Snape's Mission/Task

[linman6868 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 15986


> Amanda Lewanski wrote:

 This is the first time that Snape's gaze has not
> been characterized as menacing or penetrating in some way; either he
> looks different or Harry's perceptions of him have been very 
altered.
> This is the first time that locking gazes with Snape has not been a
> test. And this is the first time that Snape has notably been the 
one to
> look away. Interesting that this is just mentioned in passing, that
> Harry keeps looking after Snape looks away. It's not presented as a
> triumph of Harry's, or a loss of Snape's, or any of the usual
> "confrontation" language we get with Snape; they're just looking at 
each
> other. Snape just looks away first. Harry just keeps looking. Very, 
very
> different; this stood out to me on my very first reading. Something 
very
> basic has changed.

I agree with this reading.  It seems to me that both Snape and Harry 
are both beginning to read each other on the other's terms (at least 
partially).  And that is the first step toward achieving an intimacy 
of mind.  This scene is the one that made me suspect Dumbledore will 
(at least once) deliberately pair Snape and Harry in a stage of the 
coming war.  It's not as obvious a pairing as one between, say, Snape 
and Sirius--fighting together might make them reconcile--but despite 
being low-key, this scene has more mind-thrilling promise to me than 
the "shake-and-make-up" scene between Sirius and Snape.  Though I 
always laugh when I read *that* scene, it's so pungent.

Lisa, who noticed that the "How old are you?" poll was posted on her 
birthday, and who can now die happy, having had a Caius filk 
dedicated to her.  <bg>