HP and the Half Blood Git

[vituperative404]

No: HPFGUIDX 105515

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "cubfanbudwoman" 
<susiequsie23 at s...> wrote:
> SSSusan:
> But I *would* ask you how you know what the "logical conclusion" 
to 
> draw is?  Isn't that a big part of what Snape-aholics have been 
> saying?  That there is so much which is unanswered about our 
former-
> DE-turned-potions-master?  Without some answers, how do we *know* 
> that he is evil?  Cruel, sadistic (JKR's word), abusive (JKR's 
> term), sarcastic--all that is clearly available in canon or in JKR 
> interviews.  But "evil"?  That seems an awfully strong & certain 
> conclusion to draw at this point.  Could you say more?


Melanie:
I agree with you that part of Snape's "allure" is the fact that he's 
such a mysterious guy. There's not enough evidence in the current 
canon to tell if he's "evil" NOW. 

On the other hand, it's very easy to reach the conclusion that Snape 
*was* evil back in his DE days. First of all, as far we know he 
joined the DEs of his own free will (his 'mudblood' snipe to Lily in 
the pensieve scene points to him believing the 'pureblood' party 
line). And while we could say he was "peer pressured" into it by his 
Slytherin buddies, he chose to help the blood-purification cause not 
by making coffee or by handing out leaflets, but by swearing 
lifetime allegiance to You-Know-Who. When's the last time you got a 
tattoo for a cause you don't believe in?

And while there's no current evidence that Snape actually 
killed/tortured anybody, chances are he probably participated in the 
festivities. The Mafia, I've heard, inducts new members by making 
them particpate in a murder. I shudder to think what a potential DE 
has to do to become part of the gang. Additionally, his drinking 
buddies were Lucius "Just a spot of muggle torture, thanks, I'm 
trying to quit" Malfoy, Bellatrix "I tortured people into insanity 
and I all I got was this heavy-lidded expression" Lestrange, and 
Lord "kill the spare" Voldemort. At the very least, he's guilty of 
standing by and watching while his pals tortured and murdered 
innocents.

Call me judgmental, but that's "evil" in my book.

But what I really want to know is what made him turn his back on the 
dark side, and why Dumbledore believes Snape's story . . . I hope 
Snape will be a redeemed character, I really do. I don't hate the 
man, in fact I think he's positively fascinating. I just think he 
was probably a bit of an evil stinker in his DE days. 

-Melanie