[HPforGrownups] Re: Snape/Petunia Connection [was Snape's "Mind Set"]

[Moonstruck]

No: HPFGUIDX 44419

More thoughts on Snape's connection to Petunia and,
thus, Harry:

I'm rereading PoA (how many times is it now?) and,
with this newfound suspicion about Snapes' parentage,
read a couple of scenes rather differently:

In Ch. 8 (Flight of the Fat Lady), Harry has tea with
Lupin in Lupin's office. While Harry's there, Snape
arrives with the Wolfsbane Potion. My memory of the
scene was that Snape was agitated to see his two least
favorite people consorting. When I read it this time,
I wondered if, perhaps (and this, I admit, is a
stretch), his reaction is one of nervousness and
concern over Harry.

"Snape set down the smoking goblet, his eyes wandering
between Harry and Lupin."

He is rather impatient with Lupin, urging him that he
should "drink that directly."

And when Snape leaves, we're told "there was a look in
his eye Harry didn't like. He backed out of the room,
unsmiling and watchful." (156)

Snape's behavior in this scene is really rather
ambiguous. We aren't told that he's angry or annoyed.
In fact, to me, the overriding sense I get from him is
anxiety, nervousness. Perhaps he's having flashbacks
from his school days, since Harry, who resembles
James, seems so chummy with Lupin.

Or *maybe* he's worried about Harry's safety, in some
strange, emotionally strangled, twisted way. Snape
seems to be paranoid throughout the book that Lupin's
just going to transform into a werewolf suddenly
during the full moon -- even if he's had the
Wolfsbane. Is it possible he was worried Lupin might
become stricken while with Harry and hurt him? Or even
that Lupin would deliver Harry to Sirius?

Again, one could wonder if Snape's motivations are
concern for Harry in the next chapter following
Sirius' attack on the Fat Lady:

"You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster,
just before -- ah -- the start of term," said Snape,
who was barely opening his lips, as though trying to
block Percy out of the conversation.

"I do, Severus," said Dumbledore, and there was
something like warning in his voice.

"It seems -- almost impossible -- that Black could
have entered the school without inside help. I did
express my concern when you appointed --"

"I do not believe a single person in this castle would
have helped Black enter it," said Dumbledore, and his
tone made it so clear that the subject was closed that
Snape didn't reply. (165-6)

Could Snape's suspicion of Lupin's collaboration with
Black be fueled by both a concern for his relative
(nephew?), Harry, *and* his resentment -- and, thus,
distrustfulness -- toward Lupin and Black for how they
treaded him when they were students at Hogwarts? I'm
going out on a limb, but I guess what I'm really
saying is that the text can be interpreted either way.


But the scene I'm *really* stuck on is the
conversation Hagrid, McG, Flitwick, Fudge, and M.
Rosemerta have about Black at the Three Broomsticks.
Explaining the circumstances surrounding the Potters'
deaths, Fudge says, "Dumbledore, who was of course
working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number
of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he
alerted James and Lily at once." (204)

The comment is dropped in the conversation so casually
that you have to wonder if it's another clue that
JKR's thrown in quite inconspicuously so we pass right
over it. Perhaps that *useful spy* was Snape, who was
keeping a careful watch over Voldie's machinations and
against James and Lily because he knew Lily was a
relative (sister?). 

You could say that Snape's hateful behavior toward
Harry eliminates his likelihood of being a blood
guardian over Harry.  Petunia's just as loathsome to
Harry, but she still provides him with protection and
sustenance (however pitiful it might be). Perhaps
Snape's feelings for Harry are made complex and
frustrating because his hatred of James Potter was so
deep (could Snape blame Lily's death on James?), but
his sense of duty toward his kin is just as powerful.
He may well resent Harry for stirring these
conflicting emotions of bitter hate and shameful
guilt. That would intensify his feelings of agitation
toward Harry.

Okay, I'm just throwing out some suggestions. I don't
even know if I believe them, but it's an interesting
take on the text that I intend to study a bit further.

-Jessica



--- Carol Bainbridge <kaityf at jorsm.com> wrote:
> Jessica wrote:
>  >"SNAPE" and "EVANS" are essentially the same name
>  >rearranged, minus the "P" in "SNAPE" and the "V"
> in
>  >"EVANS," conveniently enough, however, the "P" in
>  >"SNAPE" can be found in "PETUNIA" and the "V" in
>  >"EVANS" can be found in "SEVERUS."
> 
> Steve B.replied:
> ...what if Snape and Petunia were siblings or at
> least cousins. That would make Snape and Lily
> relatives. If this were
> the case, then perhaps Snape's dislike for James was
> based on a
> protectiveness he has for Lily, his little sister or
> cousin.
> That would also give James a motive for saving
> Snape's life (because
> Snape would be James's girlfriend's brother or
> cousin). That would
> also explain why Snape seems to love and hate Harry.
> As Harry's
> uncle, Snape feels like he must watch over Harry. At
> the same time,
> because Harry reminds Snape so much of James, Snape
> dislikes Harry.
> 
> I have really been resisting the temptation to put
> too much into these 
> letters and their meaning, but for some reason the
> exchange between Jessica 
> and Steve triggered a thought and linked a couple of
> problems that have 
> been discussed here before.  Here's my thought --
> 
> What if Snape is not a brother or cousin to Petunia,
> but a half 
> brother?   This is really farfetched and I'm not
> really sure that I believe 
> a bit of it, but it does seem to make a little bit
> of sense to me.  I can't 
> remember anything about Snape's parentage being
> provided in the canon, so 
> if I'm suggesting something that's impossible, then
> I'll go back to square 
> one.  Suppose Snape's father was first married to a
> Muggle named Mr. 
> Evans.  They had a baby boy, Perseus, who was a
> little wizard.  Mrs. Evans 
> died and Mr. Evans later remarried to a Muggle
> woman.  Along comes Lily and 
> Petunia Evans, both technically Muggles.  However,
> little Lily is a witch 
> and is invited to Hogwarts.  This would certainly
> explain how the Evans 
> family knew enough about the WW to be proud to have
> a witch in the 
> family.  Now before Mr. Evans remarried, he didn't
> think he should raise a 
> little wizard when he was a single Muggle, so he
> gives his little boy up to 
> be raised in the WW.  Mr. Evans must have recognized
> the anti-Muggle 
> feelings in the WW and may have thought it best to
> change his son's name 
> too before handing him over, so he rearranges the
> letters in his son's name 
> and voila!  Severus Snape.  (He may have come up
> with this name because his 
> son's disposition was a little, um, severe.)
> 
> Perhaps too Snape has had an unhappy childhood and
> thinks it would have 
> been better had his father kept him and maybe he
> resents his mother's death 
> too.  At Hogwarts he has to watch beautiful, happy
> Lily, who's so talented 
> and who marries James Potter, a real popular guy.  I
> can see him being very 
> resentful of the entire situation.
> 
> I also believe that Snape is a man of honor -- of
> sorts -- a man who does 
> his duty.  Sure he was a DE, but he saw fit to
> return to the good 
> side.  The same sense of duty/honor is part of what
> keeps him from doing 
> harm to Harry and has him protecting Harry instead. 
> Being the kind of 
> person he is and being a half brother to Lily would
> certainly help explain 
> his love/hate relationship with Harry, especially if
> he didn't have such a 
> happy childhood and the reason for the lack of
> happiness came from his 
> father giving him up and remarrying a Muggle.
> 
> Carol Bainbridge
> (kaityf at jorsm.com)
> 
> http://www.lcag.org 
> 
> 


=====
"Oh, I'll settle down with some old story/About a boy who's just like me/Thought there was love in everything and everyone/You're so naive!/After a while they always get it/They always reach a sorry end/Still it was worth it as I turned the pages solemnly, and then/With a winning smile, the boy/With naivety succeeds/At the final moment, I cried/I always cry at endings"
- "Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying," Belle and Sebastian

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