Snape, A Murderer? (Was: Re: Is Wormtail an Occlumens or an open book?)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 95346

Sigune wrote:
<snip> My first thought would be 
to  agree with Carol's view, as she expressed it in other threads, 
that  Snape cannot be a murderer - this is not because I reason 
sentimentally and would hate the thought of my favourite 
character  engaging in anything so terrible as murder, especially 
of innocent  Muggles. It is mainly because I cannot believe 
Dumbledore to  consciously hire a murderer as a teacher. That 
would be morally  totally unacceptable; and I don't believe in 
ESE!Dumbledore.<snip> However, for a Headmaster to entrust 
the students in his charge to a murderer - that  would be 
downright irresponsible.<<
 
Pippin responded:
If Dumbledore believes that Snape has truly repented and is no 
longer  willing to do murder in Voldemort's name, why shouldn't 
he trust him?  I don't believe Dumbledore (or Rowling) divides 
the world into people who are capable of murder and people 
who are not.
 
Carol answers:
I still don't think that DD would hire a murderer to teach innocent
children. We don't know what Snape did for the DEs, but it seems to be
something different from what the other DEs mentioned by Karkaroff did
or Crouch Sr. would never have let Snape off regardless of DD's
testimony regarding his reform. I think that Snape joined the DEs
hoping for recognition, a sense of worth that he seems to have been
denied at Hogwarts despite (I'm assuming) high scores on his OWLs and
NEWTs. He excelled at potions-making; he had extensive knowledge of
DADA and the Dark Arts in general. Who better than Voldemort, he must
have thought, to appreciate and honor his expertise?

Like Regulus Black, he probably discovered what the DEs were really
about *after* he had the Dark Mark burned into his arm. As cunning as
he is, I think he could have found a way to avoid the kinds of
assignments that his friend Lucius enjoyed.

I wish I knew what caused him to go to Dumbledore and turn spy for him
*before* the events at Godric's Hollow. Maybe it was Regulus's death.
I think I *do* know what caused him to apply to teach at Hogwarts
(where he could pretend to be spying for LV): knowledge that LV was
about to attack the Potters. If, as I suspect, Snape applied just
before the beginning of term, he got himself away from Voldemort just
in time to avoid being involved in the Potters' murder two months
later. I think he wanted to repay his life debt to James and was
denied the opportunity when, despite all his efforts and Dumbledore's,
James was killed.

All in all, despite his penchant for sarcasm and psychological
cruelty, I don't think Snape was a murderer, or that he cast any of
the Unforgiveable Curses. Who is Dumbledore to forgive the
Unforgiveable? IMO, it can't be done.

Carol