[HPforGrownups] Re: Where was Snape?

[Amanda]

No: HPFGUIDX 36497

Finwitch said, about Snape,

> He was protecting Harry (despite hating him) - because by doing so,
> he's paying the debt he owes to Harry's father and he hates being in
> that life-debt.

May I throw out for general consideration, the following: to a degree, the
above is in the same league with "Snape wants the DADA position." The source
is better: Dumbledore rather than Percy. However, it *is* still hearsay, not
spoken by Snape himself, ever. Given when Dumbledore said it, I suspect it
is a half-truth and there's more to Snape's motivations. That was probably
the most obvious, the best one to give to an eleven-year-old after a truly
frightening experience, and the easiest one for an eleven-year-old to
understand. Also, from an author's point of view, this is Book One, she's
not going to hand us everything about Snape's motivations here. Hah.

Any time I start to notice us taking something as a total fact, taken
completely for granted, I get suspicious. JKR is soooo good at planting
those things and nurturing them without us noticing.

> I don't think he wanted Quirrell to have the stone - I think he wanted
> it for himself! To give to Voldemort or to keep - I know not.

Have you any basis for this? This in intriguing; of all the Snape theories,
that he really *was* trying to get the Stone for Voldemort isn't one I've
seen (maybe I've just not been paying attention). I don't think Snape is a
psychopath--I think he's simply had to consider so many other things on so
much more major a level than Potions exams that most everything else seems
irrelevant. He's nasty, mean, and spiteful sort of by habit, to pass the
time; I don't think we've seen any genuine emotion out of him except in the
intense scenes dealing with Harry (Shack, office, etc.).

Still, it is a fact that if you ignore the delivery system (nasty, mean,
spiteful, etc.), the product that Snape delivers most often is protection.
How is this reconciled with your thought?

--Amanda, curious