The DADA job - Not Snape's cup of tea?

[spotsgal]

No: HPFGUIDX 141831

Goddlefrood:
> The first 
> relevant matter to my theory is contained in HBP, Chapter Twenty – 
> Lord Voldemort's Request, page 418:
> 
> "You see, we have never been able to keep a Defence Against the Dark 
> Arts teacher for longer than a year since I refused the post to Lord 
> Voldemort."
> 
> Dumbledore says this to Harry after the sequence viewed by them in 
> the Pensieve. It is based on Dumbledore's own memory and I postulate 
> that Dumbledore figured out that he could not keep a DADA teacher 
> for more than a year within a short time of his interview with LV. 
> Why then would Dumbledore give the job to a useful man like Snape? 

Christina:

Well, this is obviously a hugely speculated question, but I suspect
Dumbledore did it for a variety of reasons.  For one, there was simply
*nobody* left to do the job, which is bad for both logistic reasons
(*somebody* has to teach), and for practical reasons.  The WW is in a
state of war.  The children MUST learn to defend themselves. 
Regardless of whether you love Snape or hate him, he's *good* at
teaching DADA.  Secondly, there is the Slughorn issue.  Now some have
speculated that there's more going on with Slughorn than we know, but
at the very least, Dumbledore felt that he needed Slughorn's horcrux
memory.  Slughorn teaches Potions.  A little faculty-shuffle vacated
the position so Dumbledore could give it to Slughorn.  

Goddlefrood:
> I have been taking this advice seriously and keeping an eye on 
> Snape. The matter we discover about Snape during GOF is, I believe, 
> simply that he was a Death Eater.

Christina:

I actually thought the surprise was Snape's spy status- after all, who
was *really* that shocked to find out that Snape was a former Death
Eater (it surely fits well with the Slytherin stereotype...and we know
Snape is particularly buddy-buddy with Malfoy, who we find out has a
baddie for a daddy in CoS)?  But I digress...

Goddlefrood:
> As we all know 
> Gilderoy Lockhart is appointed as the DADA teacher in book 2, but 
> why would this be if Snape, a seemingly more suitable candidate, was 
> constantly applying for the job? 
...snip....
> As we know Professor 
> Umbridge is now the DADA teacher, but why, if Snape really wants the 
> job?
...snip...
> In this circumstance we must query why Dumbledore did not give the 
> job to Snape to circumvent the Decree's provisions. The logical 
> explanation is that Snape did not want, neither did he apply for, 
> the job. 

Christina:

Like you said- Dumbledore knows that LV isn't gone for good and will
need Snape in the future.  He can't sacrifice him now.  And as a
little side note: yes, Hagrid's expostulations *should* be taken with
a pinch of salt.  Isn't this the same person who claimed that all of
the Dark witches and wizards came from Slytherin (when one of the most
well-known prisoners and supposed DEs of the time period, Sirius
Black, was Gryffindor through and through)?

Goddlefrood:
> Based on what can be inferred about 
> Dumbledore he does not like outside interference in his school, most 
> particularly from the Ministry.

Christina:

This is true.  Dumbledore likes to have "his people" handle things. 
Two of his allies come to teach DADA (Lupin and Moody...or at least
that was the original plan).  It would seem logical to have Snape
teach, too; however, the spy problem pops up again.  We know that in
VWI, Dumbledore had "a number of useful spies," but there is nothing
that suggests that this is the case now.  It seems pretty clear that
Snape is the only man Dumbledore has on the inside (not taking into
account his spies in the Ministry).

Goddlefrood:
> However, at this point, and with the next quoted passage my 
> speculation runs across a problem. The problematic passage is 
> contained in Chapter Seventeen – Educational Decree Number Twenty-
> Four at pages 323-4:
> 
> `"You applied first for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post I 
> believe?" Professor Umbridge asked Snape
> "Yes" said Snape quietly.
> "But you were unsuccessful?
> "Obviously."
> Professor Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard.
> "And you have applied regularly for the defence Against the Dark 
> Arts post since you first joined the school, I believe?"
> "Yes," said Snape quietly, barely moving his lips. He looked very 
> angry.
> "Do you have any idea why Dumbledore has consistently refused to 
> appoint you?" asked Umbridge.
> "I suggest you ask him."'
> 
> Unless of course Snape is being less than honest and covering the 
> real reason he has not become DADA teacher.

Christina:

See, this is what seals it for me.  Yes, having Snape covet the DADA
position is useful because we (and Harry) can attribute any of Snape's
behavior towards the current DADA teacher as a manifestation of his
desire for the job.  But that doesn't mean that the desire isn't
there.  Given what we now know about the DADA position (it's cursed),
I don't find it a stretch to believe that Snape really *has* been
applying for the job all these years and has been denied it.

Goddlefrood:
> As we know Snape follows 
> orders and he would have to apply for the DADA post if LV wanted him 
> to. Or did LV want him to? After all LV would know of his own curse 
> on the position and only if he anticipated Snape staying only a year 
> or he lifted the curse could Snape last beyond a year in the post.

Christina:

I feel like I'm going to start rambling soon, so I'll put my main
points here:

--  Does Voldemort need Snape in the DADA position?  Not really.  The
only things he could accomplish would be to counsel students toward
the Dark Arts and generally sabotage the DADA education.  Snape is
Slytherin head of house, and so he interacts heavily with the students
most likely to be sympathetic to Voldemort's cause.  Most of the DADA
teachers in recent years have stunted the students' education.  So
from LV's standpoint, having Snape teach DADA is pretty useless (and
would even interfere with his role as a spy...I think Dumbledore would
notice if Snape was doing sub-par teaching).  Not to mention the fact
that when Snape finally did get the DADA job, he did it well!  He
could have had the students sit and read out of their useless
textbooks (ala Umbridge), but he didn't.

--  This of course leads to your very question- especially if LV
hasn't ordered Snape to get the DADA job, did Snape really want it? 
You provide interpretations of canon that demonstrate how we may have
misinterpreted Snape's desire to teach DADA, but you offer no canon
whatsoever that even suggests that Snape didn't want the Dark Arts
job.  We even see him enjoying his new position.

--  If Snape didn't want the DADA position, why did he take it?  He's
not stupid, he *must* know it's cursed.  People have speculated in the
past that Snape thought he was strong enough to finally break the
curse, but I find that difficult to reconcile with a Snape that seems
to respect the power of the Dark Arts so much (look at Snape's first
lesson...the man knows what horrors the Dark Arts are capable of).

--  And...does it even matter?  I don't see how it would change
Snape's character one way or the other.  He likes DADA- we *see* him
enjoying it (he talks about it the same way he talks about Potions). 
Does Snape's particular stance on the DADA position matter so much?


Christina, 
who hopes this post is at least semi-lucid.  It's been one of those days.