Levels of Wizardry and Snape's style

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 175577

Bart wrote:
> <snip> Even among the OOP, the only reason why Snape seems to be
accepted at all is because he's DD's best friend. 

Carol responds:

Sorry to snip your post, which I thoroughly enjoyed and mostly agreed
with, but I think "best friend" is an exaggeration. DD trusted him,
with good reason, and until Snape reveals his Dark Mark in GoF,
McGonagall and the others have no reason *not* to trust him. He's a
highly competent colleague and DD's right-hand man. But there's a huge
age difference between snape and DD and, even though snape sometimes
questions or stands up to DD, no question who's in charge. (Snape
could, of course, run off and hide somewhere like Karkaroff, but to
his great credit, he doesn't do so.)

I loved what you said about DD's harshness to DE!Snape, in contrast to
the "manners" that he shows the Carrows and even Fenrir Greyback,
reflecting his seeing himself in the young Snape and not liking it.
And we see his attitude changing as Snape earns his trust, even before
the Patronus incident. He becomes more patient, more trusting,
occasionally even praising him or speaking words of affection. The
tears in his eyes when he sees the doe Patronus, followed by complete
trust in Snape to do what no one else can do (kill the dying DD to
save Draco and allow DD a pinless death), and the apprehension on his
face as snape leaves to return to LV in GoF do show, I think, a real
affection and appreciation for him, as does "I am fortunate to have
you, Severus. Very fortunate" when Snape saves him, however
temporarily, from the ring curse.

But DD has never had a best friend, a full equal, since the
Grindelwald disaster. He is, as Aberforth says, used to keeping his
own secrets and sharing them only selectively. (Snape, of course, is
already concealing many of those secrets, along with his own, through
his superb Occlumency. It would be a great burden, and increase his
already grave peril, to tell him about the Horcruxes, too.)

As for the Order, they know what DD know: only Snape could obtain
information about the Dark Lord's plans (see the meeting in OoP where
everyone except Sirius Black surrounds him, chattering excitedly as he
leaves 12 GP). Surely, the information about the plans to seize the
Prophecy orb comes from Snape, just as the information that LV has
ordered Draco to try to kill DD (as an attempt to punish Lucius
Malfoy) comes from Snape (though it's for DD's ears alone). And the
Order probably knows that Snape alone can leak what appears to be
valuable information to LV while "hoodwinking" the Dark Lord through
"superb" Occlumency. No one else can do Snape's job, seeming to spy on
DD while really spying on LV. Even Sirius Black knows that Snape is
risking his life every time he goes near Voldemort. Only the seeming
murder of Dumbledore, related from Harry's limited and biased
perspective, changes their view of him. And somehow, even the password
to the office being "Dumbledore" and his retaining of the core staff
to counter the Carrows can't remove their blindfolds. They see what
they want to see, just as DD did with Sirius Black sixteen years before.

With regard to someone's question of why fly when you can Apparate,
flying came in handy for Snape, who knows quite well that you can't
Apparate on Hogwarts grounds. Too bad neither that superpower nor his
brilliant mind could save him from Nagini.

Carol, agreeing with your characterization of Snape with regard to
both his powers/genius and his teaching philosophy, which does not
suffer fools gladly, or rather, does not suffer fools at all