No, the chief reason that I feel there has to be more to Snape's behaviour than mere petty viciousness actually has very little to do with my confidence in Snape, and a great deal more to do with my confidence in Dumbledore. Not that I think Dumbledore is infallible or impeccable, but he has been presented to us so far as a wise, compassionate, generous Headmaster with a sincere interest in the welfare of all his students
But also one whose staffing decisions waver from the bizarre to the peverse. If, as I believe you have to, one accepts your earlier point that he has foreseen Voldemort's return as at least likely if not inevitable, Defence against the Dark Arts is one of the most important courses on the schedule. And look who he's hired for the job! One person who spends an entire year with Voldemort actually welded to the back of his head, one poseur and con-man, one decent and acceptably qualified individual who is unacceptable to the majority of parents and a traitorous lunatic. And it isn't as if a strong suspicion that Quirrell was up to no good, and an absolute knowledge that Lockhart was useless (I also really resent the way poorer students had to shell out on all Lockhart's expensive textbooks - I had some university tutors who made you do that, and it really got on my nerves then, too) were things he couldn't have been unaware of. In fact, after the Quirrell fiasco I'd have made Veritaserum testing part of the interview process("And one last thing - do you happen to have an ultimately evil wizard concealed anywhere about your person?"). Trelawney he hired (or, at least, hasn't fired) despite knowing she's a fraud; Binns is too boring to convey anything useful (and I'm surprised the teacher's union hasn't complained); Hagrid is well-meaning but potentially lethal (I'm referring to Blast-Ended Skrewts here, you understand) as well as being totally unqualified - the one thing we know about Snape is that he is a highly competent teacher who can keep order, and, compared to the rest of Dumbledore's hiring decisions, that alone makes him worth his weight in Dragon liver. But it really doesn't mean he's not capable or likely to cause physical or psychological harm to the students - that doesn't seem to be a factor in hiring decisions at Hogwarts.
no subject
But also one whose staffing decisions waver from the bizarre to the peverse. If, as I believe you have to, one accepts your earlier point that he has foreseen Voldemort's return as at least likely if not inevitable, Defence against the Dark Arts is one of the most important courses on the schedule. And look who he's hired for the job! One person who spends an entire year with Voldemort actually welded to the back of his head, one poseur and con-man, one decent and acceptably qualified individual who is unacceptable to the majority of parents and a traitorous lunatic. And it isn't as if a strong suspicion that Quirrell was up to no good, and an absolute knowledge that Lockhart was useless (I also really resent the way poorer students had to shell out on all Lockhart's expensive textbooks - I had some university tutors who made you do that, and it really got on my nerves then, too) were things he couldn't have been unaware of. In fact, after the Quirrell fiasco I'd have made Veritaserum testing part of the interview process("And one last thing - do you happen to have an ultimately evil wizard concealed anywhere about your person?"). Trelawney he hired (or, at least, hasn't fired) despite knowing she's a fraud; Binns is too boring to convey anything useful (and I'm surprised the teacher's union hasn't complained); Hagrid is well-meaning but potentially lethal (I'm referring to Blast-Ended Skrewts here, you understand) as well as being totally unqualified - the one thing we know about Snape is that he is a highly competent teacher who can keep order, and, compared to the rest of Dumbledore's hiring decisions, that alone makes him worth his weight in Dragon liver. But it really doesn't mean he's not capable or likely to cause physical or psychological harm to the students - that doesn't seem to be a factor in hiring decisions at Hogwarts.