Did Snape betray his friends? Round 2

[judyserenity]

No: HPFGUIDX 34739

Marina said:
> Well, I happen to believe that Snape *did* turn in his friends, and 
> that it makes him *more* trustworthy to Dumbledore, not less.... 
> If one is 
> going to turn from the side of evil to the side of good, then one 
> must do it out of genuine moral conviction, a sincere belief that 
> evil is, well, *evil* and must be fought. ...
> No, I think that somewhere down the line Snape came to genuinely 
> hate Voldy and everything the DEs stood for...<

If Snape turned against the Death Eaters once he realized just how 
much evil they were doing, out of a genuine desire to prevent them 
from doing further evil, then that might be a good reason to trust 
him.  However, Cindy's theory was more along the lines of Snape going 
to Dumbledore and saying "Hey, I don't like my position in Voldy's 
organization.  Will you give me a better deal if I turn in all my 
friends?"  This would definitely *not* be a reason to trust him.  

In regards to my theory that Snape went to Dumbledore's side to 
protect Lily, Cindy said:
> [I don't] see why Snape would leave the DEs and turn spy at 
> great personal risk just to save a woman who married his enemy<

Hey, he doesn't necessarily stop loving her just because she married 
someone else! 


Marina didn't like my theory, saying:
> "I don't care how many innocents they kill, it's only if they hurt
> my girl that I object" just doesn't cut it.
> And look at it from Dumbledore's point of view. Snape falls for 
> Lily, the DEs want to hurt Lily, so Snape defects? Well, bully for 
> him. And what happens if, a little down the line, he falls for 
> another girl and she's on the DEs side? I wouldn't trust a spy like 
> that any further than I could throw him. 
> No, I think that somewhere down the line Snape came to genuinely 
> hate Voldy and everything the DEs stood for....<

I think I haven't made my theory clear.  It's not that Snape thought  
"Hey, I'll join whatever side has the girl I like on it!"  It's that 
for the first time, Snape truly empathized with one of Voldy's 
potential victims.  Voldy always dehumanized his victims and presented 
them as just a bunch of worthless muggles, mud-bloods, and 
muggle-lovers, but this time the intended victim was someone Snape 
knew well and cared about.  This brought home the fact that the Death 
Eaters were in fact killing good, worthwhile people, not just faceless 
scum.  

This sort of thing really happens in wars.  A soldier is feeling just 
fine about following orders to kill people, until he's asked to kill 
someone who reminds him of his own mother, or brother, or child. 

So, with this theory, Snape *would* come to hate what the Death Eaters 
were doing.  (He probably wouldn't have to betray many of his friends, 
though, because Voldy's fall happened very soon after going over to 
Dumbledore's side.) 

-- Judy