Irma Pince is Snape's mother in disguise? AND Filch Squib or Muggle??? then.

[ceridwennight]

No: HPFGUIDX 137322

houyhnhnm102 wrote:

*snip*
> Anyway, if Filch is Snape's father, Snape may not resent him all that
> much. We don't know that Snape's father was *very* abusive (if that's
> whom we are seeing in the memory), just that there was discord. Snape
> is very much like him. If Filch/Madame Pinch are Snape's parents (or
> just Madame Pinch alone), we can certainly see where Snape gets his
> attitudes and social skills (or lack thereof). Both Filch and Madame
> Pinch are suspicious, unsocial individuals who think everyone else is
> up to no good and it is their job to ferret out the wrongdoers and see
> to it that they are punished. That's Snape in a nutshell.
> 
> I'm totally convinced about Madame Pince at this point, but still
> unsure about Filch.

Ceridwen:
I won't be convinced until it either does or does not become canon.  
JKR has a way of sabotaging all the best theories.  However...

We don't know that Snape's father was abusive at all.  We do know that 
the screamfest made an impact on the young Snape.  (heck, we don't even 
know for sure that's his father, or even his mother, but it seems 
probable).  I can recall an episode early in my life where my parents 
fought, and neither was abusive.  It made that much of an impact on me.

My alternate theory of the invaded memory is that this is when Tobias 
Snape found out that Sonny-boy was having accidental magic episodes 
(bowl of mush on his head, perhaps?).  If Tobias stayed with his wife 
after finding out that she was A) a witch and that B) his son was a 
budding wizard, then he's worlds ahead of Tom 'I'm-outta-here' Riddle.  
Of course, a despicable man might use his wife's talents to make life 
easy on himself, so there's always that (I always did wonder about 
Darren Stevens).  Still, we don't know if Tobias stayed with his wife 
after the argument, that may have been when he discovered that both 
wife and son were magical (wife hiding it for fear he would leave), and 
he hit the road immediately after.

And, we don't know for sure that he's a Muggle.  It's more likely than 
not, but the actual quote is, '(snipping JKR)...Tobias Snape was a 
Muggle from what it said in the Prophet.'  (HBP pg. 637, US version).

Ceridwen, having fun reading all the discussions.