Fields of Magic (was Re: Potions Master Question)

justcarol67 justcarol67 at yahoo.com
Sat Mar 27 01:20:42 UTC 2004


No: HPFGUIDX 94124

> Neri:
> OK, I'm not going to get into an argument with all the Snape's fans 
> without any specific canon to back me up. But regarding the status of 
> Potions, what do you think are the chances that a man in his early 
> twenties, without any previous teaching experience as far as we know, 
> would be hired to teach one of the two most prestigious fields in 
> Hogwarts? Talented as he may be. <snip>


Carol:
I think Snape's hiring is a special arrangement rather like the one he
made for Trelawney, with the difference being that Snape was a young
and inexperienced ex-DE rather than an incompetent old fraud who had
once spouted a prophecy. We know that Snape was already spying for
Dumbledore at the time he was hired. We also know that DD trusts Snape
and that hiring him to teach Potions (whether or not he initially
applied for the DADA position) constitutes a "second chance"
(Crouch!Moody's term, but Snape didn't argue with it). He's almost
certainly a protected person like Trelawney, Hagrid, and possibly
Filch. However, he's also extremely intelligent and knowledgeable, so
he was given a teaching position rather than a caretaker or gamekeeper
post--though apparently not the one he applied for.

As I said in a different thread, he probably told LV he wanted to
apply for the open position (I think it was DADA) at Hogwarts in order
to spy on DD. His excellent scores on his OWLs and NEWTs (canon for
that is his long, excruciatingly detailed response to the DADA OWL
exam) would have given him the necessary credentials. He would have
explained to DD why he was applying to teach the course--to appear to
be spying on DD but really to get away from the Death Eaters, whom he
had already rejected--why we don't know. DD must have considered this
an excellent plan, but decided to try out this very young and
inexperienced teacher (also, of course, a recently reformed DE) on
Potions rather than DADA.

Snape (IMO) did such a good job there (despite his sarcasm, his
students learn what he teaches) that DD has left him there for
fourteen years, also giving him the prestigious position of Head of
Slytherin House. (It's possible, though, that he was the only former
Slytherin teaching at Hogwarts, in which case the honor would have
gone to him by default.) His current role as DD's righthand man was
probably earned by proving himself worth of DD's trust. Compared with
the other teachers, he's still young, but there's a big difference
between 22 and 37 or 38.

There is, of course, a lot we don't know--why he joined the DEs in the
first place (a craving for recognition and approval?); why he
(secretly) left them before becoming a spy; and why DD trusted him
enough to give him a teaching position rather than leaving him as a
spy. Obviously we'll have to wait for JKR to answer those particular
questions.

Carol





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