Origin of "Snivellus"/Snape at the end of OOTP

[Nanagose at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 135712

Christina:

A couple of people have brought it up, and I'm not really sure if anyone's 
really answered the question properly as to what exactly the name "Snivellus" 
refers to.

Snivellus is just the word "snivel" with an -us tacked on the end.  Snivel 
means, "to sniffle," "to complain or whine tearfully," or "to run at the nose."  
Sorry if someone else already mentioned this!

>>Alla:
>>Agreed, also at home I have a link to Neri's brilliant post about 
>>Snape's not informing the Order about kids rushing to the ministry 
>>right away.
>>Hmmm, what was he waiting for in light of what we know now?

Christina:

I've always found Snape's actions at the end of OotP very interesting.  Yes, 
he waits a while before notifying the Order (Dumbledore says that Snape 
"becomes worried" when Harry doesn't return from the forest), but I think the timing 
prevents us from really drawing any important conclusions.  If Snape is ESE!, 
and he was planning on waiting to inform the Order of Harry's whereabouts so 
that the Death Eaters could get the prophecy from him, he obviously failed.  
The Death Eaters were not given enough time to get the prophecy and get out 
before the Order arrived.  However, it's interesting to note the situation at the 
MoM *right* at the point the Order *does* burst in the door:

(OotP, US, page 801)
"That was just a taster!" said Bellatrix, raising her wand so that Neville's 
screams stopped and he lay sobbing at her feet.  She turned and gazed up at 
Harry.  "Now, Potter, either give us the prophecy, or watch your little friend 
die the hard way!"

Harry did not have to think; there was no choice.  The prophecy was hot with 
the heat from his clutching hand as he held it out.  Malfoy jumped forward to 
take it.

Then, high above them, two more doors burst open and five more people 
sprinted into the room: Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley
(end quote)

At that point, Hermione was unconscious and nearly dead, Ron was completely 
out of it, Neville was being crucio-ed by Bellatrix, Ginny had a broken ankle, 
and Luna had been knocked out.  Harry was literally handing the prophecy over 
to Lucius Malfoy when the doors flew open and the Order sprang into action.  
Had the Order arrived a mere 10 minutes later, Malfoy would have gotten the 
prophecy from Harry (and possibly killed him as well, as I'll address in a 
second).  If Snape was really purposefully waiting to inform the Order of Harry's 
trip to the MoM, why didn't he just wait another 20 minutes?  He had no way of 
knowing what was happening at the MoM, but if he really was ESE! and delaying 
talking to DD on purpose, wouldn't he have set up some sort of arrangment with 
Malfoy, along the lines of, "OK, LV's going to lure Harry to the MoM, where 
we're going to get the prophecy.  We'll let you know when we're done."  How much 
did Snape really know about LV's plans at the MoM?


Finally, I'd like to bring up a very interesting quote I just stumbled upon.

(OotP, US, page 785)
"DO NOT ATTACK!  WE NEED THE PROPHECY!"
"He dares-- he dares--" shrieked Bellatrix incoherantly.  "--He stands 
there-- filthy half-blood--"
"WAIT UNTIL WE'VE GOT THE PROPHECY"
(end quote)

The "wait until we've got the prophecy" seems to suggest that Malfoy is 
planning on hurting (or killing?) Harry once they have the prophecy.  Which makes 
Snape's, "Potter belongs to the Dark Lord!" really interesting.  Has 
Voldemort's irritation with Harry increased between the two books to the point where he 
wants to kill him personally?  Even if that were true, Snape stops the DEs 
from doing *any* damage to Harry.  I highly doubt LV gave his people orders that 
said, "Do not touch one hair on Harry Potter's head."

Christina