed to.

You're entirely in your right not to forgive Snape. He was a shit-poor teacher. In that responsibility, he failed. But to be fair, he was a horrible teacher to the majority of his students. Again, that doesn't make it right. What I'm saying is that being insulted by your teacher in an environment where you have other emotional support is not nearly as bad as being abused and neglected by your family where you have no one else to turn to for comfort.
I think that Snape is a more sympathetic character because he we can understand where his weakness comes from. He wasn't strong enough to be a better person after his childhood abuse, he wasn't strong enough to get over the bullying he experienced at James' hands to not take it out on Harry, but he -still- risked his life for the boy out of love.
Petunia's actions are just not justifiable to me, on any level. She didn't have anything to overcome, really, save a little disappointment. I guess I can just understand why an abused child becomes an abusive adult much better than I can understand why a child from a stable home becomes an abusive adult. That doesn't mean I think abuse, in any situation, is honky-dory.

[(Anonymous)]

But Snape didn't need to support Harry - he just needed to treat him the same as he would any other student. However, he treated Harry even worse than he did any other student. He had no blood ties to Harry, but isn't that kind of your responsibility as a teacher to not give anyone special treatment (positive or negative) for no reason? Given the terrible childhood Harry had and the way he was considered a celebrity by most wizards, I think he would've appreciated Snape giving him neither treatment. And given Snape's history with Lily (childhood friends are somewhat like family), you'd think he'd feel like he had to honor her death by at least not giving her son such a hard time.

And it's a lot more than a little disappointment. Petunia and Lily seemed to be pretty close up until they found out that Lily was part of this magical world that Petunia could never be a part of. Petunia became bitter because of it, and then because of this magical world, Lily ended up dying before they could make up. I'm not saying it's worse than an abusive childhood, but it's still pretty bad.

[criedtherabbit.livejournal.com]

I never thought that Snape treated Harry any worse than he treated most Gryffindors (he treated Hermoine and Neville pretty badly). I mean, what can I say? I've already agreed that Snape was a bad teacher. And I agree that teachers should never give their students special treatment. But that's neither here nor there.

I, personally, don't see Petunia's situation as being particularly bad. Maybe this is just where you and I will have to disagree. As I've said in a different comment, we all experience disappointment in life. Petunia let her disappointment fester and destroy her relationship with her sister. I never even got the impression that Petunia was even particularly upset that Lily died.
Petunia had more control over who she became than Snape did. She let her emotions become distorted and drive a wedge between her and Lily. And then, when she became a bitter woman because of it, she still blamed Lily and also abused Harry--someone she took in as a son.
Meanwhile, Snape was abused as a child and then bullied at Hogwarts. He grew up to be a bitter man. The difference between the two is that Snape had things done to him whereas Petunia withered from inside. which is why I believe that Snape is more sympathetic than Petunia.

[(Anonymous)]

I know that he treated Gryffindors in general pretty terribly, but I always thought that he treated Harry even worse. It's a matter of how you see it I guess.

I always got the impression that Petunia, as a Muggle child, was the unfavorite in her family. It doesn't give her an excuse to take it out on Lily (and, in turn, Lily's son), but I can see where the bitterness stems from. And just as Petunia chose to be unfair to Lily, so did Snape. He didn't have to lose her. If he had been a good friend to her, I highly doubt that Lily would've ended up marrying James. Snape may have had a worse childhood, but in the end, they both got to choose whether or not they wanted to grow and they both chose the same thing.