Why does Snape wants DADA job if it cursed? LONG

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 148856

Sydney:
> Also, this doesn't explain why Dumbledore doesn't give him the
> job.  This is a very important point that I haven't seen anybody
> cover.  I can't see that it's because Dumbledore is more worried 
> about something happening to Snape than something happening to,
> say, Lupin or Moody. I don't know, maybe Dumbledore really, really
> likes Snape as a Potions teacher and doesn't want to lose him? 
> *is dubious*.  
 
zgirnius:
> I think Dumbledore wanted Snape to still be at Hogwarts when 
> Voldemort returned. And with the DADA curse, there was a
> possibility that would not work out if he gave Snape that
> position. Dumbledore always intended to send Snape back to spying
> on Voldemort (as he did when Voldemort returned in GoF). And, to
> help get Snape initially accepted back to the fold, Snape had to
> have something to offer Voldemort-. And that, Dumbledore always
> planned to be his position at Hogwarts in close proximity to
> Dumbledore. Something he knew Voldemort valued, as he had ordered
> Snape to seek employment there himself.


Jen: Ooh, that's good zgirnius. Would that qualify as 'strength, 
simplicity, and clarity in motivations' Sydney? Cause I agree JKR is 
pretty believable in her motivations. Fans don't always agree on the 
nature of said motivations, but they are laid out pretty cleanly.

Still, what do people think about JKR's own explanation to Stephen 
Fry, that Dumbledore is worried the DADA position will 'bring out 
the worst' in Snape? Why would she say something so directly she 
doesn't mean? Such an unambiguous statement has weight in my mind. 
And I don't think it undermines Dumbledore's trust of Snape because 
we have examples where a person under a curse isn't him/herself and 
acts in ways they wouldn't normally do, like under the Imperio for 
instance.

This is also in keeping with Dumbledore's actions regarding others' 
health and safety, isn't it? He tried to keep Sirius safe by 
ordering him to stay put in Grimmauld. He tried to prolong 
Harry's 'normal' life by keeping the information about the prophecy 
from him. Protecting Snape from the DADA because of his own past 
would be a safety issue and not a trust issue. It's sort of akin to 
the dementors affecting Harry more severely because he has 'horrors 
in [his] past that others don't have'; maybe Snape's past makes him 
more vulnerable to the curse, or at least Dumbledore worries it 
could. 

Lupinlore:
> With regard to Snape, the answer may be that his apparent 
> irrational obsession is... well... an irrational obsession.  We've
> all known such cases -- i.e. someone who has a deep seated and
> fundamental desire for something that we can clearly see will not
> only NOT bring them the happiness they think it will but will, in
> fact, be actively harmful.

Jen: Obsession *was* a major theme in HBP and not all obsessions 
have a rational base. Look at Riddle's fascination with trinkets. 
That turned into an obsession he was willing to murder for in order 
to get specific treasures which held symbolic value for him. Not a 
rational idea to most people! And we have no basis for his 
obsession, it started as a young boy and grew stronger over the 
years until he was putting parts of his soul into these objects, 
almost deifying them. His connection to Hogwarts was the link for 
going after Founder's objects specifically, but the original 
fascination with trinkets? Nothing, zilch, nada on why that started.

To get back on the topic <g>, it might be there's *not* much more of 
an answer to why Snape wanted the DADA position other than being 
attracted to the dark arts. I think the reason Dumbledore finally 
gave him the position in HBP is the important question without an 
answer.

And back to JKR's answer to Fry. Even though I don't always believe 
in my Grey!Snape theory, I have to say JKR's own answer fits best 
with what Lupinlore is proposing here and what Grey!Snape proposes--
Dumbledore was concerned a weakness in Snape, almost an addiction to 
the dark arts, would be his undoing if he took the DADA position. 
Simple and clear.

Jen R.