So, why did Snape turn on Voldermort?

[naamagatus]

No: HPFGUIDX 39970

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "joeblackish" <joeblackish at y...> wrote:
> In the spirit of guessing why Snape may have turned on 
> Voldemort, I wonder if we might consider something other than 
> his genuine goodness or an attack of conscience, etc.
> 
<snip> 
> What if it was Snape's inner-Slytherin gnawing him to leave 
> Voldemort?
> 
> 
> That ambitious drive in Snape's belly told him that he would 
> never get the power and recognition he wanted as long as he 
> was with Voldemort. In fact, working for an evil nutcase like that 
> is downright dangerous – the guy's in a bad mood one day and 
> all those evil deeds were for nothing. 
> 
> No, much better to work for someone like Dumbledore, who 
> keeps his promises and passes out credit where credit is do. 
> Also, unlike Da V-miester, Dumbledore will actually die someday 
> and leave the top spot open.
> 
> Yes, that's right. Severus betrayed his master for no other 
> reason than he was looking out for number one. He switched 
> sides solely for personal gain. He's ambitious to the core, and 
> knew he would never get the glory he deserves from that crazy 
> monster.
> 

It's a nice theory and would, in fact, be very convincing, except for 
one thing: Dumbledore's complete trust in Snape. For some reason (one 
of the Great HP Mysteries), Dumbledore is certain that Snape is loyal 
to him and to the Light Side. 
Dumbledore knows Snape to be truly on the Light Side, but if Snape 
switched because of ambition, I don't see how Dumbledore can be so 
sure of him. A person who switches sides for such a reason can just 
as easily switch sides again, if the other side offers something 
better. IOW, it isn't a change of heart, and I don't think that 
Dumbledore would trust Snape if he wasn't sure that Snape had gone 
through a change of heart.


Naama