My hypothesis is that thus far he’s considered poor Alissa to be the most inconsequential thing ever to intrude on his thoughts; and having thought more deeply about what happened with him, Lily, and James when he was a kid, he now decides he ought to her to nip her affections in the bud for clearly stated reasons, rather than letting them fester without suitable closure for, perhaps, an unduly long time as his have. His only closure was that he insulted Lily and felt guilty about it forever (as apparently, from his perspective, this was the only thing standing between him and getting to be with Lily); Alissa’s could be the end of school, without the issue ever being directly addressed.
The problem with this hypothesis is that it has Snape thinking that student crushes on teachers are persistent sorts of things, and this isn’t typically the case.
The problem with this hypothesis is that it has Snape thinking that student crushes on teachers are persistent sorts of things, and this isn’t typically the case.
Part of her wanted to stand there meekly with her face abashed and her hands clasped penitently behind her back, just in case, but some quiet instinct told her this might be a bad idea.
How do you interpret emphasis on “bad idea” here? It doesn’t seem to fit in “more care from prof. Snape” hypothesis.
The part of her that wants to do that is the part that’s fantasizing about special detentions; the instinct that says “bad idea” is the part that doesn’t think this is one of those.
That seems a little too compassionate for any version of Snape
My own take is that he’s finally realised what an idiot he was for crushing so hard on Lily despite her lack of reciprocation. He’s now being extra harsh on Alissa as a kind of substitute for going back in time and telling his younger self to get over it.
My hypothesis is that thus far he’s considered poor Alissa to be the most inconsequential thing ever to intrude on his thoughts; and having thought more deeply about what happened with him, Lily, and James when he was a kid, he now decides he ought to her to nip her affections in the bud for clearly stated reasons, rather than letting them fester without suitable closure for, perhaps, an unduly long time as his have. His only closure was that he insulted Lily and felt guilty about it forever (as apparently, from his perspective, this was the only thing standing between him and getting to be with Lily); Alissa’s could be the end of school, without the issue ever being directly addressed.
The problem with this hypothesis is that it has Snape thinking that student crushes on teachers are persistent sorts of things, and this isn’t typically the case.
Well, he could well be generalizing from one example...
How do you interpret emphasis on “bad idea” here? It doesn’t seem to fit in “more care from prof. Snape” hypothesis.
The part of her that wants to do that is the part that’s fantasizing about special detentions; the instinct that says “bad idea” is the part that doesn’t think this is one of those.
Ok. I should think about it.
No, I had it mixed up before. It is fixed now.
That seems a little too compassionate for any version of Snape
My own take is that he’s finally realised what an idiot he was for crushing so hard on Lily despite her lack of reciprocation. He’s now being extra harsh on Alissa as a kind of substitute for going back in time and telling his younger self to get over it.