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

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 95406

Kneasy:
> If you fight a war you get your hands dirty; to pretend that 
somehow
> it's possible to defeat Voldy and be able to avoid inflicting 
casualties
> on the enemy is not credible. It wasn't in the last Voldy war, why 
should 
> it be different this time? He has to win the war. Any other 
alternative is
> not acceptable. And he will use whatever means are at his disposal 
that 
> he thinks will work.

Jen: Yes! I just can't picture a 'dainty' Snape, refusing to muddy 
his hands with blood of the enemy. We keep getting hints about how 
horrible the First War was, but not very often do we get a gritty, 
realistic image to sum up that horror. 

One gritty moment for me was watching Lupin & Sirius casually 
discussing Peter's murder while Peter kneeled before them, begging 
for mercy. Another moment was Snape's willingness to hand Sirius to 
the Dementors without hearing him out. Yet a third was Sirius' 
comment that Regulus got in over his head, and how service to Voldy 
was a lifetime commitment or death. Actually, the service is just 
plain death any way you look at it--premature or otherwise.

I did *not* like seeing two of my favorite characters about to kill 
someone, even a traitor to their best friend. But that generation of 
Order members (and DE's?) were decimated, and in times of intense 
survival, you figure out what you need to do pretty quickly or die 
trying. I have little doubt Sirius and Lupin killed before sizing up 
Peter.  We see that Lupin was still appointed to a teaching position.

So, I see no evidence or reason to conclude Snape was exempt from 
the horrors of war or that he got to take the moral high ground in 
the situation. James & gang were taken down a bunch of notches in 
OOTP when Harry viewed the Pensieve scene. I'm certain Snape's turn 
is next.