On the trivial and the profound

[Zara]

No: HPFGUIDX 165471

Eggplant:
> Yes I think it is. There is a simple straightforward explanation for
> all the events that happened on the tower that horrible night, but
> only if you are willing to abandon your perceptions of Snape that 
you
> made before book 6 came out.

zgirnius:
I thought Snape was a cool character with a fascinating backstory as 
a maybe spy based on the first five books, but did not have a strong 
opinion on which side, if any, he favored.

I decided he was a white hat on my first reading of "Spinner's End", 
and nothing else that happened in HBP changed my mind, because I did 
not find the events on the tower at all straightforward. Dumbledore's 
immediate reaction to Snape, and Snape's complete lack of comment to 
Dumbledore, both made no sense to me on an evil Snape scenario.  
(Still don't). Also, the further backstory of Snape we got in the 
book fit what we already know of the man, in my mind. (ie, that he 
reported the prophecy, but was thereafter so remorseful about it that 
he 'returned').

Naturally, Bart may have had different views from mine.

> Eggplant:
> Harry has forgiven Ron so I guess 
> I should too, but what I want to know is, did Ron get that free 
> pass from the same place that Snape did? What do Snape and 
> Ron have in common? 

zgirnius:
In terms of personality, not all that much that I can see. In terms 
of story, there is a certain similarity (looking through DDM! lenses, 
naturally).

Yes, Ron wasn't there when Harry needed him in GoF. But afterwards, 
Ron realized that he was wrong, and Harry forgave him. What has Ron 
done since then? Most notably, in OotP Ron participated in the trip 
to the Ministry, an action which could have resulted in his expulsion 
from school and even his death (he was actually seriously injured),  
in HBP he, at Harry's request, attempted to foil a Death Eater raid 
on the school, again risking his life for Harry, and finally, also in 
HBP, he and Hermione made the decision to accompany Harry on his 
Horcrux quest, again a decision which could have the most serious of 
consequences for Ron. 

Harry might not have known, when he forgave Ron, that Ron would do 
all this in the future - however, perhaps he also remembered a 
certain moment in PoA, which occured short months before the fight. 
(The speaker is Ron, he is addressing Sirius Black, and can barely 
stand because his leg is injured.)

> PoA:
> "If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" he said 
fiercely, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of 
still more color, and he swayed slightly as he spoke.

I would also add, that Harry has not always been a perfect friend to 
Ron, though mention of specific instances seems petty. For example, 
Harry was not at all supportive of Ron when Ron became a Prefect. 
Sure, Harry has bigger fish to fry and the world to save - but that 
sort of one-sidedness is something Ron generally understands and 
accepts in the relationship. I do think he is a wonderful friend to 
Harry.

Anyway, the similarity to DDM!Snape lies in that Snape, too, did 
something horrible in joining the DEs and reporting the Prophecy. 
(Rather more horrible than a month-long spat with a friend....) And 
if Dumbledore is to be believed, he realized that he was wrong, and 
has tried to make amends through his potentially very dangerous role 
as a spy for Dumbledore among the DEs.