Discussion Question #2 - Snape! (LATE)

[thefortressiserlohn]

No: HPFGUIDX 37588

*Delurk*

> Who is Snape working for? If Dumbledore, then why is Snape 
> still so nasty? Does he really want the Dark Arts job, and if so, 
> why wouldn't Dumbledore give it to him? 

I think Snape really is working for Dumbledore - it's generally the 
safest place.  By now Snape really has nowhere else to go - he's a 
known spy (providing that the results of all the trials were made 
public) and can't go back to the Death Eaters.  Like Pettigrew the 
safest place for him is where he is right now.

Re: being nasty, I think that's just part of Snape's personality.  
I'm VERY impatient with people who tend to irritate me, and a group 
of 40 annoying, undisciplined brats who can't even do the wizarding 
equivelant of middle school chemistry (or high school home ec - same 
effects and principles) would drive me nuts too.  After a while you 
just sort of become extremely cynical.  Of course, this goes back to 
Snape at Hogwarts - We don't know how good his grades were, so it's 
hard to judge if he thought he was smart then as well.

As far as the DADA job, it wouldn't look very good for a former DE to 
be teaching DADA - he may know all the tricks, but how to go against 
them?  It may be hard for him to teach the subject and not get 
into....touchy subject matter...  Of course, I think Snape DOESN"T 
want the DADA job so it's a moot point...

> If Snape has been  
> working for Voldemort all along, then why did he save Harry's 
> life? 

I'm happy with Dumbledore's explanation about the life debt.

>If Snape is only looking out for himself, then why should he 
> expose himself to danger by confronting Quirrell or taking up the 
> mysterious errand at the end of GoF? 

Until I know what the mysterious errand is I won't comment.  As far 
as confronting Quirrell, it woudln't exactly be SAFE for Snape if 
Voldemort were to come back, now would it?  Voldemort said in GoF 
(forgot the chapter) that one has left forever and will be killed.  
It's rather obvious that this is Snape (if you take loyal = Crouch 
Jr. and runaway = Karkaroff).

> could there have been a failed love affair? 

I wouldn't have wanted to go out with someone like Snape.  I'm 
willing to bet he's the type to want nothing more at the end of the 
day than privacy and quiet.

> Does Snape come 
> from an old wizarding family like the Malfoys, or does his elegant 
> diction disguise humbler origins? 

Good question =)  I'd say that Snape would have to be pretty old 
family-wise to join the inner circle of Death Eaters.  If membership 
for them was like for the SS, Snape would have to trace his lineage 
back at least 5 generations.

> Does Snape act out of a  petty devotion to rules and procedures, 
> or is that  just an excuse to make people  miserable? How does 
> his attitude toward rules and discipline compare to Percy's?
 
Snape will quite clearly break rules to advance himself and to 
accomplish a goal (I can see him actually slipping Veritaserum into 
Harry's drink, and his threat to Neville's toad was very real.)  
However, by forcing the rules to be followed he's not only keeping 
his students in line while working on a dangerous subject, but is 
also the proverbial lord over the student serfs.

> Harry 
> has never had trouble interpreting Snape's expression before: is 
> this because Snape has changed, or because Harry has? 
 
I think everyone has changed because of the events in GoF.  Snape, by 
this point, may still hate Harry like nothing else, but has to 
respect him because of his fight against Voldemort, as well as put 
aside petty personal issues because of the graveness of the situation 
at hand.

> Will 
> Snape ever truly be accepted by Sirius and Lupin? By Harry? 
> Would Snape betray them if he could?

Snape will never be truly accepted by Sirius and Lupin, and I doubt 
that he will ever truly accept them.  Their grudges have gone back 
far too long to be erased now, but I also don't think that he would 
betray them either - he's between the effective rock and hard place, 
as he has to either work with those he hates to stay alive, or let 
Voldemort have easy pickings.

Harry, on the other hand, is one I'm not going to touch with a ten 
foot pole.  The situation there is FAR too complex to try and briefly 
sum up.

I will conclude by adding this much: I have a much longer list of 
people who I think are going to die than most people do.  Snape has 
managed to stay out of the "definate" section, but is safely rooted 
in the "wouldn't be surprised" area as well.

*back to lurking*

--jc