[HPforGrownups] The Unloved Son (was Re: Could I be wrong about Snape being evil?)

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 156685

> colebiancardi:
>
> I dunno.   I never jumped on the Snape loves Lily theory, but I could
> see James, if he was aware that Snape was a spy for DD, cashing in on
> the life debt that Snape owed him and turn it over to Lily.  Snape
> fails with Lily, the debt is still owed, which transfers to Harry.

Magpie:
Count me in with the people beginning to see Snape/Lily after HBP.  The 
silence on her is deafening--silence except for that one echoing word 
MUDBLOOD.

James asking Snape to protect Lily makes Lily a bit of a prop to me, but 
what I can see Snape thinking is how James is the worst person for Lily to 
be with, a guy who will only hurt her--he's friends with a gang of jerks, a 
murderer, he's dangerous, he won't be good for her like Snape is...

...and then OOPSIE.  Who gets Lily targeted?  Because of all those types 
things?

It's just so Snape for this to happen too, because it's so typical that he'd 
be so focused on what a jerk James was he'd never notice he had turned into 
the far worse person in Lily's life.

I'd also like to just point out given the title of the thread that this book 
is chock FULL of unloved sons (at least those who identify as such).  Barty 
Crouch, Percy Weasley, Sirius Black (imo, really Regulus Black), even 
Draco's relationship with Lucius is more about the failure than a 
connection.  Barty goes to Voldemort when he feels his own father rejects 
him. Percy goes to Crouch Sr. and the Ministry.  Sirius goes to the Potters.

Snape, spider in the center of the web in all things, thus finds himself at 
a fascinating place in HBP.  He's got the life debt and his guilt over Lily 
(if that's true), he's got Harry.  He's got Dumbledore telling him to kill 
him.  As someone said, Harry doesn't get asked to do this, and DD won't let 
Draco do it--nor should he, because Snape is now the one who has to be 
protector.

While on one hand Snape's got Harry in all his Harry-ness, with bits of 
James and Lily, who's also friend to Snape's younger self and seems led 
astray by that self doing Sectumsempra. Snape's also got Draco who's like 
young!Snape in all the other bad ways--on the path to be a DE to prove 
himself, bitter, lashing out, a natural Occlumens who's now started learning 
the tricks of the trade.  JKR doesn't seem to think much of Occlumency as a 
natural skill (a bit unfair on her part, imo, since it suggests that certain 
types of personalities are inherently better than others, but in terms of 
the story it makes sense).  She's fine with Dumbledore being able to do it, 
but it's Snape's version she doesn't think is a good thing.  That's the 
version that considers feelings foolish and a weakness, something to be 
amputated and repressed--a particularly bad idea for a Slytherin since water 
is the element that's linked to emotion, and Slytherins are operatically 
emotional, and their stories are drenched with liquid symbolism.  Draco's 
actual strength in HBP comes not from a skill for repression but his real, 
positive feelings for his family and even for people in general.  Snape 
seems to still consider his positive feelings a weakness, but to help Harry 
defeat Voldemort, and make sure Draco doesn't go down the same path he did, 
he may have to dig those emotions out again.

-m