HP and the Half Blood Git

[staceymateo]

No: HPFGUIDX 106102

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" 
<justcarol67 at y...> wrote:
> Consider that he is always trying to keep Harry from breaking the
> rules and endangering his life--by entering the corridor where the
> sorceror's/philosopher's stone is or going to Hogsmeade and possibly
> encountering Sirius Black, to give just two examples. And he really
> can't be nice to Harry, can he, if he really is trying to keep his
> cover as Dumbledore's agent from being discovered by his Slytherin
> students? Consider the courage that it took to reveal the Dark Mark to
> Fudge and to do whatever errand Dumbledore sent him on at the end of
> GoF. Consider that, despite his dislike of Harry, he arranged the
> rescue mission to the MoM. If he hadn't alerted both the Order and
> Dumbledore, Harry would be dead.
>
> However unpleasant Snape may be, all of the evidence, including
> Dumbledore's repeated assertions that he trusts Severus Snape, point
> to Snape's loyalty to Dumbledore, his opposition to Voldemort, and his
> remarkable courage--a very unSlytherin trait. I don't see how those
> qualities can be reconciled with "evil."
> 
> I happen to enjoy Snape's wit and sarcasm (for example, his putdown of
> Umbridge regarding the veritaserum and his advice to Crabbe to stop
> strangling Neville because he'll have to mention it if Crabbe ever
> wants a recommendation). I like his uncanny ability to put two and two
> together (even though he occasionally arrives at the wrong conclusion,
> like suspecting Harry of taking supplies from his office). I
> especially like his ability to work loyally for Dumbledore, to be his
> righthand man (and, I think, an essential part of DD's "army") despite
> his intense dislike of Harry and the pureblood/Dark Arts instincts
> that point him in the other direction. It takes real courage to oppose
> your friends, as Dumbledore said of Neville in SS/PS. And Snape is
> risking his life, not once but repeatedly.
> 
> *Something* has caused him to leave the DEs and join Dumbledore.
> Something has caused him to abandon evil for the cause of good. What
> can it be? More than anything else in these books, I really want to
> understand the motivations and history of Severus Snape.

Stacey now:

New poster here!  Hi all!  And with the formalities out of the way...

I think that we haven't even begun to see what JKR has in store with 
Snape.  He tends to do things that go against everything he shows as 
being his "true nature".  Of course, we are seeing this "true nature" 
through a pair of tainted eyes, those of Harry.  This limited view of 
Snape leads to some deception on the part of JKR.  By not allowing us 
to see the full story, we are left pondering (such as we are 
now :)).  

I think that the little things that Snape does to help Harry are a 
little more in line with the "true" Snape.  In PS/SS, he saves Harry 
from Quirrell in the Quidditch match.  In OotP, he is the one who 
contacts the Order to inform them of the action at the Ministry.  I 
don't doubt that Snape is transferring some of his anger toward James 
onto Harry, but at the same time, I think he is also watching out for 
Harry.  His actions in noticing everything that Harry does notes that 
he pays attention to Harry.  How did he know that Harry wasn't 
allowed in Hogsmede in PoA?  Harry had to turn in his form to 
McGonagall, his head of house, and last time I read canon (excusing 
some pretty good Slytherin Harry stories in fanon), Snape is not his 
head of house.  

Snape goes out of his way to "watch" Harry and know everything he is 
doing.  I really don't think it is accidental that Snape is always 
the one to barely miss catching Harry and co. in some misdeed.  

Also, we know that Snape is loyal to Dumbledore, and Dumbledore must 
protect Harry in order to fufill the prophecy.  Whether Snape 
is "watching" Harry to repay James for saving his life or for some 
unknown reason to Lily or to show is loyality to Dumbledore and to 
the defeat of Voldemort, I think this will be a major plot bunny for 
books 6 and 7.  

However, I also think he is good candidate for sacrifice for this 
reason.  The double agent usually is uncloaked in the end and is 
killed by the good guys for turning against them, or killed by the 
bad guys for turning against them.  Snape's days are numbered, the 
way I see it, but he will "die for the cause" after his usefulness to 
the fight is over.  He should be up to his old ways of stalking Harry 
and sneering oh so sexily (or at least when Alan Rickman is doing the 
sneering) for Book 6, but it wouldn't surprise me if he meets it in 
the final battle.

Stacey