Snape, Trevor, Neville and Frank Longbottom (WAS Bangers, Life Debts )

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 35612

Jake wrote (on proof of Snape's contrition):

>Maybe all Aurors are Tremendous Hardcases, especially at this late 
date 
> in the war against Voldie, which isn't exactly going well. Perhaps 
they are 
> all of a mind to think that Snape is leading them down the garden 
path, that 
> his return to The Light is a bunch of roadapples. There might be 
plenty of 
> Aurors and Hit-Wizards that demand physical proof of his contrition.

You know, at first I was going to fight you on this.  I kind of like 
the idea that Moody has an itchy trigger finger and demands a body 
count as proof of Snape's conversion.  After all, Moody is Tough, 
experienced, suspicious of Snape and paranoid, so it all fits.

But then I started to waver.  War or no war, it is quite clear in GoF 
that Dumbledore and Moody both know that Dumbledore orders Moody 
around.  It is not the other way around:

**"Alastor,"  Dumbledore said warningingly.

** "I don't know where Barty Crouch is," Dumbledore told Moody, "but 
it is essential that we find him."  "I'm onto it," growled Moody.

** "The real Moody would not have removed you from my sight after 
what happened tonight," [Dumbledore said].

**  In the Pensieve, Moody "was wearing a look of deep skepticism 
behind Dumbledore's back."

No, the "DE Heads on a Stake" scenario won't work just based on Moody 
intimidating Dumbledore into it.  I think I have to let popular Frank 
Longbottom in on the action, too.

So we re-set the "Snape Conversion" scene.  Dumbledore, Moody and 
Longbottom are there to hear what Snape, a known DE, has to say.  
Snape enters a broken man, shoulders shaking, tears streaming down 
his hooked nose, greasy hair askew, a heaving wreck of a wizard, more 
vulnerable than he has ever been, knowing he is a dead man if this 
doesn't work. Snape promises to behave.

Dumbledore says, "OK.  Works for me.  Welcome back."

Snape starts to rise from his fetal position on the floor.  
Longbottom freezes and gives Dumbledore a look.  A look that 
says "Not so fast, Hombre." Longbottom explains the idea of requiring 
the Ambush.  Snape is appalled -- he had just talked Dumbledore into 
taking him back, and Longbottom was ruining *everything*.  Longbottom 
and Moody finally convince Dumbledore, and Snape is forced to betray 
his friends solely because of Longbottom's meddling.

Fast forward to the present at Hogwarts.  Frank's son Neville is at 
Hogwarts with Trevor, the useless toad.  Neville keeps losing Trevor 
and always works himself into quite a state over it.  Snape bullies 
Neville mercilessly, causing Snape to be the thing Neville most 
fears.  For totally inexplicable reasons, Snape also harbors 
hostility toward Trevor.    

What's going on here?

I submit that Snape hates Neville because Frank Longbottom screwed up 
the deal Snape had tried to strike with Dumbledore.  To make matters 
worse from Snape's POV, Frank (with Moody) became a hero for killing 
and arresting Snape's best friends, probably after Frank assured 
Snape that no one would be killed.  Snape, who is especially good at 
holding grudges and pursuing them all the way into the next 
generation, detests Neville as a result.

But why does Snape seem to abhor Neville's useless toad?  Because 
Trevor is no ordinary toad, that's why.  You see, Frank Longbottom 
wasn't born yesterday.  When Evil Mrs. Lestrange and her gang shoved 
their way into the Longbottom's home, Frank worked a quick bit of 
magic on himself and his wife.  He deposited their souls into 
Trevor.  Neville has to take care of Trevor, because if anything 
happens to Trevor, Neville really will have lost his parents. 
Neville, for lack of a better term, is the, uh, Toad Keeper, because 
he was the only other person present when the spell was performed.

As we know, Neville has never mentioned to the trio that his parents 
are at St. Mungos.  It has always bothered me that Neville goes to 
visit parents who do not even recognize him.  What's the point in 
that, after all?  Well, the point is that the doctors at St. Mungos 
are trying to work out a way to put the souls of Frank and his wife 
back into their bodies.  Neville goes to St. Mungos to bring Trevor 
whenever the doctors think they have a new experimental spell that 
might work.  So far, no luck.

OK, the canon is kind of thin, granted, I'll give you that.  I mean, 
what do you want from me?  This is a theory that has three central 
characters with no lines at all:  Frank, his wife, and Trevor.  
Nevertheless, there is a smidgen of canon.  Actually, more than a 
smidgen -- a whole scene of canon.

In PoA, Neville botches a shrinking solution, turning it orange.  For 
some unknown reason, Neville happens to have Trevor with him in 
class.  The presence of a student's pet in class is largely 
unprecedented in canon.  I don't recall Ron bringing Scabbers to 
class; Scabbers stays in Ron's bed so that Sirius can attack him 
there while no one else is around.  Hedwig stays in the owlry. 
Hermione doesn't bring Crookshanks to class.  Indeed, it is a bit 
curious that Neville brings his precious toad with him to the class 
with the very teacher Neville fears most.

Anyway, Snape, knowing that the potion is wrong, threatens to feed it 
to a helpless toad.  Snape is actually disappointed when the potion 
doesn't work.  Snape's disappointment isn't that Snape is just 
itching to rub out a toad.  No, Snape is disappointed that he was 
convinced that he found a devious way to snuff out Frank Longbottom 
once and for all, at the hand of Frank's own son no less, and it 
doesn't work because that meddlesome Hermione Granger rescued 
Neville.  Snape can do nothing more but take a few points from 
Gryffindor for screwing up his evil plan for revenge.  

But Snape would *never* snuff out a toad knowing that it contains the 
souls of two people, the Snape fans cry.  Oh, but Snape would, you 
know he would, deep down you know.  Snape will do *anything* to get 
revenge.  Snape outed Lupin.  Snape turned Black in knowing Black 
would be killed.  So yeah, Snape would be perfectly willing to force 
Neville to brew the potion that kills the last hope that Neville will 
have his parents back.  

Oh, that Snape is a bad man.

Cindy