Snape as a kid; Snape's dimensions; the legacy of Sirius

[darrin_burnett]

No: HPFGUIDX 68897

 now me (Cindy):
> Everyone is bringing up equally good points, but we can only theorise
> until book 6 comes out.
> I don't know what Snape was using to shoot down the flies, it could
> have been AK, it could have been stupefy, it could have been
> petrificus totalus. I know that he was knee deep in the dark arts, and
> a Death Eater, he may hav killed he may have tortured etc... But that
> is what makes him complicated to me. That is what makes me want to
> know more. I want to know what he did and why he stopped doing it, and
> how he feels about the whole situation now. I also want to know why
> dumbledore trusts him so much, and why he takes orders from Dumbledore
> in a very militaristic fashion. (In all the books pre-ootp, Snape is
> the only character to behave in this way towards Dumbledore).   
> I'm also thinking about two comments/clues that jkr made about Snape
> at Albert Hall. She said, not to think that he is too nice, and to
> keep an eye on him. And she also said that dumbledore does not want
> togive Snape the dada job because he believes it will bring out the
> worst in him.
> dumbledore obviously knows Snape quite well, he knows what he can
> expect and what not to expect, so he knows how to treat him. I have a
> theory about the Dark Arts in general. Perhaps when a wizard has been
> 'dark' and beocmes reformed, they can never trully be reformed. I'm
> using the element mercury as an example, once it enters the body it
> never leaves, there's no way to get it out. But the more it enters the
> body, the crazier the person gets.
> Slightly off topic now so I'll stop. But I think that Snape is
> definately complicated, because of his past.


I respect your point, Cindy, but I think "unknown" doesn't necessarily mean 
"complicated."

I too want to know what this guy's point is, and I admit to being intrigued by it. 
But I also have am beginning to see the same song over-and-over again from 
this guy.

"Potter! Your dad was a jerk!"
"Potter is arrogant!"
"Potter breaks rules!"
"Potter is responsible for the melting of the polar ice caps!"

Repeat, wash, rinse. 

But in the end, this really is a matter of personal opinion. Either you see him 
as complex or you don't. 

Like I said, his act is getting old. We've seen most of the other characters 
display different emotions from time to time. With Snape, it seems to me that 
it's either angry, very angry or happy with getting revenge on someone who 
made him angry

Darrin