Did Snape betray his friends?

[marinafrants]

No: HPFGUIDX 34745

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "cindysphynx" <cindysphynx at h...> wrote:
> Marina wrote:
> > No, I think that somewhere down the line Snape came to genuinely 
> > hate Voldy and everything the DEs stood for; and to hate them 
*on 
> > principle*, not just emotionally.  
> 
> Maybe so, but *why*?  What changed between the time Snape became a 
DE 
> and the time he reversed himself?  Surely Snape didn't have a 
> powerful religious conversion and realize the error of his ways?  
> There must have been a catalyst, and a powerful one.

True, and I really hope JKR tells us what it is relatively soon.  
But I also really hope that it won't turn out to be love of Lily, or 
any other girl.  I think Tru Luv is sorely overused as a literary 
device, and vastly overrated as a moral motivator.  Snape, as a 
charqacter, has been refreshingly free of cliche so far -- I don't 
think I've ever encountered any character quite like him -- and I 
don't want to see his motives reduced to something as trite as "he 
did it all for love."  

> 
> Marina again:
> 
> >And if Snape is clear on what his duty is, and is willing to 
> > stick to it regardless of his personal feelings, then Dumbledore 
> can 
> > rightfully trust him.
> > 
> 
> Hmmm.  It is correct that Dumbledore trusts Snape, but I don't 
think 
> it is the same sort of trust that Dumbledore has in Hagrid.  
> Dumbledore trusts Hagrid with his life, and Hagrid has a blind 
> loyalty to Dumbledore.  I think Snape is held in lower regard; 

I don't agree.  Whatever mission Snape goes on at the end of GoF, 
it's obviously highly dangerous, which means Snape very well might 
have to lay down his life -- if not for Dumbledore, then for 
Dumbledore's cause.  (And the cause is the vital thing here -- 
surely Dumbledore doesn't believe that his own life is the most 
important thing at stake in this war.)  If he didn't believe that 
Snape was willing to die on the job, then he wouldn't have given 
Snape the job in the first place.  There are too many other lives at 
stake.

Marina
rusalka at ix.netcom.com