Did Snape betray his friends? Round 2-and-a-half

[judyserenity]

No: HPFGUIDX 34774

Marina said, in regards to Cindy's theory that Snape left the DEs 
because they mistreated him: 

>> If Snape defected from the DE cause they treated him badly, and cut
>> a deal with Dumbledore to save his neck and get revenge -- well, he
>> accomplished both those things fifteen years ago.  Why stick his 
>> precious neck out again...

Cindy said:
> Oddly, this is a problem under all of the theories....
> It's also a problem under the Snape loves Lily theory, because Snape 
> continues to risk his neck after GoF when Lily is dead, dead, dead.

Well, Harry still loves James and Lily, even though they are dead, 
dead, dead.  Why can't Snape still love Lily?  Accounting for Snape's 
continued loyalty to Dumbledore is *only* a problem if you think Snape 
is a scumbucket without a decent bone in his body.  If Snape truly 
loved Lily, and Voldy's threats to Lily's family made him finally see 
how evil Voldy was, her death wouldn't change anything.  In fact, it 
would make him even more convinced of Voldy's evilness, and therefore 
more loyal to the anti-Voldy side.  


Cindy then tried a new theory of how Snape could be loyal to 
Dumbledore, while remaining a scumbucket:
>... Maybe Dumbledore had Snape on the 
> ropes in the war and was in a position to blast Snape to little 
> slimy pieces.  Dumbledore (inexplicably?) decides to spare Snape's
> life .... So that makes Snape's motivation to continue spying after 
> GoF his plain, boring, uninspiring loyalty to Dumbledore, much the
> same way that Snape feels he owes a debt to James for saving Snape's 
> life.  

Yeah, except Snape *hates* James for saving his life.  Snape doesn't 
hate Dumbledore.  His lip doesn't curl every time Dumbledore is 
around, his face doesn't twitch, his hands don't involuntarily clench 
as if wishing to throttle Dunbledore.  Snape seems genuinely upset 
when Fake Moody implies that Dumbledore doesn't trust Snape.  That 
isn't how Snape acts towards an enemy who saved his life. 

No, face it, Snape just has to be a genuinely decent guy (deep down 
underneath) to stay loyal to Dumbledore.

(By the way, saying Snape would be blasted into *slimy* pieces was a 
nice touch; I liked that.) 

-- Judy