Snape and Harry's first meeting

[caliburncy at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 29078

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "David" <dfrankiswork at n...> wrote:
> Ever since reading GOF, I have paticularly liked this passage
> [about Harry's scar hurting him when Quirrel and Snape are talking--
> ed.], because it is one of the few red herrings known to run over
> more than one book. (IMO, nearly all the red herrings in HP are in-
> book devices - I would love to hear of other multi-book examples.

Well, I'm not entirely sold on the idea that this is a cross-book 
device either.  It seems to me that the device as a single-book piece 
of second-time foreshadowing is sufficient.  I suspect the actual eye-
contact with Snape is supposed to be coincidental in reality, and 
that JKR wrote it that way only out of the necessity to more 
concretely link in the readers mind the (incorrect) connection 
between Snape and the pain.  Snape merely standing there with his 
focus elsewhere would not have been as effectively misleading.  But 
in light of the reinterpretation where we know the pain is actually 
the result of Voldemort under Quirrel's turban, then it seems likely 
that the timing with Snape's glance is either literally coincidental 
or partly imagined by Harry as coinciding.  The exactness of 
correlation between the timing of the two is unknown and tainted by 
Harry's own assumptions.

But your theory, David, that Voldemort may have some manner of link 
to Snape's thoughts (as a former DE) is an interesting one in the 
event that I am wrong (and it wouldn't be the first time).

So at the moment, there are *no* cross-book, second-time 
foreshadowing in the books so far that I am aware of, and I 
personally think many people are too hasty to guess that there will 
be in future books, given this lack of precedent.  However, from a 
statistical standpoint, it is more likely, of course, for a cross-
book, second-time foreshadowing to occur in a later book than an 
earlier one, so there is a chance, I suppose.

The only comment in any of the first four books that really strikes 
me as a truly likely one is the (quite possibly false) rumor that 
Snape wants the DADA job.  It would appear to have outlived its 
purposefulness if it was really just characterization, so it could 
prove to have cross-book significance.

-Luke