OoP - Snape STILL could be the turncoat

[darrin_burnett]

No: HPFGUIDX 62034

When I first read PS/SS in the fall of 2001 -- I came to the Potter 
world late -- I thought I was reading a very well-done children's 
book, until I got to the part where Harry finds who is really after 
the Stone and it's Quirrell, not Snape.

That's when I realized she was writing for an older audience, one 
that deciphers clues and appreciates good plot twists.

And the whole spirit of the "Snape hates your father and his memory, 
but wanted to protect you" is just so complex.

Snape was certainly more than he seemed.

Now it's time for me to wonder if he still is. Here is my case. It 
involves a little canon and decent bit of metathinking. Take it with 
as many grains of salt as you need.

Meta:
1) Snape being evil now WOULD be a twist. After five books of 
discovering tidbit after tidbit about Snape, he has become one of the 
most popular characters in the books. To yank it out now would be 
shocking.

2) Who are the ones who always shoot down any of Ron and Harry's 
conspiracy theories involving Snape? Hermione and Dumbledore, the two 
fonts of knowledge. JKR herself said (in the CoS DVD interview) that 
Dumbledore and Hermoine are wonderful tools for getting out 
information. Wouldn't it be just like JKR to have those guys wrong 
about this?

Ok, onto the canon:

1) Why exactly did the Occlumency not better? Well, obviously, Harry 
didn't appear to be trying too hard, but then Dumbledore says that 
Snape was the wrong person to teach him because of all the hate for 
Harry's father. D-Dore, who trusts Snape implicitly, is blaming it on 
Snape's emotions. But... could the softening up theory be right?

2) How did the DE's know that Harry had finally broken into the Dept. 
of Mysteries? They could have had lookouts posted. But what if they 
had been tipped off by the guy who was supposedly deep in the Forest, 
looking for Harry after he escaped from Umbridge? 

3) Snape took pains to hide certain memories from Harry. What if that 
humilation one is just the tip of the iceberg? 

4) We now know that D-Dore is susceptible to mis-steps in judgement. 
He has made mistakes before. Crouch/Moody is the most prominent, but 
those were cases of being actively fooled by a potion. With his 
misreading of how Harry would react and what V-Mort would do to that 
reaction, it opens up D-Dore for being wrong about one of his 
followers. 

Who is the one follower he's had to make the biggest leap of faith 
with? Snape.

Commence slings and arrows.

Darrin
-- But if it happens, remember where you read it ;)

And yes, Worst Memories would be a GREAT name for a band.