The Powerful Slytherin (Re: Snape/Harry coincidence?)

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 140613

> Betsy Hp:
> The parallel between Snape and Harry is fascinating to me too.  
> Something I noticed is that when Harry goes down to the lake at 
the 
> end of OotP, feeling alone and depressed, he sits "behind a tangle 
> of shrubs" (scholastic hardback p.855).  Which echoed, to my mind, 
> with young Severus sitting "in the dense shadows of a clump of 
> bushes" (ibid p.644) in the pensieve scene.  It's not an exact 
match 
> wording wise, but there's still a picture of two fifth year boys, 
> notably different from their peers, mirroring each other at this 
> spot by the lake.

Jen: I finally got back to this one, Betsy! Your comments really 
made me think about this Snape/Harry parallel and also Slytherins in 
general. I could be reading too much into HBP, but while the core of 
the story was Riddle's history and the Horcruxes, woven into the 
background was the subtle story of Harry's struggle with his 
Slytherin tendencies and lessons learned from very unlikely sources.

First and least complicated was his relationship with Slughorn, a 
person he initally felt repulsed by but later tried to impress and 
manipulate in equal measure. Next was the return of Nemesis!Draco, 
mostly absent in GOF & OOTP, relegated to the backgound where his 
dastardly deeds consisted of minor trouble. Then of course Snape, 
but in the form of boy-Snape this time, disguised as the Half-Blood 
Prince for good measure.  

The funny thing about these Slytherins is they all helped Harry move 
forward on his quest.

Slughorn provided the Horcrux memory of course, but he also 
indirectly helped Harry discover his ability to get what he needs 
from people using his "best efforts, considerable ingenuity, & 
depths of cunning" to paraphrase Dumbledore (chap. 20, p. 428). 
Slughorn also gave a personal gift to Harry, the first person to 
actually talk about Lily as a *person* instead of telling him for 
the umpteenth time Harry has Lily's eyes or Lily sacrificed her life 
for him or ignoring Lily to berate/glorify James.

Draco's contribution was a little less obvious, given he was working 
on killing Dumbledore and bringing the DE's into Hogwarts <bg>. On 
the face of it, his actions thwarted Harry, yet Harry learned 
something very valuable from watching Draco over the year. Remember 
the determination Harry felt at the funeral, the sense of purpose 
that lead him to reject everything except destroying the Horcruxes, 
even if it meant leaving his only real Home? I found that passion 
*remarkably* similar to the passion driving Draco, and really the 
first time Harry has shown himself capable of blocking extraneous 
information and directing most of his energy toward destroying 
Voldemort. 

I'm not saying Harry saw this passion in Draco and decided it was a 
really cool trait he needed for himself. Rather, a shift occurred 
over the course of the year, something Harry was only vaguely aware 
of. He was completely right Draco was up to no good, but he didn't 
realize part of his obsession was watching Draco move on without 
him. Draco gave up his boyhood pursuits--Quidditch, harassing Harry, 
being Snape's favorite--to take on a man's job. Even Dumbledore, 
horrified the DE's were at Hogwarts, was curious how Draco could 
accomplish something *no one* could accomplish up to that point. 
Over the course of the year under Harry's watchful eye, Draco 
rejected the familiar by pushing Snape away & dropping the charade 
of being a student; Draco understood how high the stakes were while 
Harry was still feeling ensconsed in Dumbledore's protection and the 
familiar pattern of friendships. Seeing Draco crying in the bathroom 
& casting the Sectumsempra jolted Harry out of his routine, but even 
then, Snape saved him from his consequences. Everything changed for 
Harry the night of the cave and tower, though. Ultimately, both boys 
gave up the need for father figures altogether and grew into the 
next generation of men taking sides in another painful war.

Then there's this tiny problem, or maybe a huge obstacle, called 
Snape. As much as Harry was able to marshall his energy, and draw 
strength from the fake locket, his anger was still partially stoked 
by Snape. True, Harry called him a murderer and rejected him and his 
potions book as evil. Deep down, though, Harry was mightily confused 
about his reaction to the HBP or he would have destroyed that 
potions book straightaway.

What does Harry need to learn from Snape? For it seems inevitable to 
me this will be the final area of growth for Harry in defeating 
Voldemort. We can safely say Harry won't be saving his own skin 
anytime soon, and as much as Snape believes it's true, *we* know 
Harry doesn't need to close his mind as much as he needs to open his 
heart.

I think the one Slytherin trait Harry is lacking at the moment is 
coming to terms with the idea of power. In fact, Harry is much more 
like the Slytherins in this respect than a Gryffindor. What could be 
more powerful and ambitious than preparing to defeat the greatest 
dark wizard ever?!? He's biased against the idea of holding power 
after he meets Voldemort in PS, then when introduced to the likes of 
Barty Crouch Sr., Umbridge and others who abuse their power. But the 
truth is, Harry is seeking power over his enemies every time he 
casts a dark magic spell! When he defies Scrimgeour and the MOM, and 
takes his place beside Dumbledore, he's merely choosing which 
powerful leader to attach himself to. And of course he continues to 
reject and minimize the power within himself, the key to Voldemort's 
defeat. Somehow Harry will have to move from feeling like an 
underage, unqualified wizard to the One with the Power. 

How that can happen though...I have many snippets of thought, but no 
real ending here ;). The power of forgiveness is certainly an 
option, but somehow I would like to see Snape granting that to Harry 
instead of the other way around. That seems impossible! I'm also 
torn on the scenario where Harry learns things about Snape's past 
and feels compassion for him, and can see him in a new way. That 
fits with having Lily's eyes, but is a huge stretch from where Harry 
is now. JKR could make it work, Harry even felt a moment of empathy 
for baby Riddle--if Harry finds out something more profound about 
Snape than what he saw in the Pensieve scene, will Harry again 
identify with Snape enough to feel forgiveness?

Ah well, enough. I'm stuck and hoping someone will bail me out!

Jen