Snape's Liability/Snape's Loyalty (-long-)

[Stefanie]

No: HPFGUIDX 100688

> > So, there would be two ways to tackle this: 1) Do everything I 
> could to keep
> > this horrorhead out of my mind; 2) Get really flustered and not 
be 
> able to
> > handle Professor Horrorhead.
> 
>    Right. The kid who can handle Voldemort, Dementors and imminent 
> threat of death can't handle being in the presence of a disliked 
> teacher. I don't think so. In fact Harry not only successfully 
> blocked 'Professor Horrorhead' on at least one occasion, but got 
> through SS's own defensives more than once. Obviously he could 
> function in SS's presence.

I think at this point, we can't put too much emphasis on Harry's 
mental stability. Without rehashing everything that's gone on in the 
kid's life to leave him especially ignorant when it comes to the 
workings of his own mind, he's essentially through the books kept 
his private workings very private. Someone quite literally entering 
what he has guarded is quite different than rushing into a dire 
situation with adrenaline rushing and a wand (or sword, for that 
matter) in hand.

The thing that stood out at me, especially at when Dumbledore is 
telling Harry that he underestimated Snape's grudge, is just how 
much Snape is willing to risk on his hatred for James. When we've 
heard how important Occlumency is from Dumbledore , Lupin, and 
Sirius and Snape kicks Harry out of lessons, it just struck me as a 
sign of what he feels is most important. The consequenses of LV 
breaching into Harry's mind are huge in scope, as is shown by 
Sirius' death and the potential deaths of the Order members who came 
to the DoM. However, Snape decides that his grudge is more 
important. This seems to be a tic on a list of hints against Snape's 
certain loyalty.

When else does Snape lose control? We see him get "maniacal" in the 
Shrieking Shack in PoA...why is this? We get the quote directly from 
his mouth: "Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Black. "How 
I hoped I would be the one to catch you...." (PoA 19) Vengeance? 
Vengeance for what? One can only guess that this is in regards to 
Sirius treatment of him in school (most notably "the Prank") and it 
seems, in the same chapter, Lupin may have struck a note with "You 
fool...[i]s a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back 
inside Azkaban?" which merits no answer but cords from Snape's wand. 
We rarely see Snape lose control like this. He's snarky, yes, but 
maniacal? When faced with the memories of his school days, he seems 
to lose all reason, willing to risk the lives of two innocent men 
for his "schoolboy grudge"

What else will he/did he put on the line for his grudge? I for one 
am having serious doubts as to what he actually knew when he was 
spying during the first war. If the DEs in Azkaban knew about 
Peter's duplicity, why are we so quick to debunk the idea that Snape 
may have known as well, but in his inability to seperate himself 
from his hatred just let that bit of information slide? Snape, a 
proported excellent Occlumens wouldn't have survived in the ranks of 
DE if he was a suspected spy, especially with LV's known 
Legilimancy, so his Occlumency must have protected him against being 
discovered. If one wants to take it a step further, Snape says that 
Legilimancy requires eye contact in most cases. (and seems to regard 
Harry as quite the exception) Could he know this from personal 
experience? If he has experienced eye contact with LV, what was 
exactly his double-agent role in the DEs (how close to the inner 
circle was he?), and why, then, wouldn't have have known about Peter?

My trust in Snape is a bit rocky. I want to believe that he's loyal 
because Dumbledore does and have it as cut and dry as that...but 
then again, Dumbledore trusted Quirrel who had LV growing out of the 
back of his head, Lockheart who ended up to be the worlds biggest 
fraud, and fake!Moody who, well, was fake.

We learn in the GoF Pensieve that DD exposed to the MoM and at least 
one X-DE that Snape was spying for him. (My theory on why Snape is 
the Potions teacher [since he's such a godawful one] is that since 
we know that he's been in the post for 14 years at the time of OotP, 
that would leave his first year the year of LV's fall -- Is 
Dumbledore repaying him for his services by protecting him in the 
walls of Hogwarts?) Since Lucius rubs shoulders with the MoM, it 
does not seem improbable that he would know of Snape's double-agent 
status. Lucius is at the rebirth of Voldemort, he's in the DoM, 
heck, he's in Azkaban now -- essentially, we *know* he's a DE...yet 
Snape seems to be on good terms with him. In fact we even hear of 
this through Umbridge right before the kids go to the DoM. Unless 
the only DE who knows that Snape was Dumbledore's spy is Karkaroff, 
ex-DEs such as Lucius seem to be just the people Dumbledore would be 
protecting Snape from. Note: Snape's been at Hogwarts for 14 
years...the DE breakout only happens in OotP.

Then there's the whole question of his "the Dark Lord" business and 
his being unable to answer Harry's questioning of this because of 
Trelawny's interruption...('Dumbledore is an extremely powerful 
wizard,' Snape muttered. 'While he may feel secure enough to use the 
name
 the rest of us
' He rubbed his left forearm, apparently 
unconsciously, on the spot where Harry knew the Dark Mark was burned 
into his skin. [OotP 24] ...who's "the rest of us," exactly?) and 
the question of the Wolfsbane potion in PoA and how we see no 
evidence of it being Lupin's responsibility to pick up the potion, 
only Snape to bring it to him, and yet although the potion is good 
if taken a week before the full moon, it seems that Snape left the 
job of bringing Lupin his potion until the last moments possible...

Sorry this has gone on for ages, but I had to delurk for this -- too 
many things just don't fit.

Stefanie
Who is inserting the magic words: I'd like to believe otherwise