[HPforGrownups] Re: Snape vs Quirrell

[Magda Grantwich]

No: HPFGUIDX 122781

-- horridporrid03 <horridporrid03 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Betsy:
> So Snape would have appeared to be a Death Eater telling Quirrell 
> that he should be loyal to Snape - fellow teacher, etc. - rather
> than the unknown Death Eater running him.  I think Snape's goal 
> was to find out who Quirrell was working for.  I think Voldemort 
> would have seen this as normal Death Eater 
> behavior, being aggressively jealous of rank and position.  He'd be
> less than pleased with Snape for hiding out rather than trying to 
> search down his master, but all of the free Death Eaters did this,
> so I don't think Snape would have stood out in his mind for that.  


I agree with most of this.  I think we don't give Voldemort enough
credit (!!!!) for being smarter than Crabbe and Goyle.  There are
some DE's (actually, probably most) who are one-dimensional enough
that LV can crucio them just based on disloyalty or incompetence
alone.  Then there are others who have intelligence, talent and/or
resources that LV needs and who have to be handled with more
tolerance for their mistakes or misjudgements (Lucius Malfoy).  

>From LV's point of view in PS/SS, Snape falls into the latter
category.  He has a skill (potions making) that is of great
importance to a Dark Lord who wants to be immortal, he's intelligent
(which is an asset that a Dark Lord may not want in a DE as it might
lead to too much independence but in Snape's case is coupled with an
intense dislike of a lot of the Good Guys so it might balance out)
and Snape is a senior teacher/head of house at Hogwarts with
heightened access to Dumbledore, LV's great enemy.  All of these
circumstances means that Snape isn't automatically going to get
crossed off the Christmas card list.  

And as Betsy says, everyone else tore for cover as soon as the GH
fiasco became known, so it's not like Snape did anything different. 
I don't think LV doubted that he could get Snape back until GOF when
Crouch!Moody started reporting back about his lack of help and his
attitude.  Also since everyone thought he WAS Moody, it's possible
Dumbledore shared his thoughts about things including Snape's
conversion, and since Real!Moody knew that Snape had been a spy, then
it wouldn't be surprising if Crouch!Moody picked that up too... 

Bottom Line: Snape's got a lot of 'splaining to do but he's still a
Potions Man and Voldemort needs one of those to be immortal. 
Sometimes even a Dark Lord has to put a little water in his wine.  Of
course, after the immortality potion is perfected, Snape gets
whacked, but that's in the future.

> Betsy:
> The interesting thing to me is it seems like Snape didn't share his
> suspicions regarding Quirrell with Dumbledore. 

No way, Jose.  Snape tells Dumbledore EVERYTHING - to the point where
I'm sure Dumbledore wishes he'd give it a rest and shut up. 
Dumbledore's comment in GOF when he and Harry look into the pensieve
and see Snape talking about the Dark Mark becoming clearer and
Dumbledore saying "I could have figured that out myself" (not exact)
proves it to me.  Snape craves Dumbledore's approval; there's NO way
he wouldn't be up those stairs sharing every single suspicion or
thought or idea he has.

Magda


		
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