Introducing George (Was Re: Did Snape betray his friends? Round 2)

[dicentra_spectabilis_alba]

No: HPFGUIDX 34775

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "cindysphynx" <cindysphynx at h...> wrote:
> OK, now that we have met George, I suppose we have to flirt with him, 
> seduce him, make him ours, and then . . . change him, right?  :-)
> 
> ***********
> 
> Marina wrote:
> 
> > Now I believe that Snape originally joined the DEs not because he 
> had
> > any conviction in their <ahem>ideals, but because they were the
> > enemies of his enemies, and he thought they might treat him decently
> > and not try to feed him to any werewolves.  (I believe this is
> > actually consistent with the Prince of Lies theory, Cindy, but 
> correct
> > me if I'm wrong).  
> 
> Yes, I think our theories converge on this point.  Maybe we can call 
> this part Prince George?  :-)  

I don't have a name for this theory, except perhaps Canon :) 
Snape was a Slytherin, and Slytherins are ambitious.  The primary
reason people join up with Voldemort-types is that they want a piece
of the power.  "Cleansing the race" is just one of the things you can
do to exercise power over a people, as Hitler demonstrated.  

I think that the only way you get a Dark Mark is to be in Voldemort's
inner circle.  And you don't get into that inner circle unless you toe
Voldie's line.  I'm pretty sure Snape embraced the dark side's
"ideals" when he joined up, and that his life up until then had a
trajectory that led him straight into Voldie's inner circle.  I think
folks are right when they say LOLLIPOPS is too weak to explain his
turning--besides, offing Lily was Voldemort's last act before being
defeated.  Snape had been a spy long before that (don't know how
long). Could a merciful act from Dumbledore have turned him?  Dunno. 
Could he have become slowly disillusioned?  Dunno that either.  When
Harry asks Dumbledore why Snape turned, he says "That's between
Professor Snape and me."  And that could mean anything.

Cindy says:

> I think the reason I have to dispute George's hypothesis that Snape 
> only joined the Death Eaters because of The Prank is that it presumes 
> Snape had nowhere else to go.  He didn't have to be on Dumbledore's 
> team, and he didn't have to be on Voldemort's team.  He could have 
> done something else, I would suppose.  I figure the Prank is what 
> swayed Snape to act, but that Snape did believe in the purity of 
> blood nonsense.  

LOLLIPOPS is strong enough to explain why Snape hates Harry's guts,
and The Prank is strong enough to explain why he hates Sirius's, but
neither is strong enough to explain why Snape joined the Death Eaters.
 I think it's simply because, as a Slytherin, he was following that
quality that made the hat sort him there in the first place.  It
wouldn't surprise me if for every grudge he has (such as against
Neville) there is some event similar to The Prank behind it.

--Dicentra, who favors a genuine ephiphany to explain the change, but
has no idea what it was