u kno, I donāt think that people consider enough the possibility (and very high probability) that Snape wasnāt mean to studentās because he wanted to, but more so because he had to. Not saying they he was nice. That man sure as hell wasnāt nice, especially when reading from Harryās point of view.
But letās consider for a moment the objective circumstances: Severus Snape was a past Death Eater, who at 21-ish years old changed sides (something only Dumbledore knew to which extent and the reasons), and knew of the possibility of the Dark Lord coming back because Dumbledore told him, and anyone who listened honestly, that he didnāt believe Voldemort to be truly gone.
Now, Severus Snape knows that Harry Potter, this child who is the Dark Lordās undoing, is alive and is coming to the school, as probably most of his contemporary schoolmateās kids are also going, have been there a while and will come for various years after. Snape is still bound to Dumbledore by his promise to be a spy, and is bound to Voldemort by brand. And Dumbledore is highly suspicious shit is about to go down (which u kno, he was rights ācause even from the first year lil Harry started Going Through Itā¢ļø).
Having that background: Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin, and presumed Death Eater (ācause u kno, spy), who was never known to be openly warm nor kind, who was fiercely bullied and he retaliated when felt necessary, is supposed to seem impartial and nice to all of his students?
Morally, should he had been? Heck yeah. Any decent teacher and adult should.
Realistically, should he had been? Well, if he wanted his cover blown, sure. If he wanted all of the Death Eaters who had children in school questioning the hell out of him, yeah. If he wanted Voldemort suspicious of his alliance and current belief system (which would have been at odds with the Death Eater ideals), uh-huh. But that would have made for a lousy spy at best and disastrous war changing consequences at worst.
And letās be really honest here: Dumbledore gave him the position as teacher, primarily because he wanted to use Snape as a spy. That was Dumbledoreās priority, not the teaching. Which is a little wild to think coming from a school headmaster, truly.
This theory (which personally extends from theory to canon, because thatās how being a spy works) does not excuse him from how his prejudice blinded him from seeing Harry for Harry and not James (but the case could be made that neither did Sirius, but thatās another topic). That was wild. However, at the same time, he looked out for Harryās life.
Again, Iām not saying Severus was warm and nice and he certainly acted mean and cruel at moments, particularly with kids from the other three houses. I just think that was part of the tragedy. He had a role to play, he played it perfectly, getting himself branded as a coward and a traitor by the people closest to him. And because of him, they won the war.
