Facilis descensus Averni---Snape's little problems

[spotsgal]

No: HPFGUIDX 140433

> Ericoppen wrote:
> One reason that I think D'dore kept Snape away from DADA, even 
> though he's a stone expert, is because in JKR's world, the Dark Arts
> are not only corrupting to the body and soul, they're _addictive._ 
> Snape might be like a dried-out alcoholic, who's okay as long as he 
> doesn't start drinking again.  But if he fiddles with Dark Arts, 
> even in passing, he's already done himself enough damage for them to
> be much more dangerous than they might be for someone who'd never 
> had anything to do with them.
 
> Alla:
> 
> <snip> suddenly all the fighting for Snape's soul, fighting to keep
> him clean from Dark Arts is deemed irellevant, IMO.

Christina:

I've never bought into this logic, and I still don't.  Having
Dumbledore's hesitancy to put Snape in the DADA position be about
tempting him to the Dark Arts makes absolutely no sense to me. 
Dumbledore may keep Snape from the Dark Arts job, but he puts him in a
*much more tempting* position when he sends him back to be a spy on
the Death Eaters at the end of GOF - a valuable position to be sure,
but there was *no* guarantee that Snape would even be welcomed back. 
There was a good chance he'd be killed.  

I like the analogy you made to alcoholism, so I'll tweak it a bit
here.  While the DADA job might be like having an alcoholic teach a
class about how to battle alcoholism or deal with a relative that's an
alcoholic (which actually makes a lot of sense), sending Snape back in
as a spy is like sending an alcoholic into a group of other
alcoholics, asking him to pretend to be one of them.  It's literally
dangling the metaphorical bottle in front of Snape's face (and asking
him to take a swig or two now and again).

I think that Dumbledore kept the DADA job from Snape mainly because he
knew about the DADA curse and couldn't risk losing Snape.  He needed
him for when Voldemort rose again (and I think Dumbledore knew all
along that he eventually would).  Dumbledore was basically keeping
Snape on reserve- he says, "You know what *I must ask* you to do"
(emphasis mine), which leads me to believe that it was a kind of
unspoken agreement all along that Snape would go back to spying if
Voldemort returned.  Once Snape went back to the DEs at the end of
GOF, all the more reason to keep Snape out of the DADA job.  If he had
it, I think Dumbledore was afraid that LV would try to influence the
children through Snape.  Snape obviously couldn't do this, and not
doing so would be a giant red flag to LV.  I think that Dumbledore
finally gave Snape the job because there was simply nobody else to do
it.  Everyone knows that DADA teachers don't last- the position isn't
highly coveted.  I've always thought that Dumbledore asked Lupin
specifically to come teach because of Sirius, and while I don't have
GOF on hand, didn't he do the same for Moody?  Dumbledore *had* to get
someone to fill the DADA post.  He couldn't risk the MOM filling it
for him and getting another Umbridge.  Also, with LV on the prowl, it
was absolutely essential for the children to get a solid education in
DADA (a subject in which they are a bit behind).  This doesn't even
touch on Dumbledore's need for Slughorn's memory.


Christina