Why does Snape wants DADA job if it cursed? LONG

[Neri]

No: HPFGUIDX 148991

> Sydney:
> Sorry-- I'm assuming everyone is following the thread in general, 
not
> conducting successive one-on-one conversations.  Am I mistaking the
> etiquette?
> 

Neri:
In your answer to Lupinlore you made what seemed to me a rather 
unfounded assertion (that is, that the failure of the previous DADA 
teachers would discourage Snape rather than encourage him to apply). 
I waited for Lupinlore's answer and, since he didn't correct you on 
this, I did it myself. I wasn't aware that this was unethical, or 
that I'm allowed to do that only if I support Lupinlore's theory. 
 
> Sydney:
> If V-mort allowed the curse to destroy two of his other minions,
> including 'his most loyal' Barty Jr., why on earth would he help 
Snape
> with it?  Also a little tricky as he was Vapourmort for most of this
> period?  And would Snape imagine that V-mort might get a kick out of
> 'challenging' his servants to defy him and break his spells?  This
> just sounds vanishingly unlikely.
> 

Neri:
This is what I meant by saying that we know next to nothing about the 
DADA jinx. We don't know if Voldy *can* lift it now, and if so, if he 
couldn't lift it while he was Vapor!mort or Baby!mort. We don't know 
if you must be the DADA teacher in order to break it, or if there are 
other clauses. We don't know if Voldy can give his minions 
information about how to avoid it or how to break it. If he can, we 
don't know how much it still depends on the expertise of the minion 
himself. We don't know if Crouch and/or Quirrell tried to avoid the 
jinx and failed, was it because Voldy couldn't or wouldn't help them. 
We can't even be sure if what happened to Quirrell and/or Crouch 
and/or Snape is because of the jinx. It could have happened just as 
easily with no help from the jinx (and I'm assuming it does exist). 
There are so many unknowns here that I'd rather stick to what we do 
know. And I am fairly sure of several things: that Snape wanted and 
applied to the position for 14 years, that he is a Dark Arts expert 
and has been passionate about it since he was a student himself, that 
he'd want to prove that he's better than all the other teachers that 
took the job, and that he wouldn't take it without Voldemort's 
approval. Also, it seems to me rather idiotic, even for Voldy, to 
sacrifice his agent at Hogwarts just to keep his precious DADA jinx 
intact, when he could have easily kept them both by simply ordering 
Snape not to take the DADA position .    

> Sydney:
> <snip> Why are half the threads
> on this board about Snape?  

Neri:
Don't ask *me*. I believe Snape takes much less than half of the 
threads that I start. But funnily it's only my Snape threads that get 
answered. I honestly can't say why this is so, since personally I've 
never found him *that* interesting, and I suspect JKR doesn't either.

> Sydney:
> <snip> Why did Snape want so badly the thing that would
> destroy him in such a dramatic fashion?
> 

Neri:
It seems to me that JKR has made this pretty obvious. Snape has a 
powerful fixation on the Dark Arts. He is obsessed with fame, glory 
and status. This is precisely the kind of motivations that lead to 
dramatic self-destruction, both in stories and in RL.

> Sydney:
> Motivations are really, REALLY important to JKR.  

Neri:
Yep. Motivations and character. This is why my theory regarding the 
DADA jinx is motivation driven and character driven, rather than 
built on clues, of which we have very few in this case. 


Neri