[HPforGrownups] Re: Snape/Lucius Malfoy/Filch connections

[Edblanning at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 36441

Abigail:
> Hmmm.  I'm not sure that works.  I've been operating under the assumption 
> that Lucius' closeness with Voldemort has 
> to do with the fact that he was in fact in LV's original inner circle (you 
> know, the one that knew him as Lord Voldemort 
> when he was still in school.)  The timeline works, Draco clearly states in 
> CoS that his father was in school when the 
> Chamber of Secrets was first opened - when Tom Riddle was in his sixth 
> year.  Lucius would therefore be around 
> 

That was something I felt inspired to check yesterday, and actually, Draco 
says the opposite: the Chamber was opened *before*  his father's time.

> I've drawn from this, by the way, the assumption that Lucius Malfoy was in 
> fact a mentor or some sort to young 
> Severus Snape, either before or after he joined the DE, and that this is 
> one of Snape's reasons for treating Malfoy so 
> 

On the other hand I do in my own mind sort of assume that perhaps the Malfoys 
and the Snapes did know each other (no evidence, just a gut feeling). He 
would, of course have been an older DE who *could* have mentored Snape, but I 
also feel that Snape is ambivalent about Lucius'  DE/nonDE status prior to it 
being revealed at the end of GoF ( BTW, isn't Snape's 'sudden movement' when 
he hears that an indication that he *wasn't* in the graveyard as some have 
recently speculated?). I feel he plays a cautious game with Mr Malfoy, erring 
on the side of caution. OTOH, if Draco is correct in stating that his father 
would favour Snape for the headmastership,  I think we can reasonably assume 
that Lucius, at least, believes that Snape's sympathies still lie with the 
Dark Side.

> By the way, as long a we're on the subject of Snape's friends, I noticed 
> someone wondering what the reason for 
> Snape and Filch's apparent friendship is (this is a small point in the 
> FLIRTIAC campaign.)  I started wondering whether 
> the reason wasn't the same as the one for Harry's closeness with Hagrid.  
> We don't know how old Filch is and it's 
> possible that he was caretaker while Snape was in school, and they may have 
> been on good terms.  Maybe Snape 
> didn't break the rules a lot, or maybe he was a squealer, or for whatever 
> reason - maybe like just attracts like.  Not as 
> sexy as the FLIRTIAC/Kittygro/Love Triangle solutions, but it makes a kind 
> of sense to me.

Oh yes....I think young Severus was responsible for handing Filch a lot of 
victims (good practice for later Bloody Ambushes, if he did but know!). (I 
wonder when Filch had to stop using those manacles.) I think he basically 
sees in Snape an ally - the only ally, perhaps - in his unremitting war 
against those pestilential nuisances the students. I'm sure thay'd both enjoy 
life better without them. Shame they both have to work in a school!

Back on the subject of Slytherin, one of the characteristics favoured by 
Slytherin himself (according to Dumbledore) was a certain lack of respect for 
rules. Not a characterisic of Snape, apparently (other than going out of 
bounds to follow Lupin).

Eloise



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]