Snape -- Why so many fans?

[*Lilith Morgana*]

No: HPFGUIDX 25620

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., justanopinion2001 at h... wrote:
> My biggest surprise as a newbie has been all the adoration for 
> Snape.  I've read a LOT of posts about him on this board and 
> SNAPEFANS, and I haven't gotten a good feeling about why people 
would 
> be nuts about him the way others are about Lupin or Black.
> Yes, he saved Harry in PS/SS, and yes, it looks like he's on 
> Dumbledore's team.  But what are the Snape Fans seeing that I am 
> missing?  Would someone care to explain this?
> 
> Laura (who really "gets" grey-haired Lupin and matted-hair Black, 
but 
> is having some trouble with greasy-haired Snape)


(Okay, you really *did* ask, so...I'm branching out a little from the 
other replies, since it's not necessary repeating everything they 
said.)

So, why do I love Snape?

In my case it's because he's not like Lupin or Black! Let's face it, 
if we look back into the past and the Hogwarts days for those lads, 
what do you see? Myself I can easily imagine Potter & co being the 
Popular Crowd, while Snape and his Slytherins are the Bad Ones. We 
see it all the time in schools- the Good ones wouldn't recognise 
their own cruelty towards the less popular if it hit them between the 
eyes! We know James and Sirius always hanged out together, and I get 
the feeling they were the kind of kids who could get away with pretty 
much everything because they're charming, witty and good-looking. 
Which leaves Severus as a complete looser, being greasy, nasty and 
probably bound to defend himself with darks arts. 

Sirius Black treated Severus Snape awfully in school- now this is a 
canon fact. He doesn't even seem to regret this, he's still going on 
with his "it served him right, the little bastard"-theory. You don't 
have to have been bullied in school to realise that Sirius must have 
been a s-h-i-t, to put it mildly. Putting someone's life in danger 
isn't something you do for fun, it's bloody serious! Not every 
puberty lad would be so darn stupid, but Sirius was and Severus 
became the victim of this idiocy. Yes, he might have deserved to get 
scared in theory, but not in reality, and not by a werewolf! I don't 
even need canon proof to know that James, Sirius, Remus and Peter 
were allowed to make fun of others, and get credit for it- not out of 
pure evilness, but because they could. Everybody would still love 
them, they were the Golden Boys. If I were in school with this gang, 
I wouldn't only have hated Black and Potter, I would also most likely 
have been bullied by them.  

As for characterisation, the answer is very simple: Severus Snape is 
the only character with enough depth to become obsessed about. In him 
we have a mean, sarcastic, gloomy bastard who enjoys making fun of 
his students in various offending ways. But we also have a past that 
indicates guilt, angst and major bitterness. What made him change his 
mind about being a Death Eater? Why is he trusted? Dumbledore's firm 
trust must be a consequence of something good, something less 
horrible in Snape, right? 
Sirius and Remus are both haunted by certain things- being a refugee 
from Azkaban and lycantrophy aren't pieces of cakes- but these aren't 
anything that deepens them since it's caused by external 
circumstances. Severus, on the other hand (awaits *le sigh* from 
everyone reading this post) is haunted by his own actions, and the 
guilt he feels is what makes him take a big step away from the other 
one-dimensional characters. 

He appeals to me because he's a survivor. To quote Rowling herself, 
when asked if Snape was going to die: "Snape's tough." No matter how 
unloveable he comes off as, he's complex, fascinating and utterly 
intriguing. You never know what he's doing next- humiliating Harry or 
saving his life! To a certain extent it's also about identification- 
that's right, Snape is a guy for every anti-Popular, anti-Heroic, 
anti-Social bastard out there, including myself!

We must also remember that the books are written through Harry's 
eyes, and he has made up his mind about Severus as a mean git who's 
enjoying crushing their grades in Potions. Severus IS convinced that 
he's doing the right thing all books through. He's sure about Black 
being the mass murder he was judged as, and therefore also 
revengeful. He's possibly bound to keep an eye on Harry and this must 
be thoroughly annoying since the boy sneaks out and in as he 
pleases.  

Last, but not least, Severus is damn funny! Come on, admit that you 
would have laughed as much as the Slytherins when he read the Harry-
article aloud in front of the class in GoF if we weren't supposed to 
feel sorry for Potter? I cannot have been the only one who found his 
remark "dear, dear, Potter, what's ailing you now?" funny! If we 
forget about his victims, Severus is actually entertaining in every 
detail- even the "I see no difference" comment is a delight said to 
another person. 

Besides, I expect the number of Snape fans to increase slightly after 
the movie has come out...

Lilith Morgana
---
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"Gee, I'd like to care but I don't possess that gene!"