Snape after the DADA job (was rants about the sorting hat)

[caliburncy at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 23751

I have often wondered if this is being used as set-up for something, 
but I don't know what.  Amanda is perfectly correct when she says that 
nowhere in the books is it actually confirmed that Snape wants the 
DADA job.  It is always stated as just a rumor amongst the students 
(although she sneakily tries to make it SOUND like fact).  It is the 
proliferation of this rumor that interests me.  In the first book, it 
made sense.  It was characterization and it helped mislead the reader 
to think Snape was evil (albeit badly since I was never fooled).  But 
it gets brought up all the time in successive books, so obviously 
JKR's not done with the idea or she probably wouldn't keep 
reinforcing it.  But really, if there was basis to the rumor, why 
wouldn't we get confirmation from a more reliable source like 
Dumbledore or the rest of the staff?  And more importantly, there is 
contrary evidence.  Hagrid says in CoS that Lockhart only got the DADA 
job because no one else was interested.  So I really think JKR may use 
this later on for some purpose.  But what that purpose is eludes me.

-Luke

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Amanda Lewanski <editor at t...> wrote:
> Sofie wrote:
> 
> > I though that one of the twins told Harry and Ron that Snape 
wanted
> > the DADA job and joked that they were surprised that Snape hadn't
> > tried to kill Quirrel?
> 
> I don't know about the last bit, but Percy was the first to mention 
it,
> and told Harry and Ron something like "everyone knows Snape is after 
the
> Defense Against the Dark Arts job." But this is precisely my point. 
All
> we actually know is that "everyone" knows this. We have no evidence 
that
> it is the truth, from Snape, Dumbledore, or anyone. It's just a 
rumor,
> so skillfully intwined and reinforced that most of us think, yeah, 
Snape
> wants it. But we don't have anything to go on but the rumorings of
> students.
> 
> --Amanda
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]