LID!Snape rides again

[Olivier Fouquet]

No: HPFGUIDX 149600

Lot of Snape discussion here and there and again I find myself in the  
uncomfortable place of the non-theorizer. So what do we read in those  
books. We read that Snape can be unfair, cruel, bitter, that he is no  
stranger to irrational hate. We also discover that he has been a DE,  
thus that he has been part of schemes involving murder and torture on  
a vast scale. We also see him murdering Dumbledore (sidenote to  
Pippin, I accept your theory that Snape did not murder DD, just as I  
would have accepted a pre-PoA theory that Scabber was not a rat, only  
it is for the time being just a theory). Conclusion: he is not a nice  
guy. What does JKR say about him when asked? That he is not a nice  
guy (sometimes I wonder why she is considered manipulative, god do I  
find her straightforward).

What else do we read? That he has tried to save Harry's life on at  
least one unambiguous occasion (and arguably in several others), that  
he has had Dumbledore entirely at his mercy and that he not only did  
not kill him but also saved his life. We read that Dumbledore trusted  
him entirely. What does JKR say about that when asked? That Snape  
told Dumbledore his story and that DD believed him IIRC.

OK. Now I must confess. Where do you guys find room to argue?  
Whatever your theory, be it DDM! OFH! LID! ESE! Vampire! CLV! (the  
last one is Candy Loving Vegetarian Snape, I too sometimes want to  
have my own theory) what exactly do you find mysterious? Take the  
tower moment. If he is ESE! or OFH! of course he kills DD. And if he  
is DDM!? Well he has to kill DD or drop dead and have Dumbledore die  
anyway because someone will finish off. He could have tried to single- 
handedly defeat all the surrounding Death Eaters. That's what Sirius  
would have tried. But in all likelihood he would have failed. In  
fact, it is my opinion that we have no new information about Snape's  
allegiance after HBP.

As far as I can see no-one here argues that Snape is totally evil.  
That would contradict too many facts. Are there really proponent of a  
perfectly good Snape? Acting when he is mean and always doing LV  
deeds on Dumbledore's order? Pippin is probably the closest  
approximation but even her I believe doesn't deny that Snape knocked  
down Flitwick, thereby seriously endangering the students and  
children of Hogwarts (remember that Flitwick is a powerful wizard and  
that witnesses in the battle of Hogwarts say that the Order was  
loosing). So that was egregious (or maybe Pippin thought that it was  
Lupin who really did it?). Is he OFH? Then why would he stop DE  
hurting Harry? Is he LID? Well, then I don't see why JKR would have  
referred to a story he had told Dumbledore. "I have a life-debt to  
Harry" is a short story IMO. Is he a vampire? No, JKR said so. So I  
guess I win, he is most probably Candy Loving Vegetarian Snape.

But this is how it is, you start arguing with theorizers and you end  
up one. So here goes. IMO, Snape confessed the UV to DD and even  
managed to learn what Draco's mission was. After all, DD is not  
remotely surprised in his conversation with Draco on the tower. He  
told Draco he knew he was behind all the fishy things at Hogwarts and  
he seemingly guessed that Draco was trying to introduce DE only  
resorting to "crude and badly judged measure" when he thought his  
plan A would never succeed. So now DD has a dilemma. He knows that  
some day or another, DEs might enter Hogwarts, if not, Draco might  
die and Snape too. That's not something DD likes too much. While he  
is within the walls, nothing too bad can happen, but he has to hunt  
Horcruxes and there is the rub. So he makes an agreement with Snape.  
In case Draco succeeds while I'm away, try to hold on the Death Eater  
long enough so that I can come back and then use me as a magnet to  
distract them from their rampage. My evidence? Thin admittedly, but  
DD does say "Please don't hurt them please, please hurt me instead"  
and then screams "Kill me" when drinking the green potion. Dumbledore  
has always shown the greatest of concern for his student, so why not  
them being "them"? That would also explain why DD insisted on Harry  
only waking up Severus and not speaking to anybody else. In the case  
Draco was acting alone, Snape would then have knocked down Harry and  
Draco would have been sent to a little chat with DD. No harm to any  
student done.

Oh, and on the true allegiance debate? Well, the least I can say is  
that I'm convinced that part of Harry defeating Voldemort will  
include discovering and accepting something good about Snape. I  
believe that for entirely thematic reason. Apart from that, well, his  
true allegiance is to candy and vegetables.

Best regards,
Olivier