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

[saraquel_omphale]

No: HPFGUIDX 140680

So many good points in this thread!  I want to see if I can tie 
together, what Harry needs to learn about Love and the parallels 
between Harry and Snape.

Jen wrote:
>Lily must be the
>remaining person who has something very important to teach Harry.
>I'm tending toward her over Snape now, because of what you said
>here. The outcome will relate to Snape, but perhaps the learning
>part won't.

Saraquel:
I've been thinking for some while now that *both* Snape and Lily are 
essential for Harry to learn how to defeat Voldemort.  In my last 
post, I speculated at the end on the next encounter between Harry 
and Snape. (We know there is going to be one because in the MN/LC 
interview, JKR said something about – everything being set up now 
for when they next meet.)

IMO, Lily is going to show Harry the *power* of love and his 
encounter with Snape is going to prepare him to use it.  I think, 
that in order to use this almighty weapon without being destroyed by 
it himself, he is going to have to sort some stuff out in himself.  
And this is where the parallels which you (plural) have been 
pointing out, have shed light for me.

> Betsy Hp:
> Perhaps, once Harry sees Snape as a whole, sees the good side to
the man, he'll recognize the good side to himself? I'm probably not
> making any kind of sense, but if Snape represents everything Harry
> fears about himself, maybe confronting those fears will provide
> Harry with a new understanding of himself.

Jen wrote:
>Harry will
>either see the good in Snape, or the dark in himself, or both at
>essentially the same time.

Saraquel:
These two comments have really helped me encapsulate my ideas about 
Snape and Harry's next meeting.  I've been thinking that Harry has 
to conquer his vengeance and also speculating (courtesy of Valky) 
that Snape is genuinely seeking knowledge of the power which Harry 
has. These comments have sort of brought those two threads together 
for me.  

At the end of my last post, I tentatively used the 
word `forgiveness', and that Harry needs to understand it. I didn't 
mean it in the soft - yes don't worry, I feel warm and fuzzy about 
you now – way.  If you know anything about needing to forgive 
someone for something abusive which they have done to you, you will 
know that there is nothing warm and fuzzy about it, neither can you 
ever do the forgetting part literally. 

What I'm trying to get at here, is that forgiving and forgetting is 
more about the individual saying to themselves: whatever happened to 
me, like it or not, it's part of me. That experience is mine and it 
made me what I am now.  The only way to move forward independently, 
and make the choices about life that the person wants to make, is to 
let go of the past and own the internal damage – to cut free of 
blaming the other person.  As long as there is blame, then the 
individual's actions are tied to the perpetrator of the wrong. The 
desire for vengeance is the damage that the perpetrator has 
inflicted, speaking. Following that, IMO, will never cure that 
damage, or bring the individual to acceptance of it.  I am 
suggesting that the meaning of forgiveness, is to accept total 
responsibility for what you are and to embrace it, thus setting 
yourself free and allowing you to regain your free will. In doing 
so, you set the other person free as well, hence you forgive them 
and by ceasing to allow your own actions to be governed by the past, 
you forget.  Whether that other person accepts that the link is 
broken, i.e. accepts the forgiveness, is up to them.

So we have a situation where the relationship between Harry and 
Snape is totally dependent on past wrongs.  That Harry has to 
recognise the damage, which is motivated by the past, is doing to 
him is essential IMO, or the power of love which is his weapon, will 
destroy him as well when he meets Voldemort.

I see it rather like a blockage in a rifle barrel.  Firing the 
bullet will cause the whole rifle to explode. If there is any sort 
of desire for vengeance, the mirror effect of the power of love, 
which we discussed before will come into play (and if you don't 
agree with that, you're not going to agree with this :-) but, what 
the hell, Saraquel ploughs on! If you haven't read the last 
judgement love thread and are now interested to do so, it starts at 
136797, although I think there might have been some stuff before 
that.) This is what destroyed Voldemort at GH, the AK bounced off 
the `mirror' and destroyed him, because he wouldn't accept what is 
showed him.

I would like to think that both Snape and Harry will learn the power 
of forgiveness (as I have outlined the meaning of it) in their next 
encounter.  But it somewhat depends on whether JKR is going to 
redeem Snape or destroy him.  As some of you may well know – I'm for 
redeemed Snape and I think there is plenty of evidence that Snape 
has what it takes to be open to redemption and ready for it.

So the ingredients in the mix for the next encounter between Harry 
and Snape, IMO, are: 

1) the power of love which Harry has finally learned from seeing the 
events at GH, 
2) the fact that Snape and Harry are in some ways two sides of the 
same coin, the need for both of them to fully recognise and accept 
all of themselves (good and bad) if they are to move forward. See 
Jen and Betsy's comments.
3) Harry's inability to defeat Snape with a well placed 
unforgiveable, and Snape's reluctance to use one on Harry.
4) the possibility that Harry might well try and access his new 
found power and that is what will cause the big bang for both of 
them.

Saraquel