Professor Snape's role

[LadySawall at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 99968

In a message dated 06/03/2004 6:49:19 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Marla ( 
irishwynch at aol.com) writes:

>How about this....   He hates Harry because he's James' son but protects him 
because he's Lily's as well.  I've always thought that one of the main 
reasons 
Snape was so jealous of James was because he loved Lily.  Lupin mentions that 
he particularly hated James, thinking that it could have had something to do 
with Snape being jealous of his ability at Quidditch.  It would be 
interesting 
to know when Snape became a spy for Dumbledore too.  Could he have changed 
sides when he found out Voldemort is going after the Potters, Lily in 
particular?
---

In a message dated 06/03/2004 12:10:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Potioncat
 writes:

> I've always thought that the hating James explanation was either a 
cover or only part of the story.  IMHO, if Severus had loved Lily, he 
would not hate her son, no matter who the father was.
---

Jo Ann:

Unless he blamed both father and son for the mother's death.  Voldemort was 
after James and Harry specifically at Godric's Hollow, correct?  Reason enough 
for Snape to loathe the kid.

Which doesn't preclude him also feeling a strong impulse to protect him.  
Emotions can be complex and contradictory things.  A fact which no doubt would 
drive poor Severus (who, as a Potions Master and a notorious Rules Lawyer, must 
like things fairly orderly and predictable) 'round the twist, just trying to 
figure out what he really thinks...

Then again, in contemplating the Snape/Lily theory, it has also occurred to 
me that Snape might hate Harry because the kid is James Potter's son *and not 
his own.*

Or because he's a constant reminder that Severus failed to save both the man 
he owed his life to, and the woman he loved.

Or--and here I'll throw the whole Severus/Lily thing out the window a for a 
minute, and take a different tangent--maybe he's just tired and bitter and 
lonely, stuck in a job he hates, disliked and distrusted by both colleagues and 
students, doing some nasty stressful undercover work for the Order, constantly 
fearing for his own life/health/sanity and the future of the Wizarding 
World...and he simply doesn't have the wherewithal to deal gracefully with a ghost 
from his own unhappy past while simultaneously making sure Neville doesn't blow 
up the school.

Makes me wonder how long it will be before we see the guy well and truly 
crack under the pressure.

Jo Ann
...who knows this has all been chewed over before, and isn't too convinced 
the Severus/Lily connection will be borne out in Books 6 or 7, but loves the 
theory anyway.


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