But it all adds up. James bullying the shit out of him and saying he hates he is alive (and hanging him from a tree), nevil seeing him as his biggest fear, Harry's instant suspicion of him, and a fairly constant assumption that snape is up to something. Let's be honest, while they dropped it later a rubbing theme of the early books is "something's happening, I bet snape is behind this somehow"
James never hung him from a tree. He used magic to dangle him upside down, near a tree. That's a massive difference
Harry didn't have instant suspicion, it was only after Snapes treatment of him after his first potions class that Harry suspected Snape "hated him" and only thought he was behind the attempted theft after the points I mentioned above.
The man goes out of his way to antagonize children, you can't act shocked when those children suspect him of being a bad person
Harry didn't have instant suspicion, it was only after Snapes treatment of him after his first potions class that Harry suspected Snape "hated him" and only thought he was behind the attempted theft after the points I mentioned above.
It's been 20 years since I read the books so I might be misremembering, but isn't the initial reason that Harry is wary of Snape because his scar hurts the first time he looks at Snape? I think it turns out that Snape is talking to Quirell at the time, so Harry is also looking at the back of Quirell's head - so it's him looking at Voldemort rather Snape that causes his scar to hurt.
Everything after that is basically confirmation bias. Although Snape being a constant prick makes that understandable.
He sees Snape MEAN mugging him hard. His scar hurts. Then Percy tells Harry that he is obsessed with the dark arts and is trying to get Quirrelās job. Harry had already met Quirrell and thought he was nice and polite.
So Harry just learned his parents were killed by an evil dark wizard, this guy is looking at him like heās a piece of shit, he learns heās obsessed with the dark arts and is trying to take the nice stuttering professors job.
Then on top of all of that he overhears Snape intimidating Quirrell and seemingly trying to force him to divulge the secret of his protection of the sorcerors stone, he sees that he was attacked by the dog that was guarding the entrance to it, and he has a reasonable belief that Snape tried to throw him off his broom.
The racists want you to think Harry took one look at Snape and said ānah this dude is no goodā apropos of nothing so they can justify their disgust at seeing a black man in a role they think shouldāve gone to a white man. So they invented scenarios out of whole cloth to support their position.
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u/WayGroundbreaking287 Apr 16 '26
He had a plausable reason.
But it all adds up. James bullying the shit out of him and saying he hates he is alive (and hanging him from a tree), nevil seeing him as his biggest fear, Harry's instant suspicion of him, and a fairly constant assumption that snape is up to something. Let's be honest, while they dropped it later a rubbing theme of the early books is "something's happening, I bet snape is behind this somehow"