"I trust him".

[Hannah]

No: HPFGUIDX 116640


Finwitch wrote:
<snip>
> > What bothers me here, is: just *how far* is Dumbledore's trust 
in  Snape go? Is it just trusting Snape to come up with a potion, or 
> > trusting him with his life, or, most likely, something in 
between?
> 
> Pat replied:
> You have touched on something that has always bothered me about 
that 
> phrase.  When DD says that he would trust Hagrid with his life, I 
> really want to know why.  Hagrid doesn't seem particularly able as 
a  wizard, especially since he stopped any formal education after 
just  three years.  But that one I can accept as DD realizing that 
Hagrid  is fiercely loyal to him.
> [snipped]
> 
> But with Snape--there is a totally different issue.  Why does he 
> trust Snape so much?  What did Snape tell him or do to earn that 
> trust?  I don't think that is an easy thing where DD is 
concerned.  
> And DD seems so unwavering in his trust of Snape.  
<snip> 
> After DD's admission to Harry in OotP (about making a mistake in 
> telling him about the prophecy), it really makes me nervous that 
he trusts Snape so completely.  I just wish we knew why--and I hope 
> that is explained in the next book.  My guess is that it won't be 
> until the last book.  Then we will either see that DD was right to 
> place his trust in Snape, or that he, once again, has made an 
error 
> in judgement.
> 
> The whole "I trust him" issue has always seemed like one of those 
> never-say-never kinds of things.  Nothing is so black and white--
> there are usually shades of gray that cloud the issue.  But DD is 
so  adamant about trusting Snape, that it seems like it has to be 
one of  those things that will backfire when he least expects it.
> 
> To Snape's credit, though, so far he has done nothing to show that 
> DD (and Harry) shouldn't trust him.  He was still nasty to Sirius, 
> but that was mutual.  And I can't quite figure out why he is so 
> nasty to Harry, Neville, Hermione, etc in class--unless that is an 
> intentional way to keep his link with the Death Eaters, knowing 
that 
> Draco will report all to daddy.
> [snipped]

> Pat wrote:
> 
> I think this was a case of DD just underestimating how Snape 
felt.  
> And it turned out to nearly be disastrous--except that Harry did 
get some more insights into Snape, when he saw some of his childhood 
> memories.  Now if he can just set aside that intense hatred he is 
> directing toward Snape, perhaps they can at least make some 
progress-well, I can hope anyway.
> <snip>
 Right now, with  Sirius's death so new, Harry can't be angry at DD--
it would be too  scary to have Sirius pulled away from him AND to 
quit trusting DD,  who has always been Harry's foundation.  And now 
we are back to that trust issue again, aren't we.  Harry trusts DD 
implicitly, just as  DD seems to trust Hagrid and Snape.  So, now 
the question is--are 
> they all justified in placing trust in these particular people, or 
> will it cause some disaster in the future?

Hannah: Great post Pat!  Trust - and the betrayal of it - are such 
important themes in HP so far, I'm sure that they're going to play a 
big part in the big conclusion. I've just started tot hink of 
examples of trust and betrayal in the books and I can't believe how 
many there are.  Here are just some of them:

There's GH and Pettigrew - the ultimate betrayal, and also the 
underlying themes of distrust between the Marauders, who all seemed 
to suspect each other.  Everyone puts a great deal of trust in DD 
even though it could seem rather unfounded to some readers.  DD 
trusts Hagrid despite his shortcomings.  Hagrid trusts Rita and ends 
up front page news.  There's DD and his trust of Snape and apparent 
suspicion of Sirius.  LV apparently trusts Snape too (and he and DD 
can't *both* be right).

Marietta betrays the DA.  Dobby betrays his master, Kreacher betrays 
his. Harry trusts Moody and Quirrel, but they're both not what they 
seem. People trusted Tom Riddle when he 'caught' the heir of 
Slytherin.  Harry trusted Riddle when he met him in the diary, 
enough for him to take ages to twig he was the baddie even once they 
were in the Chamber.  Umbridge trusted Snape to support her.      
Snape distrusts Lupin in PoA, and Sirius and Snape are unable to 
trust each other fully in OotP.  Harry can never bring himself to 
trust Snape.  

When you come to think about it, at some point, normally at the 
climax of each book, Harry is heard to wail 'but I trusted you!' as 
yet another unexpected villain twirls his wand and prepares to 
obliterate our hero.  With all that suspicion and betrayal going on 
in earlier books, I can't believe there isn't going to be, as Pat 
puts it, 'a disaster in the future.'  

A lot of the trust examples above involve Snape.  A lot of people 
seem to either trust him, or distrust him, and they're usually 
proved wrong either way.  It's one of the great HP mysteries why 
both LV and DD; both highly intelligent, powerful men, seem to trust 
Snape.  One (or maybe both...) is going to be in for a very nasty 
shock at some point.  

My pet theory is that DD and Snape are somehow related.  I think 
Snape told LV that DD knew that Snape was a DE, but didn't want the 
shame of being related to someone convicted of such crimes, so 
fabricated the spy story.  (I don't think that is what really 
happened, just the cover story).  There's no canon to support it, 
but I rather like it.  

Hannah
PS. My version of the entire HP backstory, including Snape's entry 
to the DEs and subsequent conversion, is in my fanfic 'Taken On 
Trust,' published on Schnoogle (Fiction Alley), if anyone is 
interested.