Why did Snape take the UV? / Role of the Malfoys

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 157202

Betsy Hp:
Okay, so I totally missed out on this particular conversation, but 
it's been something I've been thinking about and I have a tentative 
theory so I'm bringing it back up. <g>  

Why did Snape take the Unbreakable Vow?  Why would a spy *tighten* 
the constrants he's working under?  Snape must have felt he was 
gaining something.  But what?

What does Snape gain in that scene?  He doesn't gain any information 
(the task is never spelled out).  Bellatrix is shut up, but that 
seems fairly temporary, and frankly Snape doesn't seem all that 
worried about Bellatrix as an adversary.

What Snape *does* seem to gain is Narcissa's good will.  He shows 
himself to be a loyal friend of the Malfoy family, willing to put 
himself at possible odds with Voldemort himself to keep Draco safe.  
Why is that important to him?

There's the ACID POPS answer.  Snape is madly in love with Narcissa 
and couldn't resist her heartfelt pleas.  I have a couple of 
problems with that idea.  For one, Snape doesn't *act* like he's 
madly in love, IMO.  For another, Narcissa brings up Lucius and 
Snape being old friends.  Which strikes me as an odd way for a woman 
to go about seducing someone.  Finally, I'm not sure that there's a 
thematic reason for Snape to be in love with Narcissa; it seems a 
bit beside the point.

But what about the Malfoy family?  What if there's a reason for 
Snape to try and earn (or keep) the goodwill of the Malfoy 
*family*?  We've already got Snape doing that odd twitchy thing way 
back in GoF when Harry names Lucius as one of the Death Eaters.  
We've been told that he was Lucius's lapdog (his fag, maybe?) back 
in his old school days.  Narcissa knows the way to his decidedly 
*out of the way* home.  She sees Snape as someone who might actually 
defy Voldemort (in a mild way) to protect her son.  And in the final 
moments of his life we have Dumbledore offering to protect the 
entire Malfoy family.

So, could the Malfoys actually end up being helpful in the defeat of 
Voldemort?  It seems crazy.  I mean, the Malfoys are the face of 
pureblood bigotry.  But...perhaps they're exactly who needs to be 
won over if the Order is to win.  Maybe if the Malfoys are shown to 
change that will suggest the underlining bigotry of the WW may 
change as well.

Just a thought. <g>

Betsy Hp