OFH!Snape scenario (Long)

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 139639

Saraquel:
> Then DD gives him the task of giving Harry occlumency lessons, and 
> the incident which Valky so expertly pinpointed, arises. I needn't 
> say much to add to her wonderful insight, just that, for the first 
> time Snape really sees that there is something very powerful going 
> on in Harry, and it's not dark.  It's powerful enough to conquer 
the 
> dark art of legilimency – one of Voldemort's most special powers. 
> Maybe there is something to the prophecy after all, maybe this kid 
> Harry does have real power, maybe there is a chance that he could 
> conquer Voldemort. Oh yes, he's very interested, and he wants to 
> learn more. He wants to know just how much power there is in this 
> sort of magic – is there enough?  Perhaps for the first time his 
> interest in the side of good is not just about personal freedoms, 
> it's about his most treasured thing – Knowledge.
> 
> From this point on, Snape is being pulled very strongly over to the 
> good side. If it has real power, and something to offer in terms of 
> knowledge, then it will be worth being in that world. But there is 
> still the deep imprint of his past influencing his actions.  His 
> past is a history of survival, he has been in extreme danger, but 
he 
> has survived.  The importance of his past experience cannot be 
> overstated.
> 
> So the final battle for Snape's soul begins.

Ceridwen:
I enjoyed your book-by-book rendition of OFH!Snape.  I just wanted to 
speculate about this part here, though, if you don't mind.

In HBP, Dumbledore sends a knowing Harry to retrieve the correct 
memory from Slughorn.  He also uses an unknowing Harry in the 
beginning of HBP, to convince Slughorn that he needs to return to 
Hogwarts.  I am now wondering if these are the first two uses 
Dumbledore has for Manipulative!Harry, for lack of what's got to be a 
much better name.

When Dumbledore threw Snape and Harry together for Occulemncy lessons 
in OotP, and he finds that it doesn't work, he says something about 
having hoped that Snape could have gotten over his dislike of James, 
or something along those lines.  A failure on Dumbledore's part, 
because, as someone else on this list has said, he doesn't see the 
human factors involved.

In fact, someone on this list also went through the Occlumency 
lessons and mentioned that it was wholly possible that Snape could 
somehow come to a meeting place with Harry through seeing their 
similar pasts.  Just as Harry seeing Snape's memory of the Marauders 
tormenting him made him feel bad for Snape, until the roaches started 
flying...

This is really giving me ideas, anyway.  I'm wondering, now, if 
Dumbledore hadn't been using Harry in 'the battle for Snape's soul' 
at that point, use the boy to show the man that there is more common 
ground between them than he thinks.  Legilimency, used in teaching 
Occlumency, would certainly reveal memories to Snape.  And, it did.  
He even asked about the dog.  As has already been mentioned, and I'm 
sorry I don't remember who, that may have been a Snapish way of 
acknolwedging the similarity.

And, I'm wondering now, and this is completely out of canon and spur 
of the moment, if Dumbledore hadn't specified which memories to place 
in the Pensieve, knowing Harry's inability to control his curiosity.  
There may be diversions during the course of the lessons to remove 
Snape from the room (there were two, Trelawney's sacking and 
Montague's return, did Dumbledore anticipate them? Or just 
something?  Or merely hope something would happen, based on knowledge 
gained from managing a school full of rambunctious fledgling 
magicals?).  If Snape leaves, Harry would, if he follows his past 
pattern, stick his head into the Pensieve and see the Marauders 
tormenting Snape.

Anyway, could Dumbledore have been trying to use Harry on Snape in 
the same way he used him on Slughorn?  While I don't believe in a 
fully Manipulative!Dumbledore, he is managing a war effort and has 
troops beneath him, he has to manipulate to some extent to bring his 
plans to fruition.  And having two powerful wizards wholeheartedly in 
his camp would be an asset.

Just wondering.  Your post has made me think.

Ceridwen.