Snape as the HBP (Was: CHAPDISC: HBP30, The White Tomb)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 165767

houyhnhnm wrote:
> 
> If Snape is the Half Blood Prince (and I'm still not completely
convinced), then I think his calling himself the Half Blood Prince is
the first indication in the books that the dour, acerbic Man in Black
has a sense of humor, and a self-mocking one at that.  Calling 
himself Half Blood is not renouncing his Muggle heritage.  It is a
constant reminder.  And "Prince" is just a surname.  That is the
difference between them I think.  "Half Blood Prince" is a private
joke.  Tom Riddle's  "Lord Voldemort" is no laughing matter.  

Carol responds:
I agree with your reaction to the nickname (it's not a rejection of
his Half-Blood heritage and not comparable to Lord Voldemort--now if
it were an anagram of "Severus Snape," I'd be worried!). But it's not
*just* a surname; the name "Prince" denotes royalty and works well for
a pun or a self-deprecating joke (cf. the title of the book Harry
glimpses in 12 GP, "Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy"). I
suspect that the Pure-Blood Princes regarded their blood heritage
rather as the Blacks and the Malfoys do, evidence of their natural
superiority to Muggles, Muggleborns, and little Half-Bloods who
besmirch the purity of the family name). I'm speculating here, but
*the* Half-Blood Prince suggests that he's unique, the *only*
Half-Blood in a family of Princes. But it can't be a rejection of his
Muggle heritage or he wouldn't joke about it, even to himself. He'd
pretend that he was a pureblood or just not think about it at all.
(BTW, I don't suppose that all the Purebloods have tapestries or go
around consulting wizarding genealogies, except possibly when they're
looking for a marriage partner. And the Black tapestry goes back seven
hundred years. Who's going to look that far back to see whether the
name Snape is on there or not?)

That asied, I don't understand how anyone could not believe that Snape
is the Half-Blood Prince after reading HBP, which is Snape's book on
two levels. The minor mysteries (who's trying to steal the
Philosopher's Stone, who is releasing the Basilisk/identity of the
Heir of Slytherin, who the real traitor is/Scabbers = Wormtail
revelation, who put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire/Crouch!Moody
revelation, what's hidden in the DoM/meaning of the dreams) are always
solved within a particular volume of the series. In HBP, the minor
mystery is the identity of the Half-Blood Prince, for which we have
clues throughout the book, notably Snape's reaction to Harry's
reputation as a Potions prodigy, and his healing of Scctumsempra, and
his Legilimencing the Potions book into Harry's mind and ordering him
to bring his books, focusing in most detail on the Potions book and
quizzing him over it. He's familiar with Sectumsempra and knows it
didn't come from a library book. There's also the handwriting clue.
The handwriting throughout the books--"This Book is the Property of
the Half-Blood Prince," the Bezoar line, the potions hints, and the
spells, are all in the same cramped handwriting. Given all these
clues, the reader should not be surprised that Snape is the Half-Blood
Prince. He calls himself by that name ("I, the Half-Blood Prince"),
which indicates that he knows full well that Harry has been using
*his* book all year long to earn his false reputation as a Potions
genius. (We already know that *Snape* is a Potions genius--that's been
increasingly evident since Book 1--note especially Lupin's reliance on
Snape for the Wolfbane Potion, which Snape made "perfectly.") Snape
also tells us that the spells are his, which explains his rage at
James for using Levicorpus on him. And just in case we have any
lingering doubts, Hermione confirms for us that 1) Snape is a
Half-Blood and 2) his mother's maiden name was Prince. And what about
the chapter title, "Flight of the Prince"? Surely, that should clinch
the matter?

How, then, could the Half-Blood Prince, whose ancestry, Potions
talents, and DADA talents match Snape's, not be Snape? (I've already
mentioned the irony of Teen!Snape teaching Harry and Harry empathizing
with Teen!Snape, which would be entirely lost if the HBP were anyone
else? To have Snape lying on this point, in the place where the
revelation is supposed to be (a la Fake!Moody as Barty Crouch) would
be *major* misdirection on JKR's part.

Yes, HBP is the first half of a two-part book and the Snape mystery is
not yet solved. we still have to find out why DD trusted him, where
his loyalties truly lie, why he changed sides (assuming that he did),
why he took the UV, and why he killed dumbledore (assuming that it was
a real AK). But in terms of its own minor mystery, HBP is a finished
book. The Soceror's/Philosopher's Stone has been rescued and
destroyed. The Chamber of Secrets has been entered. The Prisoner of
Azkaban has been revealed as loyal to the Potters and to Harry. The
Goblet of Fire has served its purpose and will not be back. The Order
of the Phoenix has been identified (and the noneponymous secret of
that book revealed). The Half-Blood Prince has also been identified,
to Harry's mortification. No further revelation is necessary with
regard to the book. The book is Snape's. The Half-Blood Prince is
young Snape, the Half-Blood grandson of Pure-Blood Princes as I read
it (he's *the* Half-Blood Prince, the one and only.) The spells are
his. There's no reason to believe, based on his reaction to Harry's
supposed Potions ability and his own known potion-making abilities
("even you, Severus" makes him the Charlie Weasley of potion-making,
the absolute best until Harry came along with his supposedly superior
abilities), that the potions are not his, too. And note that the
Prince's Bezoar hint immediately makes Harry think of Snape's first
Potions lesson. (It's a clue, folks!)

Carol, who just does not get this compuslion to discredit Snape,
especially on the part of DDM!Snapers