[HPforGrownups] Snape's treatment of Draco (was: Re:Snape, Lucius, and mi...

[eloiseherisson at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 47264

Audra:

> Jazmyn wrote:
> <<Hmmmm... May be that Snape will try to help Draco not make the mistakes 
> he made, favoring him cause he sees himself as a kid?>>
> 
> 
Eloise:
Whilst I *do* think that it's quite possible (and personally believe) that 
Snape sees his younger self in Draco and favours him for that reason, it is 
also pretty necessary for him to keep in with Lucius. 

As I have said before, prior to Voldemort's return we don't actually *know* 
what either of them believes about the other. I suspect that Snape doesn't 
believe Lucius's Imperius defence and in any case caution demands that he 
assume he is still an active Voldmort supporter. We don't know what Lucius 
believes about Snape, but again, Snape can't give him any excuse to go 
running to the governors, trying to get him sacked.

Audra:
Snape's treatment of Draco as interpreted by Harry and others may just be 
another misconception about him.  We are led to think that Snape just favors 
the Slytherins and especially Draco just because Snape shares the belief that 
purebloods are superior and because Draco is from a prominent, wealthy, 
pureblood family.

Eloise:
The other way round, I would say. It is easy to *assume* that the reason he 
favours Draco and the Slytherins is because he shares the pureblood 
superiority doctrine, but I cannot think of anywhere in canon where he 
implies or demonstrates this. In fact, I don't think that anyone so close to 
and trusted by Dumbledore *could* embrace this doctrine.

What we see is Snape favouring the Slytherins and penalising the Gryffindors. 
Ron and (especially) Neville gain no advantage by vitrue of being of old, 
pureblood families, do they? And much as he apparently detests Hermione, she 
still beats Draco in Potions.


-Person Man:
>What I don't understand is why Lucius lets his son anywhere near 
>Snape, assuming that Lucius knows that Snape is a traitor and was a 
>spy against his cause (which all would have been revealed through 
>the trials of the DE's after the fall of Voldemort).  Wouldn't he 
>have used his influence as a School Governor to make sure Snape 
>never even got the job in the first place?  You'ld think that Lucius 
>would be afraid Snape would do what was mentioned above to his son.
[ie guiding him away from making the same mistakes he made]

Eloise:
I'll add this on, since you've posted since I wrote the above.
Welcome! Here's a prompt response to your first post!

This is a Very Good Question which I'm glad you asked, as it is one of the 
reasons that some of us believe that the door *is* still open for Snape to 
resume his secret agent role.

We have *no indication whatsoever* that Lucius Malfoy distrusts Snape. In 
fact from what Draco says about how he would favour Snape for headmaster, 
rather the opposite. Similarly, we have *no indication whatsoever* that the 
DEs know that Snape switched sides. They have been bad-mouthing Pettigrew in 
Azkaban, so why not Snape? Sirius hears about Pettigrew in Azkaban, but has 
not the foggiest that Snape even was a DE, let alone that he had changed 
sides. 
What Crouch Jr knows or suspects is not clear. When he interviews Snape on 
the stairs, he is of course masquerading as Moody and any information he 
might have as to his defection would probably come from questioning 
real!Moody.

How we explain his apparent outing in the Pensieve by Dumbledore, I don't 
know. But an equally big problem with that is how the whole school doesn't 
know he's an ex-DE and how the parents and governors have tolerated a known 
ex-DE as a staff member all this time.

I firmly believe that that apparent public outing was not, in fact, public, 
or this just doesn't make sense to me.

I also believe that Voldemort thought that Snape had infiltrated Dumbledore's 
camp on his orders, that Snape was a double agent, passing carefully vetted 
pieces of information on to Voldemort to maintain his cover whilst actively 
spying on Voldemort for Dumbledore.


~Eloise

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You think that just because it's already happened, the past is finished and 
unhangeable? Oh no, the past is cloaked in multi-colored taffeta and every 
time we look at it we see a different hue.

(Milan Kundera, Life is Elsewhere)


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