Why Does Snape Trust Dumbledore?

[gkjpo <kristen@sanderson-web.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 48411

Sorry, newbie post ahead...

I like your essay and it made me think of a few reasons.  Whatever 
else Snape is, he is not stupid.  He strikes me as someone who knows 
how he wants things done (not that he ever gets to do them that 
way).  Maybe it's not a question of why Snape trusts Dumbledore, but 
instead, why he made the choice between Dumbledore and Voldemort.

In GoF we get to see Voldemort meeting with his death eaters.  
Voldemort is clearly a leader who does not take input from his 
followers.  He does not listen to his supporters and is quick to 
punish perceived stupidity.  Some of the death eaters in his inner 
circle were grown Crabbe and Goyles who do not represent any 
intelligence at all.  The only person Voldemorte treats with any 
respect at all is Malfoy and that is even grudging.  

On the other hand, think about Dumbledore.  Whether Snape agrees with 
him or not, Dumbledore is much more likely to allow people to make 
their own decisions and give respect and credit where it is due.  He 
gives everyone the opportunity to be themselves.  Even for Snape, 
although Dumbledore is benevolent, he does not try to control how 
Snape treats his students.

Snape clearly has the leanings to the dark side.  In GoF (I think) 
Sirius states that Snape knew more curses coming into his first year 
than most seven year students.  That means to me that he had a poor 
childhood.  Perhaps it was the easy way for him to continue with the 
flow and go to Voldemort's camp. However, as I said, he is no dummy.  
It could be that when faced with the two possible leaders, he saw 
more possibilities for his future with Dumbledore than with 
Voldemort.  I also believe that Snape will turn out to be a good guy, 
but I think it will be interesting to see how JKR gets there.

My question is, how will Snape treat Harry next year?  At the end of 
GoF, Snape was present when many of the things he had accused Harry 
of were debunked.  Will he take it to heart, or will he continue on 
as before?

Kristen

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, wynnde1 at a... wrote:
> Hello, Everyone,
> 
> Something struck me a few weeks ago as I was reading a discussion 
about why 
> Dumbledore trusts Snape, and I've been pondering it ever since. 
It's not 
> something I remember discussion about in the 10 months or so that 
I've been 
> on this list, so I thought it might be fun to explore. We have 
spent a lot of 
> time wondering why it is that Dumbledore trusts Snape, knowing that 
he'd been 
> a Death Eater (Snape, not Dumbledore <g>). We're not the only ones 
who wonder 
> this, of course - Harry himself has wondered the same thing:
> 
> ****
>     "What made you think [Snape had] really stopped supporting 
Voldemort, 
> Professor?"
>     Dumbledore held Harry's gaze for a few seconds, and then 
said, "That, 
> Harry, is a matter between Professor Snape and myself." (GoF, 
Chapter 30)
> 
> ****
>  
> Well, I started thinking  . . . maybe we're asking the wrong 
question. Of 
> course wondering why Dumbledore trusts Snape is a valid question, 
but what if 
> we look at it from the other way around: Just why is it that 
*Snape* trusts 
> *Dumbledore*?
> 
> What a silly question, you may be thinking. But maybe it's not. 
What follows 
> is my interpretation of a possible backstory for these events. None 
of  this 
> is original thinking on my part, it's just the version I've pieced 
together 
> from the theories of others. 
> 
> We'll start with the "prank" (Doesn't it *always* start with 
the "prank <g>). 
> Sirius tells Snape how to get past the Whomping Willow. Snape goes 
down and 
> sees a transformed Lupin. James rushes in and saves Snape from 
being 
> attacked. Snape goes to Dumbledore with the story, and most likely 
demands 
> that Sirius be expelled or sent to Azkaban or kissed or some other 
suitable 
> (in Snape's estimation) punishment. Dumbledore tells Snape how 
sorry he is 
> that this terrible thing has happened, obtains from him a promise 
that he 
> will not "out" Lupin to anyone, and sends him away promising to 
deal with 
> Sirius, and maybe the other marauders as well.
> 
> Now, we know that Sirius was neither expelled, nor sent to Azkaban 
(not for 
> this, anyway), nor kissed. As has been recently discussed, we don't 
know 
> what, if any, punishment was given. I do believe that Dumbledore 
did punish 
> Sirius, but *we* don't know what this punishment was, and I think 
it likely 
> that *Snape* also did not know the extent of the punishment. It may 
have been 
> a completely private matter, or maybe it was just a matter of 
taking some 
> house points away. We don't know. But it seems clear that whatever 
punishment 
> Sirius did receive, Snape didn't think it sufficient in light of 
the fact 
> that he could have been killed by Sirius' actions. And of course, 
Snape 
> didn't like Sirius to begin with, so he would be even more outraged 
to see 
> him get off with what he perceived as "too light" a punishment (or 
none at 
> all).
> 
> At this point, Snape's hatred of the Marauders, James especially, 
really 
> takes hold and becomes more intense than ever. But, more 
significantly, Snape 
> loses the respect and affection he felt for Dumbledore. The 
Headmaster was a 
> positive father-figure for him, and in letting Sirius get away 
almost 
> literally "with murder" (in Snape's eyes, if not in reality), Snape 
loses 
> faith in Dumbledore, and also in the "good" side, which Dumbledore 
> represents. He sees Dumbledore favouring the Gryffindors, and not 
seeming to 
> hold Snape's own life in very high esteem. (Again - I'm not saying 
Dumbledore 
> really did favour the Gryffs, this is just my opinion about 
*Snape's* 
> interpretation of events. Although, honestly, I think we've seen at 
least one 
> glaring example in canon where Dumbledore did just this - the end 
of PS/SS. I 
> don't disagree with the points he awarded Harry and Co, but I do 
strongly 
> disagree with the way they were awarded). 
> 
> So, having lost his trust in Dumbledore, it is that much easier for 
Snape to 
> be convinced to join Voldemort. (I'm not excusing that decision, 
just 
> offering a reason as to why it might have seemed more attractive 
than it did 
> before Dumbledore's "betrayal"). So Snape becomes a Death Eater, 
and goes on 
> to merrily commit lots of crimes and atrocities. At some point, 
however, he 
> becomes disillusioned with this path that he has taken, and decides 
to return 
> to Dumbledore's service.
> 
> <Taking a breath>. 
> 
> Okay, after all that, we're back to my original question: Why, now, 
does 
> Snape choose to trust Dumbledore? In Snape's mind, Dumbledore let 
Snape down 
> once before, and since that time Snape has been hanging around with 
people 
> who are hardly good role-models in the trust department, and has 
probably 
> (okay, certainly) not been acting in the most morally upright 
manner himself. 
> Is it just that Snape, out of the blue, finally sees that 
Dumbledore was a 
> really great guy after all? This seems a bit unlikely, to me. I 
would think 
> that Snape would want to have something of a bit more substance in 
order to 
> restore his faith and trust in Dumbledore. It might even be 
something *bangy* 
> <G> (but it doesn't *have* to bang for me to like it). Furthermore, 
has Snape 
> "forgiven" Dumbledore for "betraying" him in favour of the Gryffs? 
Does Snape 
> now see that Dumbledore was right in the way he handled the 
aftermath of the 
> "prank?" Snape returns to Dumbledore - not just to the good side, 
but 
> specifically to be a spy for Dumbledore. So something must have 
changed 
> Snape's mind and convinced him that Dumbledore was trustworthy and 
an 
> honourable ally, after all. 
> 
> And I think it's clear that Snape does not now have complete faith 
in 
> Dumbledore's judgement: We learn in Chapter 9 of PoA that Snape 
does not 
> trust Dumbledore's judgement in hiring Lupin: 
> 
> ****
>        "Remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before - 
ah - the 
> start of term?" said Snape, who was barely opening his lips, as 
though trying 
> to block Percy out of the conversation.
>        "I do, Severus," said Dumbledore, and there was something 
like warning 
> in his voice.
>        "It seems - almost impossible - that Black could have 
entered the 
> school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you 
appointed -"
>        "I do not believe a single person inside this castle would 
have helped 
> Black enter it," said Dumbledore, and his tone made it so clear the 
subject 
> was closed  that Snape didn't reply. 
> ****
> 
> This exchange makes it obvious that Snape does *not* trust 
Dumbledore 
> implicitly, and where Lupin is concerned (assuming that it is, 
indeed Lupin 
> to whom Snape was referring), Snape continued to press Dumbledore 
on the 
> subject, even after receiving a "warning" look from him. 
> 
> So, although the general impression I have from the text is that 
Snape *does* 
> trust Dumbledore now, it is clear to me that he doesn't always 
trust 
> Dumbledore's *judgement* about things. (We also have examples of 
where Snape 
> does not agree with Dumbledore's treatment of Harry). And, after 
all, at this 
> point, as far as the Wizarding World (including Dumbledore) is 
concerned, 
> Snape was *right* about Sirius' murderous tendencies. This is the 
guy who, 
> after setting up Snape to be murdered by a werewolf, went on to 
betray his 
> supposed best friends, and then blow up a whole street full of 
muggles, plus 
> the heroic (and Dead Sexy . . . NOT! <G>)  Peter Pettigrew. 
> 
> So, why does Snape trust Dumbledore at all? It doesn't seem as 
though Snape 
> has ever received satisfaction from Dumbledore on the subject of 
the "prank," 
> (for example, Dumbledore giving an explanation of the punishment 
Sirius 
> received and why he deemed it appropriate), as Snape still 
obviously has 
> "issues" surrounding this event. And, at least at this point in the 
story, 
> Snape would also believe that Dumbledore's judgement about Sirius 
was 
> seriously flawed. He may even feel that if Dumbledore had punished 
Sirius in 
> an appropriate manner, things might have been different and the 
Potters would 
> not have been killed.
> 
> It makes me wonder if part of the reason Snape now believes 
Dumbledore so 
> entirely trustworthy is part of the "matter between Severus Snape 
and myself" 
> I quoted above. Certainly Snape must have done something 
significant to prove 
> to Dumbledore that he was sincere in returning to the "good" side, 
but I 
> think that there must also be some proof on Dumbledore's part - 
proof that 
> Dumbledore can be trusted, and that he does value Snape's life. 
After all, 
> Snape became a spy "at great personal risk" - why would he do that, 
unless he 
> believed that Dumbledore would not, once again, undervalue Snape's 
safety or, 
> indeed, his very life (as he did by showing an inappropriate level 
of concern 
> after the "prank"). I would be hesitant to risk my life for someone 
who'd 
> behaved as Snape perceives Dumbledore to have behaved regarding 
the "prank." 
> (IMO, anyway). That someone would have to do something pretty 
meaningful to 
> convince me that he or she was, indeed, trustworthy. 
> 
> So, I ask again: Why does Snape trust Dumbledore? I can't think of 
a single 
> thing in canon that offers an explanation, other than the fact that 
> Dumbledore vouched for Snape during the Death Eater trials. And I 
believe 
> that whatever brought Dumbledore and Snape back together must have 
happened 
> before that (or else why would Dumbledore be willing to vouch for 
Snape?). 
> 
> So, I'd love to hear any thoughts and speculations about this. 
Although I'm 
> pretty certain that this is one subject upon which we *will* 
receive 
> satisfaction eventually from JKR herself. I'm sure the subject of 
Snape's 
> trustworthiness and Death Eater Days will come up in future books. 
Book 5, 
> preferably. (I am not a patient woman) <G>
> 
> :-)
> Wendy
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]