Was the eavesdropper unimportant to Harry? WAS: Re: Snape again

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 147059

SSSusan earlier:
> > <snip>  Much seems to be being made of Harry's not pursuing
> > information on the eavesdropper when he first learned of his
> > existence... but to me it makes sense that he *didn't* pursue 
> > it.  DD did not identify the person by name, and I've always 
> > assumed that Harry assumed that this meant it *wasn't anyone he 
> > knew*.  Perhaps not very smart of Harry to make that assumption, 
> > but doesn't it make sense that he did?  He probably figured if 
> > the eavesdropper was someone he knew or someone "important to 
> > the story," that DD would TELL him the name.  He didn't, so 
> > Harry didn't ask.
 
Carol responded:
> Exactly. The eavesdropper was "not important to the story." Not
> significantly guilty, not a criminal on the level of the betrayer
> (PP), not guilty of the murders of the Potters. Only an informer 
> doing his job for LV. If Harry had thought he was important, he 
> would have demanded to know his identity.
> <snip>
> My point is that, to Harry, the unknown eavesdropper was *not* a
> criminal equal in importance to Voldemort himself or to his 
> parents' betrayer, or Harry would have demanded to know his 
> identity (which DD obviously knew). 


SSSusan again:
Well... that's actually not what I meant. ;-)  The point I was 
trying to make was that:  1) I agreed w/ Jen that Harry may have 
been overwhelmed enough in that moment with information that the 
identity of "an eavesdropper" didn't strike him as something he just 
HAD to know; and, even more importantly, 2) that I see his not 
asking for the name as indicative of how much Harry trusted DD.  *I* 
think that Harry believed DD would tell him if he needed to know the 
identity... and that because he trusted DD, when DD did *not* tell 
him, he then assumed the identity wasn't important.

Later, when it came to light who the eavesdropper was, Harry 
probably did a major double-take.  "WHAT?? It was SNAPE? And 
Dumbledore didn't think it was IMPORTANT for me to know that?!?"  
See, I think it was all about trust there, not about how "important" 
or "unimportant" Harry personally felt the role of the eavesdropper 
was.  

I think you're talking about the *role* of the eavesdropper being 
relatively unimportant, whereas I was talking about the perceived 
importance of the *identity* of the eavesdropper for Harry, based 
upon an assumption that if it WERE important, DD would have told it 
to him.  So I don't think that Harry *necessarily* believed the role 
of eavesdropper was unimportant, but that he figured, when DD didn't 
stress the *identity* of the person, that Harry then trusted that it 
was something he should let go because it was somehow not 
relevant/important in DD's mind.  

I think that was a long way of saying that, in my view, it was 
primarily about TRUST of DD for Harry -- that he let the subject 
drop in part because DD didn't stress it.

So, while you may well believe that the role of the eavesdropper is 
less significant than the betrayer or the murderer, I'm not saying 
that myself.  I think it played a KEY role in the unfolding of the 
events at GH.  There still needed to be a betrayer and a murderer 
for thingss to come to fruition, and of course I put the *most* 
importance on the murderer himself, but I would not discount the 
importance of having gotten the whole ball rolling with the 
eavesdropper.

Y'all know I'm a DDM!Snaper, and so I do believe that Snape did 
*something* to try to make up for his terrible faux pas [visit Inish 
Alley for a reference to DRIBBLE SHADOWS as one possibility], and so 
I think Harry overestimates the evilness of Snape, but I do not 
diminish the role Snape played in the murders at GH.  OTOH, I think 
*DD* diminished that role, which was part of the reason he did not 
tell Harry that Snape was the one.  I think DD believed he *had* to 
keep this information from Harry because his goal was for the two of 
them to eventually trust one another enough to work together, and he 
may have feared that what would happen if he told Harry it was Snape 
was exactly what did happen when Harry found out!


Carol:
> It's only Snape, whom Harry is determined to hate, for whom the
> eavesdropper role is given exaggerated significance, greater than 
> that of the betrayer Pettigrew, who now seems to be forgotten, 
> despite the fact that he restored Voldemort's body and killed 
> Cedric Diggory. We don't hear Harry saying, "If I meet Wormtail, 
> so much the worse for him!" And yet, setting aside the death of 
> Dumbledore (which has yet to be fully explained), Wormtail's sins 
> against Harry are much greater than Snape's. 


SSSusan:
Wormtail's sins may be much greater than Snape's in fact, but 
Wormtail's sins may NOT be much greater than Snape's **in Harry's 
perception.**  And, frankly, it's what's in Harry's perception that 
matters in this story.

I'll acknowledge that Harry does not speak much about Pettigrew, and 
that is a little surprising.  He *should* hate him greatly, for his 
role in his parents' deaths and for his assistance in bringing Voldy 
back to human form. I personally think part of that is that PP's not 
someone Harry SEES regularly, as he SEES and has to deal with Snape 
regularly.  (Like something I mentioned in my previous post, that 
Voldy has, 'til now, been harder for Harry to understand and 
imagine, since there has been so little one-on-one interaction 
between them.)

BUT I also think there is another explanation for why Harry 
says, "If I meet Snape, so much the worse for him!" as opposed 
to "If I meet Wormtail, so much the worse for him!"  For one thing, 
PP may have "pulled the trigger" on Cedric, but Voldy was 
RESPONSIBLE for Cedric's death.  AND, in the moment when Harry makes 
this pronouncement about Snape, the murder of his mentor and 
protector DD is *fresh* in his mind.  He SAW it, he's enraged, and 
of course he's got revenge against Snape on his mind.  I don't see 
any reason he should be thinking of vengeance on Wormtail in that 
moment.

I guess the way I see it, Harry probably ranks those he'd like to be 
rid of thusly:  

#1 -- Voldemort, for killing his parents, for ordering the killing 
of Cedric, for wreaking havoc and generally being the Evil Overlord 
causing all the problems;
#2 -- Snape, for killing Dumbledore, for his role in leading Voldy 
to his parents, and for *six years' worth* of snarky, sarcastic, 
sneering, belittling, and occasionally cruel treatment of himself 
and his friends;
#3 -- Wormtail, for leading Voldy to his parents, for his role in 
bringing Voldy back, and for generally doing Voldy's bidding.  At 
*some* level, though, Harry may remember DD's words about how he may 
well someday be grateful that Wormtail is in his (Harry's) debt.  
This may not make him despise Wormtail any less, but it might have 
an influence on the immediacy (or lack thereof) that he feels about 
doing him in.


Siriusly Snapey Susan, who believes Harry *is* wrong about Snape in 
some ways, but who understands why Harry believes what he does.