Who would love Snape?

[drliss at comcast.net]

No: HPFGUIDX 106407

Sad119:

> In an earlier post a quote from JKR was mentioned and part of it 
> was "Who would (or could) love Snape?" Here's my idea of who would 
> love Snape: She would be a very strong patient witch. Probably a 
> Hufflepuff. She would at first think of Snape as the dark/mysterious 
> bad boy type and then after she forced her way into his life she 
> would see the pain and anger underneath his nasty exterior and have 
> to fix it. She would also find that he is a VERY loyal and 
> trustworthy wizard. At first, Severus would resent any intrusion 
> into his pathetic unhappy life but, she would persist until she 
> broke through the barriers he has raised. 
> We all hate (well, obviously I don't...) Snape because he is 
> horrible to the hero Harry. It doesn't say that he is horrible to 
> everybody, in fact he can be quite pleasant to members of his own 
> house. Also, Snape cannot stand incompetence in others (Neville) 
> because his father found only incompetence in him. I would like to 
> see Severus find a love in book 6 or 7. I think that when it all 
> comes to an end, he will be standing in victory with Harry and 
> whomever else survives. 

Lissa adds:
I think you have some interesting points there.  The most interesting to me is your final point, about how Snape is a nasty evil villain as seen by Harry, but how does everyone else perceive him?
 
When I read SS/PS the first time (and didn’t know the ages of the teachers!), I’d heard the speculations that Snape would one day find romance and figured that it was McGonagall.  Well, given that she’s 70 and he’s in his thirties (Snape as a boy-toy… what a thought!) I’ve discarded that idea, but still.  We’ve all seen how Professor McGonagall acts when she doesn’t like someone, and she does not act that way at all towards Snape.  In fact, there seems to be a friendly rivalry and some respect between the two of them.  And above anything else, the characteristic I associate with McGonagall is fairness.
 
Fudge also seems to have a lot of respect for Snape.  I know Fudge is another question in and of himself, but his respect seems quite genuine in PoA (before he decides Snape is mentally unbalanced, which given the way he was raving was probably a logical conclusion for Fudge to make!).  And of course, Dumbledore stands by Snape as firmly as any of the Mauraders- perhaps even more so, because he doesn’t seem to be fighting Lupin too hard from leaving at the end of PoA.  
 
I can understand why JKR says who would want him in love with them?  Just the greasy hair alone… yuck!  (A friend also pointed out that if his hair’s THAT greasy, he probably has some pretty rank body odor, too.  Lovely thought.)
 
I am curious as to what JKR means when she says watch him in the seventh book and hints at some sort of romantic attachment.  No real romantic prospects have been introduced for him.  Tonks just does not seem the type, and other than that I can’t think of any witches in the right age range.  (Actually, the only one I can think of that has the capacity to overlook everything Snape’s ever been is Lupin.  But as much as I think Lupin and Sirius had something going, and as much as I think Lupin might be able to conjure up some feelings (if Snape took a bath), I can’t ever see Snape forgetting who Lupin’s two best friends were- unless that was the reason he hated Sirius for so long to begin with anyway.)  I’ve been a fan of the Snape-loved-Lily theory for a long time too, and could see that coming up.  But I just can’t get any theory where someone loved Snape to work in my head, but that’s likely personal prejudice.  
 
I do agree that if someone did love Snape, they would see him as a classic “he needs to be saved” sort of project.  They would need a lot of patience, a lot of tolerance, and a lot of- (Lupin, would you PLEASE go away?) Excuse me, a lot of strength, because I don’t think Snape wants to be loved.  Like you said, it’s an intrusion on his life, and even when he’s miserable, Snape doesn’t appreciate people sticking their noses into his business (like when Lily tried to defend him against James and Sirius and he turned against her).  I haven’t seen anyone that comes in direct contact with Severus to have that sort of relationship with him, but as many have pointed out, we see him solely through Harry’s eyes.
 
I DO think love had something to do with Snape’s turn from the dark side.  I’m not entirely convinced it was romantic love, but if it was, I tend to think it was his love for someone, not their love for him.  
 
Hmmm.  Methinks I should stop procrastinating and get to work.
 
Out of curiosity, because I can’t remember- is Snape ever at Christmas dinners?
Lissa

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