Re: Where Snape belongs on the family tree

[evangelina839]

No: HPFGUIDX 79098

Lilian, your theory makes so much more sense than mine that I still feel nu=
ts for 
constructing mine the way I did. ;) But now, with some feedback, I'm fully =
prepared to 
flesh out (if that's even an expression) my own theory some more. Could get=
 a little 
incoherent here and there, though I tried to keep it together. Let's go:

+ The Severus/Lucius relation
I stated that the two are related as nephew/uncle, while Lilian proposed, m=
uch more 
reasonably, that they're cousins. But even though I was momentarily stunned=
, 
wondering why on earth I had made such a complicated connection when a much=
 
easier one was available, and even though I must say I like the idea that L=
ucius was 
Severus' Dudley, I still stand by my own version. First of all, it fits so =
nicely with my 
idea of Snape. I can just picture a muggle version of him doing the punk ro=
ck thing in 
his teens. Oh, maybe I should explain that when I work up my inner picture =
of a punk 
kid, I immediately drift off to a type of bands that was dominating the mus=
ic scene in 
Gothenburg during the late 90s. Most of them were in their late teens or ea=
rly 
twenties, played alternative rock type music with teen angst associative ly=
rics, and – 
wondering how best to express myself here – they struck from below and made=
 it 
their strength. Lilian said that making Lucius the uncle of Severus "gives =
a different 
kind of authority between the two of them", and I can imagine Snape actuall=
y liking 
such an arrangement. There is also the nice mental image I get of that bran=
ch of the 
Black family tapestry, if you make it stretch as far as including Lucius Ma=
lfoy's family. 
I like to have Snape, Draco and Tonks all in one line there, and I think it=
 also works 
well with my idea of Snape to have him all singled out in his own little br=
anch of the 
tree. It would enhance his loneliness to not have a close family connection=
 of his own 
generation. So, that's why I went through all the hassle of inventing a Mal=
foy sister to 
fit between two individuals who only differ in age with six years. ;) I cou=
ld also add 
that a friend of mine is actually a few years younger than her own niece, s=
o it's not 
like it never happens!

+ The Snape family situation
Now, I didn't put much work into this in the first place, so these are all =
new thoughts 
for me. :) The two things I find obvious are that 1: the parents didn't get=
 along and 2: 
the Snapes were poor. (78512 for a great post on this, and also what Wanda =
in post 
79083 said on the subject in this particular thread.) Number one is more or=
 less 
undisputable canon. Number two seems to be the general consensus around her=
e. So 
let's leave those two aside and let me explain why I think Severus' parents=
 weren't 
both pureblood. (Just let me note here that I really liked Susan's explanat=
ion of the 
argument Harry saw in Snape's memories; post 79086. Doesn't just solely fit=
 my 
motives nicely, mind you. :)) It's all in the Black tapestry and the fact t=
hat Harry 
doesn't notice the name Snape on it. Not exactly rock solid, but Sirius poi=
nts out 
names all over the thing and Harry notices pretty quickly that the Malfoys =
are on it, so 
I believe he gets a pretty good survey of it. So, if all wizard families ar=
e interrelated, 
why isn't the name Snape there? Because there never was a pureblood family =
with that 
name. I'm not about to glue my feet to the ground and refuse to move from t=
his, 
though; I think Marika's points on why Mr Snape was a squib were very good,=
 for 
instance (see post 79089). And also, if the Blacks and the Malfoys are some=
 of the 
most "noble" wizard families out there, it's quite possible that the Snape =
family 
simply belonged to a different class, so marriages in between the two famil=
ies weren't 
that common. Just like you suggested, Lilian. And yeah, I also really like =
the idea that 
Snape is related to Phineas (credit to melpomene and Cindy). In fact I thin=
k I'm pretty 
willing to accept any theory that gives him (Snape) a relative. Give the ma=
n some 
family!

+ Agnes (full credit to Lilian!)
Now, here's where it gets really interesting! My own theory didn't stretch =
as far as 
having an actual canon individual to play the role of Mrs Snape. And it get=
s even 
better! From OotP, page 452 UK ("Christmas on the Closed Ward"):

---
"'Here you are, Agnes,' said the healer brightly to the furry-faced woman, =
handing 
her a small pile of Christmas presents. `See, not forgotten, are you? And y=
our son's 
sent an owl to say he's visiting tonight, so that's nice, isn't it?'"
---

See? JKR even makes a point in informing us that Agnes has a son! And don't=
 worry 
asking why Neville has never met Snape there; he has never even told anyone=
 he goes 
there regularly himself, so they *could* have met, except Harry (and the re=
aders) 
don't know. IMO, this is just perfect.

Alright, now it feels like I'm getting somewhere. :) Hope I didn't get way =
too carried 
away with the references there; I was just so happy that someone actually p=
icked up 
on my post that I wanted to give credit to as many responders as possible.

evangelina, who never realized Gothenburg sounds so much like Gotham City ;=
)