Animagus Snape? Was: Re: Who would love Snape?

[wanderingstar1979]

No: HPFGUIDX 107076

> WanderingStar wrote:
> > <snip>
> > In particular, I thought about animals that like or prefer the 
> > cold, are at least partially black, white (pale skin), and might 
> > have some yellow coloring (teeth) that can be found in Europe 
> > that might be able to fly or at least have a wingspan (bat
> > references), and that have a NEED for some kind of grease or oil 
> > for their well-being.  

> ChrisDJ; "esmith222002" <c.john at imperial.ac.uk> wrote: 
> <snip>
> My conclusion would be an owl - specifically the barn owl. Barn
> owls have black eyes, a hooked nose, produce oil to waterproof
> their feathers, prefer the dark (hunt at night, live in dark 
> places), are very stealthy and predatory. These are all traits 
> that are shared with Professor Severus Snape.

> "potioncat" <willsonkmom at m...> wrote:
> <snip>
> At the time we were all wondering why Lupin's Boggart turns into a 
> cockroach  (Who thinks cockroaches are funny?)  Then right after 
> the Worst Memory Snape throws cockroaches.  So thats sort of where 
> the cockroach idea came from. Not too long after that I read an 
> interview whre JKR said she likes writing Snape but she wouldn't 
> want to have dinner with him and I almost choked! 
> Anyway, I much prefer Severus the Swan Prince

Well, although I spent some time researching swans in particular, I 
feel fairly certain that if Snape is an animagus, he has to be SOME 
sort of bird.  All the posts about Snape being a vampire point to 
what I will call the "bat canon" (of which there is, of course, ample 
evidence).  However, this *could* be just a red herring (as they say 
in "Clue": "Communism was just a red herring"), and meant only to 
indicate some that he is like ANY kind of winged creature, not 
necessarily a bat and therefore a vampire.  Of course, I won't rule 
anything out, because I like vampires, and it would be terrifically 
neat-o.  :-)

I like Chris DJ's idea of an Owl very much; it's a definite 
possibility.

I did forget to mention two other "clues" in my post from last night, 
however.

In regards to vultures:

In PoA, US edition page 135 (chapter 7), the class is working with 
Boggarts, and Lupin asks Neville what he is most frightened of 
(Professor Snape, of course), and then asks him what his grandmother 
wears:
     "Well ... always the same hat.  A tall one with a stuffed 
vulture on top."
     A little farther on down the page, Lupin says:
     "If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into 
that vulture-topped hat...."
     On page 137, Neville actually does the Riddikulus spell:
     "Snape stumbled; he was wearing a long, lace-trimmed dress and a 
towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture."

THREE vulture references - on top of a hat, no less!  AND (I don't 
know if this should be here, but I think it's relevant) IIRC, in the 
film, they actually went through the trouble to get a hat with a 
vulture on it for the Boggart Snape to wear after Neville does the 
spell!  That seems like a lot of trouble for one odd silly prop if it 
doesn't mean anything. 

Again, in PoA, US edition page 227 (chapter 11) (this was also 
mentioned by Sherrie - MadameSSnape at aol.com - in one of her posts), 
when HRH go to Christmas dinner with three other students and the 
staff, Dumbledore offers "Crackers!" or:
  
     "the end of a large silver noisemaker to Snape, who took it 
reluctantly and tugged.  With a bang like a gunshot, the cracker flew 
apart to reveal a large, pointed witch's hat topped with stuffed 
vulture."

     Page 228:  "Harry, remembering the boggart, caught Ron's eye and 
they both grinned; Snape's mouth thinned and he pushed the hat toward 
Dumbledore, who swapped it for his wizard's hat at once."

I thought it was kind of interesting to find that same vulture 
reference brought up yet again.  Now, we know Dumbledore is a great 
wizard, but we also know he has his "dreamy" side.  I think he is 
trying to have some fun here, and perhaps play a joke on Snape in a 
friendly way.  Of course he would know if Snape were a vulture (or 
any kind of bird) animagus, and would have heard about what happened 
in Lupin's DDA class.  Just think if you were Dumbledore: wouldn't 
you find the incident hilariously ironic?  If Dumbledore heard that 
Professor Lupin had a student perform the riddikulus spell on 
Professor Boggart Snape that put Professor Boggart Snape into that 
student's grandmother's clothing ... which just coincidentally 
consisted of a gigantic vulture-topped hat?  Whether Lupin knew what 
Neville's grandmother wore or not is a moot point, but from 
Dumbledore's POV, it's pretty funny, don't you think?  So Dumbledore 
thinks that maybe Snape will find it funny too and that maybe he can 
lighten Snape up a bit.  Of course, Snape being Snape (remembering 
being made fun of), doesn't find it funny AT ALL (perhaps fears 
people will pick up on the coincidences and figure him out), and gets 
pissed.  Either Dumbledore uses his Legilimency (as an unexpected 
event, Snape's emotions would get the best of him and he would be 
unable to use Occlumency), or can just tell from the look on Snape's 
face that he's made a mistake in trying to joke around with Snape, 
and swaps the vulture hat "for his wizard's hat AT ONCE," thereby 
trying to rectify the mistake and soothe Snape's feelings.

I still like the information I found, which I mentioned in my last 
(and first) post, that some cultures thought vultures where psychic.  

Okay, so maybe that was kind of overly analytical, but you can't 
ignore all the vultures!  At least, consider the possibility of Snape 
as a bird of prey, or carrion-feeder.

Oh yes, and since I too was very curious about what Potioncat brought 
up about cockroaches (who DOES think cockroaches are funny?) I 
wondered if wolves eat cockroaches.  I couldn't find anything that 
says they do.  Also, why (as Potioncat brought up) does Snape keep a 
jar of these in his office, when (according to the Harry Potter 
lexicon) they are not used in any spells?  All the Lexicon says 
about "cockroaches, dead" is that: "Snape keeps a jar of these in his 
office"??

Well, here is what I found out about what animals can eat 
cockroaches:  "Unfortunately, cockroaches have a chemical defense 
that makes puppies and kittens throw them up. Other animals that do 
eat cockroaches include scorpions, wasps, toads, hedgehogs, and 
BIRDS, which probably led to the evolution of their instinct to hide 
out of sight."  
(http://www.anglophile.ucpress.edu/books/pages/8778/roaches.html) 
Now, I don't know if this means puppies and kittens can't eat dead 
cockroaches as well, but it definitely means that birds eat 
cockroaches, probably live and dead, lending more canon evidence to 
the theory that Snape could be a bird animagus.  Why else would he 
have dead cockroaches, unless there is some kind of potion we haven't 
learned about?  Of course that is possible, but still, more food 
(literally, since they would be bird animagus snacks) for thought.  

Also, weren't there some posts a short while back asking about other 
creatures (besides vampires) that could fly, like bird animagi?  I 
think someone responded that JKR (I think) had said that bird animagi 
would lose his or her human intelligence – something like that.  Why 
would she (or whoever said it) bother making the point if there are 
not any bird animagi, or other flying animagi?  However, there are 
some birds (like ravens) that are supposed to be extremely 
intelligent!  If they lose human intelligence, don't they have bird 
intelligence?  Birds are a step up the evolutionary ladder from 
reptiles; are they also a step up the ladder from insects as well?  
I'm not sure, but if they are, how could Rita Skeeter be smart enough 
to be a reporter in beetle form if she (as a flying creature, or even 
possibly as a flightless insect) loses her human intelligence?   She 
couldn't, UNLESS there was either: 1.) Some way around that problem, 
like a potion one could take to retain intelligence while in animagus 
form, or a psychic bond with a human being so the human could "see" 
through the animagus or possibly control it (after all, both Snape 
and Dumbledore are Legilimens); or 2.) A way to learn to retain 
intelligence while in bird or insect animagus form, like teaching 
oneself to resist the Imperious Curse; or 3.) Perhaps there are 
certain birds or insects that don't have that "loss of intelligence" 
problem.

WanderingStar1979, who needs to be quiet and work on her other big 
old ancient magic theory (e-mail me at WanderingStar20 at aol.com if you 
want to hear some if it) before someone else says it.