OFH SNAPE was: Script from JKR's reading/ About Snape and Dumbledore

[juli17ptf]

No: HPFGUIDX 156901

 <snip>
> 
> Betsy Hp:
> Hmm, but that's not what Julie is saying in her option (d).  She's 
> saying that no matter how useless Snape thinks Harry might be, no 
> matter how much Snape might dislike Harry, he would never stand by 
> and let a child, *any* child, die.  Because, contrary to Harry's 
> beliefs, Snape is not a monster.  Dumbledore's watching eye, the 
> need to kill Voldemort need not apply.  (At least, that's how *I* 
> interperted option (d).  Please correct me if I'm wrong, Julie. <g>)

Julie:
You're exactly right :-) I do believe Snape has a conscience,
independent of seeking Dumbledore's approval. We may think his
conscience is a little lax when it comes to his teaching methods
and his treatment of Harry and Neville, but he does draw a line 
somewhere. And it is at a fairly significant somewhere IMO, as 
he doesn't ever physically hurt any children (except shoving a
teenage Harry once in extreme anger) and protects them when 
they are in danger with as much vigilance (and in many cases,
more vigilance) as any other teacher at Hogwarts. (And, I might
add, seems as distressed as any of them that a student might
be in very grave danger when it is discovered that Ginny is
in the Chamber of Secrets.) 

(<snip>

Betsy Hp:

> The first remark ("Snape hated your father, but he didn't want him 
> dead." [quoting Julie]) was harder to find.  I *think* Julie may 
> have been referring to this conversation in HBP:
> 
> [Harry speaking:] "He hated my dad like he hated Sirius!  Haven't 
> you noticed, Professor, how the people Snape hates tend to end up 
> dead?"
> [Dumbledore's response:] "You have no idea of the remorse Professor 
> Snape felt when he realized how Lord Voldemort had interperted the 
> prophecy, Harry.  I believe it to be the greatest regret of his 
life 
> and the reason that he returned --" [HBP scholastic hardback p.549]
> 
> That Dumbledore sees Snape feeling great remorse for his part in 
the 
> death of James and Lily *could* be interpreted to mean that Snape 
> wasn't actually out to kill James. 

Julie:
Thanks for bringing up this quote, Betsy, as it does support the
idea that Snape was never out to kill James, nor wanted him dead.
The quote I remembered though was from PS/SS. I just took the time
to research it--which I should have done before I posted previously--
and I must apologize, as it turns out it wasn't Dumbledore who
said it, and it wasn't really refering to James after all.

"But Snape seems to hate me so much." (Harry speaking, believing
that Snape was behind hexing his broom and trying to kill him.)

"Oh, he does," Quirrel said casually, "heavens, yes. He was at
Hogwarts with your father, didn't you know? They loathed each
other. But he never wanted *you* dead."

So my apologies! It was Quirrel speaking of Snape not wanting 
*Harry* dead rather than James. I still stand by my belief that  
Snape has a conscience though.

Betsy Hp:
> Actually though, on that same page is a quote that I think shoots 
> down one of the main points in your OFH!Snape theory, Snow.  Let me 
> go back to your main post on that.
> 
> > >>Snow:
> > <snip>
> > My impression is that Dumbledore trusts Snape only to the degree  
> > that he is no longer a deatheater. 
> > <snip>
> 
> Betsy Hp:
> But right at the moment Harry is pushing Dumbledore on Snape, is 
> questioning how *far* Snape can be trusted, especially given his 
> past behavior, Dumbledore says this:
> 
> "I am sure.  I trust Severus Snape completely." [ibid] 
> 
> I just don't see much wiggle room in that statement.  Dumbledore 
> doesn't say "I know Severus Snape and I trust him to behave in a 
> predictable fashion" or "When it comes to taking down Voldemort, 
> Snape is someone I trust".  No, Dumbledore trusts Severus Snape 
> *completely*.  There's no caveat to that statement.  And I think 
> Dumbledore refused to include a caveat because he doesn't actually 
> have one when it comes to trusting Snape.

Julie:
I agree on this too. Whether Snape is good or bad, it's clear
Dumbledore put a GREAT deal of trust in Snape, trusting him with
the lives of the students, including the life of the boy-who-lived,
with many secrets of the Order, and who knows what else. If he
believed Snape was only acting out of some sort of self-interest,
rather than from a genuine moral imperative to do what is right
(no matter what caused Snape to come to his senses and see how
evil Voldemort and his goals really are), then Dumbledore would
be a far bigger fool to entrust so much to Snape than even some 
fans imagine him to be (if Snape turns out to be ESE/OFH).

Hmm, maybe that didn't come out clearly. Point is, no one is 
going to put the level of trust Dumbledore has put in Snape in
someone who is *not* idealogically committed to a cause, not
when that cause is the very survival of his world. If Snape
is ESE or OFH, he somehow managed to convince Dumbledore of his 
complete commitment to the cause, which is where Dumbledore 
would have been fooled (though I don't believe that happened ;-).

Julie