More Snape (might) be a vampire canon

[eloiseherisson at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 88186

Jake:

> In book one, Hagrid becomes agitated when Harry, Ron, and Hermione 
> argue that Snape was trying to hurt Harry during a quidditch game.
> 
> "I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don'know why 
> Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a 
> student!"  (SS, p. 193).
> 
> This scene always made me scratch my head.  I wondered why Hagrid 
> would get all hot and bothered over this.  If snape is a vampire, 
> then Hagrid might be defending Snape because he feels that the same 
> could be said of him (and it will be later on in the books).  Def. 
> canon showing that Snape is a vampire?  Nope.  Another scene that 
> might have a second dimension?  Yep.



Eloise:

Hm. Could be. 
OTOH, it may be an indicator of his trusting Dumbledore's judgement. He knows 
that Dumbledore trusts Snape enough to have made him one of the guardians of 
the Philosopher's Stone and he gets very hot under the collar if Dumbledore is 
criticised.

My own interpretation of this scene has always been that it is Hagrid 
protesting too much because he knows of the enmity between Snape and James. He can't 
really bring himself to believe that Snape would hurt Harry, yet faced with 
the evidence it gives him a nasty jolt.
He tells us that only powerful Dark Magic can interfere with a broom like 
that; Snape is therefore a prime candidate with possible motive.

It parallels the earlier scene when Harry and Ron tell Hagrid about their 
first Potions lesson:

' "But he seemed really to *hate* me."
"Rubbish!" said Hagrid, "Why should he?"
Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when 
he said that.'

(PS/SS, 185, UK PB)

Hagrid knows all too well that there is reason for Snape to hate Harry 
(although I don't think he knows the half of it), so he will always protest loudly 
at the idea out of loyalty to Dumbledore and his staff. And what good would he 
think it would do to tell Harry anyway at that stage? He has no idea at this 
point what a remarkable wizard Harry will turn out to be, nor, I suspect, that 
he has a destiny to fulfil.

The particular outburst you quote also comes at the end of the conversation, 
when the trio have revealed what they have found out so far about Fluffy 
guarding something. Hagrid is under a lot of pressure here and losing it rather in 
his desperation to keep their noses out of business which he thinks does not 
concern them.

On a literary level, JKR uses Hagrid to develop our early questions and 
doubts about Snape. The second (chronologically earlier) quote above is JKR's first 
hint that there is some kind of link between them and objective confirmation 
(through Hagrid's obviously false denial) that he does indeed hate Harry.

The discussion of the Quidditch match incident with the addition of Hagrid's 
ourbursts adds to our mounting doubts about Snape. JKR is playing with us, 
presenting both sides of the argument, bringing the conundrum out into the open. 
But the argument *for* Snape is cleverly presented by the less convincing 
character. Hagrid's reactions also, of course provide a foil for Hermione to 
explain to us just what really *was* happening to Harry's broom, only, of course, 
she was mistaking the counter curse for the jinx.

Like Agatha Christie, JKR presents us with all the evidence but with a 
magician's sleight of hand misdirects our interpretation of it.

On the general subject of whether Snape is a vampire or not...
Well, I don't think he is, but I wouldn't put anything past JKR.

I'm not at all sure it's valid to argue that he is or isn't based on various 
characteristics such as the ability to tolerate sunlight, not be repelled by 
garlic and such. There seem to be different traditions about these things, many 
of which are literary (or derived from film) anyway and JKR, whilst drawing 
on mythology and past literary traditions is also quite capable of altering or 
creating characteristics of beasts and beings to suit her own purposes.

I am also not convinced by the arguments for his being or not being a vampire 
based on whether or not he already has enough emotional baggage or whether it 
is a theme that would enhance the message of the books or not, although these 
discussions have an interest of their own. It's quite valid to argue the 
literary merits of why he *should* or *shouldn't* be a vampire, but JKR is the 
only one who knows and we can't *predict* what she will do based on which we 
would find the most satisfying. 

I have the same problem with SHIPping. As far as I can see, JKR is setting us 
up with Ron/Hermione - but that doesn't mean it will happen, in fact it could 
just as easily be an indicator that it *won't* happen. I guess that's my 
feeling about the vampirism: she's dropped so many little hints into the text that 
if I *had* to predict, I'd say that no, I think she's playing with us. But 
I'm quite prepared to be wrong.

On reading Dracula (a vampire who did go abroad in daylight), I have to say 
that the character who came most to mind was Voldemort, with the red eyes, the 
mind connection thing with Mina Harker which is very similar to the way Harry 
witnesses Voldemort's experiences through his dreams (and additionally the 
realisation of both Dracula and Voldemort that this was happening), the fact that 
Voldemort, in vapour form and possibly earlier was arguably "undead", having 
gone through transformations which seem to have made him less than human yet 
immortal and the whole idea of "death eating" whatever that is precisely, but 
which has overtones of preying on the deaths of others as Dracula sucked the 
life from his victims. 

~Eloise

Who, on the subject of "old", was yesterday listening to an adaptation of 
Noel Streatfield's The Saplings (a war time novel) in which the father of the 
family habitially addressed his young daughter as "old girl".


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