EBA!Snape

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 162546

Bart:
I figure it's about time to put a label on my own favorite Snape theory: Evil but Allied. Consider, for example, during WWII (it's OK to mention Nazi's here because JKR herself has compared Voldermort's movement to the German Nazi movement), there were German generals who were loyal to Germany, and even agreed with the ideals of the Nazi Party, who recognized that Hitler was a madman who had to be stopped. 

Now, as JKR has made clear, Tommy "Lord Voldemort" Riddle is a user, plain and simple. By the philosophy of his own organization, he is an inferior, and should not be the head. He doesn't care about philosophy; all he cares about is his own power. He only cares about his followers in terms of how he can use them. 

Snape was clearly taken in by the philosophy of the Death Eaters, having the basic self-conception, "I'm better than everybody else; why doesn't everybody recognize it?". And it is clear that he still has the idea. But it is also clear that he has a clear moral and ethical code of his own, and saw that the person he had chosen as a leader was a fake. 

I suspect that he did have feelings for Lily; certainly there are hints that he saw her as an intellectual equal, although a social inferior. He also owed his life to James, although it is also clear that he also attributed his being in danger in the first place at least in part to James, making his owing his life double-hateful. Sirius, of course, he despises; there wasn't even the saving grace of repentance that occurred with James (from Snape's point of view). 

There is also, although not explicitly hinted at, a probable jealousy of Dumbledore. Both Snape and Dumbeldore were demonstrated to be highly creative and had a sufficient understanding of the basics of magic to improve upon the techniques commonly taught, yet Dumbledore was everybody's favorite, and Snape was nobody's (which left Snape vulnerable to the entrapments and temptations of the Death Eaters). 

So, when whatever happened (but certainly linked to the revelation of the prophecy) that opened Snape's eyes (and it is vaguely hinted that it was his putting Lily into jeopardy), Snape changed sides. He clearly did this well BEFORE the initial defeat of Voldemort; the fact that he received no hint of punishment speaks to that. 

The point is that Snape's cruelty, his, face it, evil nature is NOT an act. He IS as reprehensible as he seems. But, like the generals who turned against Hitler, he sees that Lord Voldemort is, even by his own standards, thoroughly evil, and is willing to do whatever he can to stop him, even trying to work with a kid who reminds him of everything he hated as a youth, even if it means slaying a man who, by his own standards, should have hated him, but offered him nothing but friendship and support.

Was he Dumbledore's man? Not really; at best, he was an ally, not a friend. He did what Dumbledore said not because Dumbledore said it, but because Dumbledore was right. His arguments with Dumbledore showed that he was quite capable of disobeying Dumbledore if he disagreed. And it was clear that Dumbledore could not trust him 100%; he not only dropped Harry's Occlumancy lessons, but, as is obvious through context, failed to tell Dumbledore that he had. But, while Dumbledore could not always trust the man, he DID know where his loyalties lay, and that is where he found Snape to be trustworthy. 

And, for those who believe in ESE Snape, I have one question which I have posed several times, and yet to have heard a satisfactory answer: Why did Snape raise the alarm about the Ministry raid so quickly? A little bit of stalling, and Voldemort would not have been defeated, yet Snape's cover would have been intact. 

Bart