What Did Snape Do In GoF?/ Snape and Krum/ Ghosts

[judyserenity]

No: HPFGUIDX 34623

Alexander said:
>>   While re-reading PS/SS today, a thought has crossed my
>> mind. It is said in "Goblet of Fire", that Snape has done
>> smth for Dumbledore's case, possibly contacted Death Eaters
>> or else. But how could he do it?
>>   Voldemort knows *for sure* what side Snape is on. Remember
>> in PS/SS - Snape opposes Quirrell _directly_ and _openly_. <<

Eloise replied:
> This question has deservedly been touched on before.
> Regarding the PS/SS evidence,
> 1) Voldemort may not have been uner the turban all the time. I don't 
> think he was when Harry found him drinking the unicorn blood....<

I think Voldy *was* with Quirrel during all of Harry's first year at 
school.  Quirrel says something like "Voldemort is always with me."  
However, it's not clear that Snape was supposed to know about 
Quirrel's allegiance to Voldemort.  Perhaps Snape thought Quirrel 
wanted the Philosopher's Stone for himself. Some here have speculated 
the Voldy was hiding his presence from Snape, because Voldy was very 
weak and was unsure of Snape's loyalty to him.  This sounds plausible 
to me.  

Eloise also said:
> [Snape] can persuade Voldy that he's been biding his time, keeping
> Dumbledore's trust, staying at the heart of things, where he will
> again have access to sensitive information.  Another thing in
> favour of his being a double agent is that it answers another 
> difficulty brought up the other day: Why didn't Sirius hear 
> prisoners in Azkaban complaining about Snape's betrayal
> in the same way as about Karkaroff's and Pettigrew's?
> If they thought it was all part of a ruse, that Snape was still 
> on their side, they wouldn't mention him at all, would they? <

Very good point about Azkaban, Eloise -- the DEs there seem to think 
Snape is really on their side.  And, I think you're right that Snape 
is pretending to still be loyal to Voldy.  When discussing Snape's 
spying, an important point often gets left out here: several times, 
Voldy says that he *always* knows when someone is lying.  So, even if 
Voldy is not sure of Snape's loyalty, he may think he will be able to 
tell whether Snape's information is accurate or not.  Heck, 
overconfidence is Voldy's middle name! 

Eloise also said:
> There have been two short threads recently regarding Karkaroff.
> One is the nature of his (hmm) 'relationship' with Krum, the other 
> is whether  he was the 'mentor' who recruited snape into the DEs.
> On the latest reading of GoF, I couldn't help noticing a certain 
> similarity between Snape and Krum.... 
> Indicative of Karkaroff's taste? Or could these two be somehow 
> related? Does Snape have east European connections?....<

Actually, I noticed right off the bat that Krum was described as 
having the same physical traits as Snape -- dark hair, dark eyes, 
sallow skin, hooked nose.  As for Krum's thick eyebrows, Snape isn't 
described that way, but the picture of him that JKR displayed on her 
recent TV special had very thick eyebrows. (Too bad -- I'm no fan of 
thick eyebrows, in fact, I often threaten my husband with a tweezer.  
Oops, I digress.) 

So, yes, there seems to be a strong physical resemblance.  But, Snape 
doesn't act like he's related to Krum.  So, it's possible that 
Eloise is right about Karkaroff being attracted to the "dark, sallow, 
hooked-nose" type.  Ugh.  I found the thought of Karkaroff being 
attracted to Krum pretty nauseating; the thought of him wanting Snape 
is even worse.  By the way, I re-read the description of Karkaroff, 
and he is described if ways that could be thought of as 
stereotypically gay -- "fruity" voice, weak chin hidden by a goatee, 
etc. 

There is another piece of evidence suggesting a close relationship 
between Snape and Karkaroff.  When Snape believes no one can hear them 
(in the Yule Ball scene) he calls Karkaroff "Igor."  That may be the 
*only* time in cannon that Snape calls someone by their first name.  
He usually calls superiors by their title (Headmaster, Minister), and 
other faculty by their last name (Lupin, Lockhart, etc.) 

While we're on my favorite topic, Snape, I previously said:
>> Snape came through this smelling like a rose. (Other than his
>> hair, which presumably smells like unwashed hair.) <<

And Rosentatti objected, saying:
> Now, now. We don't actually know why Snape's hair is perpetually so 
> well-oiled. He could well be using some sweet-smelling Dapper Dan 
> product to give his locks that slimy, patent-leather sheen. <

Well, I just added in that part about unwashed hair because I couldn't 
imagine Snape *literally* smelling like a rose.  I actually have 
brought up the same point about Snape's hair, saying maybe he just 
uses "greasy kid stuff."  

What is it about Slytherins and greased hair, anyway?  In CoS, Mr. 
Bourgin (proprietor of the store on Knockturn Alley) is said to have a 
voice "as oily as his hair", which I guess means it's pretty oily.  
And Draco has slicked-back hair.  (In the movie, Tom Felton's hair 
looked like it was glued to his scalp.) 


Barb mentioned something interesting about Myrtle (Barb also said 
something nice about my last post -- thanks, Barb.!)
> The other possibility is that since Tom Riddle was responsible for 
> her death, the final fall of Voldemort would be necessary for her to 
> no longer have "unfinished business." ....<

It seems likely to me that Moaning Myrtle was Voldemort's very first 
murder victim.  If this is so, then perhaps she will play some 
important role in the final battle with Voldemort.  When Myrtle showed 
up in GoF, it made me think there was some important reason why JKR 
wants her around for the rest of the series. 

On the topic of ghosts, Barb also said:
> One has to wonder, by extension, what the "unfinished business" is 
> of the other ghosts. (Actually, Nick's angst about his botched 
> beheading is pretty obvious, and not ever likely to be resolved.) 
> The Friar seems way too cheerful to have unfinished business, but he 
> could simply be like Binns and have such an obsessive attachment to 
> the activities he performed in life that he continues to perform 
> them in death.<

This theory sounds right to me.  I wonder, though, why Nick can't just 
detach his head?  I mean, Nick can change his clothes, so he's not 
completely stuck in the form he had when he died.  And, the "quarter 
inch of skin and sinew" holding his head on must be dust for centuries 
by now.  Maybe Nick *could* detach his head, if he realized he had the 
power to do so? 

About the Fat Friar, he really seems to enjoy helping people.  Maybe 
that is why he stays around. (Like a ghost version of a Boddhisatva?)


-- Judy