Why does Snape wants DADA job if it cursed? LONG

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 148918

Sydney:
> So, I think what was meant (trickily!) by the curse 'bringing out the
> worst' in Snape, is not, making him act out their worst qualities as
> you would say, teaching Neville 'brings out the worst' in Snape.
>  It's more by way of a play on words-- the curse 'brings out' into 
> the open, by creating bad luck, the worst secrets that the victim is 
> hiding to maintain his status quo, and destroys them with it.

Jen: I see where our difference is now, so I'm cutting down to the 
core idea here. To me if the DADA curse acts to bring out the worst 
secret a person is hiding, then Snape was outed as a murderer and a 
DE, wasn't he? If that's all it does, then like Lupin showing his 
werewolf side and Crouch his DE side and Lockhart his fraudulent side, 
Snape exposed his secret on the tower. If he was exposed as a double 
agent up there, the rest of the Order missed it and presumably 
Voldemort as well. 

Since I don't believe that idea <g>, I think the DADA curse acts to 
force a person to grapple with their shadow side, a personal weakness 
they hide to *themselves*. Lupin was outed as a werewolf but what led 
to that was his need to be liked & witholding information. Umbridge 
was outed to be pretty evil in sending the dementors and wanting to 
Crucio Harry, but what got her there was a lust for power. Lockhart 
was outed as a fraud, but his pride in general and ego about memory 
charms in particular were his undoing.

As for Snape, my thoughts are a weakness for the dark arts or whatever 
attracted him to Voldemort in the first place was what the curse acted 
on (I'm using weakness instead of addiction here since that's probably 
a better word for it). Not that he was at risk of joining Voldemort, 
but he got ensnared in that world again with the Unbreakable. His 
options became very limited and that's what the dark arts *do* in my 
opinion--exert control and limit options.

Jen R.