Is Malfoy really Snape's favourite? **5th Book Spoilers**

[Nurvingiel]

Those who haven't finished OOTP yet... you have been warned.




Malfoy has always been Snape's favourite. Since the first book, Malfoy has been disgustingly favoured above other students, and that favouratism extends to the rest of his house.

However, now that we know Snape spies on the Death Eaters for the Order of the Phoenix, maybe he doesn't really like Malfoy at all.

I think Snape only pretends to favour Malfoy so that his dad has a higher opinion of him. Since he's a jerk, he actually does favour Slytherin over other houses. I don't think he likes Malfoy at all. Malfoy has proven to be a liar, a coward, and only gets decent grades. (He seems to do well in Potions, but how much of that is untruthful flattery from Snape? Maybe Malfoy's in Remedial Potions.)

I don't think Snape would even pretend to like a little git like Malfoy unless he really had to. And Snape does need to in order to get closer to Lucius Malfoy and the Death Eaters.

[eowyngirl14]

i never realyl thought about it like that before, but now that you have pointed it out it makes sense.

i feel bad for snape after we found out about what James Potter did to him. when he held him upside down... i felt sooooo bad for snape. now i have a littel morecompasssion towards him and it makes me think that you are correct in your asuumptions Nurvingiel

[sun-star]

Well, there are a couple of possibilities:

a) as you said, Snape is just pretending to like Malfoy to keep up his disguise

b) he feels sorry for Malfoy and wants to reform him (though he's going an odd way about it)

c) Snape is really evil.

I suspect it's a), though I'd love it if it were c)!

[Nurvingiel]

You want Snape to be evil? Why is that?

[sun-star]

I don't really - I know he's a better character if he's not black and white. It just gets on my nerves when HP fans obsess about how great he is, so I'd like to see them proved wrong

[Nurvingiel]

I know what you mean. The reason people obssess over Snape, I think, is because he's such a deep character. You never know what to expect, except for that he's not responsible for the latest round of evil as Harry would have you believe.

Snape is one of my favourite characters. But I wouldn't call Snape great, even though he's intelligent, brave, and skilled, he's also biased, a jerk, and mean to Neville. (Neville has always been my favourite character, not just because of his heroism in OotP.) Snape's nastiness towards Neville ticks me off.

Actually, now that I think about it, how much of Snape's Gryffindor-hating persona is put on for Malfoy's benefit? Even if it's all put on, I still think Snape is a jerk, and enjoys being mean to Nevill, Harry and co even if he is acting for Malfoy.

[Gulio, Strength of Many]

Hmm, never really though of it that way before. Always see things from Harry's point of view in the books, and that's more than slightly bias But yeah, you make an excellent point Nurvingiel. You're probably right. But I never really did like Snape that much, I pitied him when I read the fifth book, but never really LIKED him. He's just an evil (in my terms) git, who picks on people for no good reason. Neville will kick your butt someday Snape!!!!! Not just because of the fifth book, mind you, people like Snape make me mad. Grrrrr. It vexes me to no end when someone picks on someone else just to be cruel.

[Treehobbit]

I believe that snape doesn't like malfoy at all. I think it's just because he's spying. In fact in some aspects I think he might liek Harry a lot. If he did show any niceness towards him Malfoy would totaly tell his father. I mean there are little signs like in the second book when they find the petrified cat, Snape says perhaps they where just in the wrong place at the wrong time but quickly changes his mind. I also think that if he really hated Potter Dumbledore would have gotten sumone else to teach him Occulemcy (or however it's speeled, you know what I mean). One other thing is, is that Snape wants to teach defense against the dark arts, maybe to help Harry of something but there also is the fact that Snape didn't like Potter's parent too so grudges never die...

[Nurvingiel]

I agree with you that Snape doesn't like Malfoy, but rather than having a reason to like Harry, I think you were on to it when you said that grudges never die.

Little does Snape know, even Harry thinks his dad was a jerk. They have a lot in common, more than Harry or Snape suspect.

[Elvellyn]

I think Snape started off liking him, after all the did have quite a bit in common (i.e. hatred for Harry). But I think when all the mess with Voldemort got going again... when he saw that Malfoy was old enough to understand what his father was doing and still supported him- then it became an act. You could even sense it a little in the last book. I don't have specific examples, but I remember times when Snape was clearly annoyed with him but still treated him favorably.

[Lótiel]

I actually think Snape like Malfoy, at least on some level. He know that Malfoy is raised in a family that gives him little chance but to be on Voldemort´s side. Snape has himself been on the bad side and changed, and I think he would like to help the children change too. But, Snape has to keep his appearance so that he can keep spying on the death-eaters, so he cannot openly try to affect the children into stop cheering on Voldemort.