Harry IS Snape!

[ellecain]

No: HPFGUIDX 141128

Elyse here wou has got to  congratulate Julie on an excellent post 
and begs for permission to use part of it to make a Remorseful!Snape 
case.

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, juli17 at a... wrote:
>> 
> Secondly, after Snape is named the DADA professor, Harry says 
> savagely, "Well, there's one good thing. Snape'll be gone by the 
end
> of the year." After Ron asks why, and Harry reminds him of the  
DADA
> curse, Harry adds (with what I am certain is complete 
sincerity)  "I'm
> going to be keeping my fingers crossed for another death..." And 
> Hermoine predictably reacts with shock and reproach, while Ron 
> says "reasonably" (showing Ron can be rational on the subject 
> of Snape, while Harry has no such ability) that Snape might go
> back to teaching Potions the next year.
>  
> Harry really hates Snape. I mean, he really, REALLY  hates Snape.
> He would be very happy if Snape were dead, no less. (And thanks 
> again to Krista for pointing out what a goldmine this chapter is on
> Harry's feelings for Snape, which JKR goes to great lengths to 
> detail over several pages). 
> 


>Pippin:

>The one place I disagree with Julie's excellent post is the idea 
>that
>Snape wouldn't have been sorry to learn that James was dead. 
>Hatred, no matter how irrational, is not the same thing as wanting 
>to kill someone. No one would deny that Harry hates Draco; all the 
>same Harry was horrified by the result of his spell and surely 
>would 
>have been sorry if Draco had died -- not because he cared about
>Draco but because Harry did not want to be a killer.

Elyse: I agree with Pippin. Obviously Harry hates Snape with burning 
resentment/anger/hurt, heck, all of those emotions and more.
At this point, Snape hasnt even killed DD. Yet Harry says he would 
be happy if Snape dies. And although he says it with obvious 
sincerety and no doubt he thinks he would be happy if it happens, I 
wonder what Harry would have felt if Snape had dropped dead the next 
day.
I'm pretty sure Harry wouldnt have whooped or cheered or anything of 
the sort. While he may not have shed tears or anything, he wouldnt 
have thrown any parties to celebrate. I think he would have had a 
complex tangle of emotions and one of the ingredients would have 
been pity. He would have been genuinely sorry Snape was dead.

So I dont see why the same logic cant be applied to Snape. I'm sure 
he hated James and co for many reasons, not just the infamous prank.
And I'm sure he may have said as Harry did that he would be happy to 
see the Marauders dead, and he may  have believed it as Harry did.
(Another parallel between the two if Snape really did say something 
of the sort)
So maybe this illusion of being happy when James died was shattered 
as Voldemort told Snape about the intended victims of the prophecy 
interpretation. I think its a fair supposition that Snape really did 
feel sorry, even if it was just a tiny little bit, that James was 
dead. And the fact that he owed the guy a life debt didnt exactly 
make things any less complicated.

Like Julie says herself

Note that
> being content for James to die does not mean Snape wanted to
> murder James, just as Harry doesn't want to murder Snape--at
> least not in Chapter 8--just that each would be happy to see their
> respective nemesis's dead and gone forever. Or so they think.
> 
 
Julie:
> It's an interesting irony. Snape believes Harry *is* just like 
James, 
> yet Snape never saw and still does not see the whole James  Potter,
> the boy who grew out of his childish ways to become a good  man, 
> and died with dignity. If Harry learns to see the whole  Snape--not
> just the mean, vindictive teacher, but the man who stayed loyal
> to Dumbledore no matter what was asked of him, and who helped
> (will help) Harry defeat Voldemort both by protecting him  and 
giving
> him tools he'd need for that final battle, even if Snape did so 
with  a
> great deal of belligerence--then Harry will win in a way that Snape
> never can and never will--by becoming not just a hero, but a good 
> man, just like his father.
>  

Elyse: Would it be too much of a stretch to wonder if Snape is the 
one to whom this happens? In the remote possibility that Snape 
survives Book 7, maybe he will see the side of Harry that he has 
refused to acknowledge. If he can overcome his myopic vision of 
Harry, he may finally (and about time!) grow up! Then he and Harry 
can share the growing out of resentment process and finally have the 
spirit of forgiveness break down the invisible hatred between the 
two.
I'm not saying theyre going to hug each other and rush off into the 
sunset. Snape will still be slightly nasty, sullen, sarcastic etc 
but there may be no more picking on Harry. Just a sort of truce 
where each goes his own way separately and live without outright 
hate of the other person 

Julie
>> If this can be considered a theory, how about:  Harry  *Isn't* 
Snape, So
> Yes, Forgiving Is Tantamount To Obtaining Self-possession, And 
Most 
> Importantly, Achieving Manhood Not Oppressively Tainted.
> Translation to acronym: H.I.S.S.Y. F.I.T. T.O. S.A.M. I. A.M. 
N.O.T.

Elyse:
How about 
Forgiveness And Love: Severus' Egregious Path Rerouted to Eschew The 
Evil, Neutralizing Small-Minded Envious Sorcerer

In acronym form: FALSE PRETENSES
where the central premise of the ship, or rather the lifeboat, would 
be that Harry forgives Snape who is transformed by the powers of love
(from Dumbledore) and forgiveness (from Harry) into a slightly less 
caustic man, but is still nasty enough to be a thoroughly unpleasant 
person. ;-)

Elyse