Why did Snape teach Occlumency?/Snapes Trustworthiness

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 103613

> Alla:
> 
> OK, I used to think that after OoP Snape may betray the Order, I 
> don't think so anymore.
> 
> It seems that movie no matter how far from canon it is , convinced 
me 
> in quite a few things.
> 
> I think that JKR would have vetoed the scene of Snape shielding the 
> Trio, if he would have to be a traitor after all.
> 
> I was also thinking that Hermione and Dumbledore tell us about 
> trusting Snape way too many times, BUT I now believe that imaginary 
> betrayal of the sort is possible.
> 
> Yes, we as the readers are convinced that Harry is wrong in his "he 
> will never forgive Snape, ever". Everybody will tell Harry that he 
is 
> wrong, etc., etc.
> 
> Harry will be lead to believe that Snape did something to betray 
the 
> Order, throwing us, readers and our sense of secuyrity of track, 
but 
> at the end we will learn that Snape is loyal after all, making t as 
> Annemehr once said a "clever double bluff" on JKR's part.


Neri:

I actually think that Snape's loyalty is one of the very few subjects 
where JKR's original intensions were foiled. She did not predict how 
popular he will become. I don't remember if there is a poll about 
this but I believe at least 95% of the group members (even those who 
don't like him) think he is fighting on the side of good. There are 
more posts (and not just Pippin's...) suspecting Lupin is ESE than 
those suspecting Snape. I think JKR have meant to make Snape appear 
much more suspicious than that, but the readers simply refused to 
believe that he is really a bad guy.

I suspect the whole "DADA jinx" business was originally meant to make 
Snape look suspicious, as if he is the one who put a curse on the job 
in order to get rid of his competitors. This scheme of JKR simply 
didn't work. Most readers just refuse to believe it. This led to a 
quite absurd situation: the DADA jinx rumor is mentioned in CoS and 
PoA with clear hints pointing to Snape. For example, Harry in PoA is 
appalled when Lupin drinks the potion Snape made him, and hints that 
Snape "will do everything to get the DADA job". In fact, PoA is the 
book were Snape behaves most horribly out of all the five books, but 
this still didn't make most readers suspect him. The absurd result is 
that in GoF and OotP the DADA jinx rumor is not mentioned anymore, 
not even a word, even though two more DADA teachers had come to a 
bitter end since then, and you'd think this rumor would be extremely 
popular. 

Neri