Why Snape is my hero, an analysis of "The Prince's Tale"

[Zara]

No: HPFGUIDX 172395

zgirnius:
I absolutely LOVED this book. I am still feeling a bit too emotional 
about it to reread it, but I am looking forward to doing so in the 
near future, and then the series. I was so pleased that, as I 
expected, the Trio and Ginny made it out alive and (relatively) 
unscathed. I loved Molly the dowdy, comic relief housewife, having 
her day. I sobbed for the death of that annoying waste of space, 
Dobby, when he died and was buried by Harry. I was pleasantly 
surprised by the revelation of Dumbledore's dark past. And loved the 
Kreacher subplot.

More than anything, I absolutely cannot get over Snape, his life, 
death, and especially every last, lovely bit of "The Prince's Tale". 
And find myself puzzled over the disappointment of many of my fellow 
DDM!Snape believers with his treatment in the book, what I saw in the 
book was everything I had hoped, and more.

It is true that Snape did not have an epiphany when he realized Lily 
was in danger. I ADORE Rowling for writing it that way! It is so much 
more realistic, to me. And yet, in my opinion, he died one of the 
true heroes of the tale.

I look at the progression of memories Snape gives to Harry starting 
with the first one with Dumbledore, and I see the beginning and 
continuation of a process. Snape went from the young DE with the one 
grace note of his love for his erstwhile best friend, to a person who 
merited Dumbledore's trust and Harry's naming of his son.

That first conversation, in which he admits already having gone to 
Voldemort, is the first step in the process. If he has already gone 
to Voldemort, why is he there? It appears Voldemort did at least 
consider granting the request, since he did ask Lily to step aside. 

Snape must know that Dumbledore will protect not just Lily, and her 
family, even though he is quite honest that he could not care less. 
Further, his demeanor and his own words both reveal that he considers 
it possible that Dumbledore will simply kill him. Finally, even when 
Dumbledore makes it quite clear that of course he will protect the 
Potters, he agress that he will of "Anything" Dumbledore asks to 
obtain that protection. "Anything", so that Lily could live and be 
protected, together with her husband and son. "True love" involves 
care for the well-being of the beloved, and Snape exhibits it here. 
If she *and her family* remain safe, there is nothing in it for him 
except the warm and fuzzy feeling that she is alive and happy. It 
would, of course, be better if he cared also about Harry and James 
and random nameless victims of the Death Eaters, but this is why I 
consider it a first step, not the end.

"Anything" translates, at this point in time, to becoming 
Dumbledore's spy after this conversation, I presume. This based on 
Dumbledore's Pensieve testimony.

Next we have a scene shortly after the Potters are killed. Dumbledore 
confides to Snape that Voldemort will be coming back, and Snape 
agrees to take on the task of helping Dumbledore protect Harry when 
Voldemort does return. He does this because he feels remorse for his 
role in Lily's death. How this is construed as an evil motivation, 
eludes me. Again, it would be *better* if he was equally sorry about 
James (but, frankly, that would strain credulity for me).

We move into the scenes that overlap the series timeline. The 
clincher, for me, is the conversation following the argument in the 
Forest. Dumbledore reveals his plan, and Snape is first horrified 
that it involves the death of Harry.

While my reading of this scene, that Snape actually *does* care that 
Harry will die may seem overly sentimental to some, it is my opinion 
that Dumbledore in that scene shares my view. He asks Snape if it is 
possible he has come to care for Harry, and Snape denies it angrily, 
shooting off the Doe Patronus as `evidence' (it ain't, just because 
he has come to care for Harry as a person does not mean his Patronus 
should change, Harry's is consistently a stag for James. All it means 
is that he loves Lily still). Why would Dumbledore get all teary eyed 
over his convenient obsession with a long-dead woman? Or his true 
love for same, since it is hardly news to Dumbledore at this point? I 
don't think that is it, I think he knows Snape is denying it because 
it is his nature to `hide the best' of himself, not `wear his heart 
on his sleeve', etc.

Also, why does Snape bother to show any more of the memories that we 
see to Harry after the explanation of why Harry must die? The obvious 
answer seems to me to be that it is because he wants to be vindicated 
in Harry's eyes, something that could only matter to him if he cared 
what Harry thought of him. 

There is no reason Harry needs to know that George's ear getting cut 
off was an accident, resulting from Snape's attempt to protect *Remus 
Lupin*, of all people! But Harry would care, of course. That memory 
shows a huge change in Snape from the moment of his `return' over 
Lily's danger. Lupin is not important to the plan. Lupin is a man 
Snape has previously accused of complicity in an attempt to murder 
him. If Snape had done nothing, Dumbledore's portrait would never 
know, noone would ever know, except Snape himself. The action carries 
the risk of exposure, if a fellow DE were to observe and understand 
it. So why does he do it?! I see only one answer, because it has 
become a natural action to him. As he tells Dumbledore, the only 
people he has watched die recently, are those he could not save; and 
Lupin was one he thought he could save, so he made the attempt. (I 
love the irony that Lupin is the one who goes on about Snape's cruel 
use of Sectumsempra after that incident!)

Then we have the memory discussing getting the sword to Harry, in 
which Phineas, reporting on Hermione, refers to her as the Mudblood. 
And Snape calls him on it. The two huge things we could have held 
against Snape at the start of his redemption, his lack of care for 
anyone except Lily and himself, and his allegiance to the pureblood 
ideology, are both shown to be gone. And he is shown to be taking 
risks to help people for whom he has no love.

He dies a very fitting death for a spy, in the shadows, not out in 
battle – keeping hidden his allegiance (and thus the fact that he is 
not and never was, the master of the Elder Wand), and providing Harry 
with vital intelligence as he dies. His final words, "Look at me!" 
have in my view, a double meaning. The obvious meaning several 
posters have described as creepy. But how is Snape's wish to see 
Lily's eyes as he knows he is dying any different from Harry's use of 
the Resurrection Stone to give himself courage as *he* goes to his 
death? The other meaning is an injunction to Harry to look at him, 
and see him as he really is. Which Harry does when he looks at 
Snape's memories.

It would have made little psychological sense for Harry to spend much 
time processing this data right after seeing it, since together with 
the story of Snape's fall and redemption he got the news that he 
himself must die within the hour, a matter which naturally absorbed 
his full attention. (On the other hand, as I was a sobbing weepy mess 
too teary eyed to read for several minutes, I did). But his final 
evaluation, at a later time, I deem to have been similar to mine. 
Nothing else explains his choice to give his younger son, the one who 
inherited his grandmother's green eyes, the middle name "Severus".

--zgirnius, who is convinced that Rowling `howled' after 
finishing "The Prince's Tale"; something I believe we have in common.