Snape redeemed? - Why the Longbottoms?

[judyserenity]

No: HPFGUIDX 33550

> > Dicentra spectabilis wrote:
> > Snape DOES know about Neville's parents. Could
> > that have something to do with why Snape singles him              
> > out, the way he does Harry? The Longbottoms were powerful enemies 
> > of the Death Eaters, undoubtedly when Snape was one of them. Why
> > would Snape hold a grudge against someone who was fighting for a 
> > cause he eventually embraced? What a jerk!

Well, according to Sirius, of the five closest friends Snape had at 
school, four were tracked down by Aurors and either killed or given 
life in Azkaban.  That would be a powerful reason to hate Aurors.  I 
have to admit, anger at the Longbottoms in particular would not be 
especially fair, since two of Snape's friends were jailed specifically 
for torturing the Longbottoms, but since when are emotions rational?  

And of course, Neville's potions incompetence drives Snape up the 
wall, especially since it often disrupts the class (people standing on 
chairs to get out of the way of Neville's spilled potions, etc.) 

By the way, does anyone know whether "git" is the British equivalent 
of "jerk"?  I've seen that "git" means "idiot."  Jerk also literally 
means idiot, but usually implies someone who is selfish, 
inconsiderate, and mistreats other people.  


pigwidgeon37 wrote:
> ... Don't you think that this whole Longbottom story is 
> a bit fishy?... does anybody have an idea as to why the Lestranges
> got it into their fanatical heads that the Longbottoms might
> eventually know his [Voldemort's] whereabouts? Did not only the DEs, 
> but also the MoM Aurors search for Voldemort? I was under the 
> impression that a large majority of the wizarding population,
> including the MoM, believed that he was dead and gone for good, so
> why should they send Aurors to find him? And if they did so, why
> were the Longbottoms the only targets? 

Yes, the Aurors *were* searching for Voldy. In the Death Eaters 
chapter of GoF, Voldemort says "I dared not go where other humans were 
plentiful, for I knew that the Aurors were still abroad and searching 
for me."  I think the story about the Longbottom's being tortured is 
supposed to be true within the Potterverse.  Dumbledore tells it to 
Harry, and Dumbledore is not supposed to be a liar. 

I assume the Lestranges and their accomplices (Crouch Jr. and the 
other guy) started with the Longbottoms because the Longbottoms were 
the easiest to catch, and then got caught themselves before they could 
torture anyone else. 

-- Judy