On the perfection of moral virtues.

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 169010

Julie wrote:
><snip>
> 
> As for Snape, we don't yet know how much personal danger he has
placed himself in throughout the books. Though it is true he certainly
wasn't in any personal danger in PS/SS. That wasn't the point though.
The point was Harry didn't thank Snape for saving him. <snip>

Carol responds:

But Snape *was* in prsonal danger in SS/PS. He was injured by Fluffy
trying to thwart Quirrell and could have been killed. (Exactly why he
entered the corridor at that point has never been clear to me.) And he
was in danger for having saved Harry's life because Voldemort knew he
did it. (And before anyone argues that Hermione saved Harry's life,
she only did so under the mistaken idea that snape was cursing Harry's
broom and by setting fire to his robes, she accidentally caused
Quirrell to lose eye contact with Harry. Had Snape not been performing
the countercurse, there would have been no Harry for her to
accidentally save. If anything, the two of them together saved his life.)

Possibly Snape didn't know or suspect what was in Quirrell's head, but
he's a Legilimens and he also knew that Quirrell hadn't previously
worn a turban. I think "where your loyalties lie" indicates not only
that he knows Quirrell's loyalties don't lie with Dumbledore, he also
has a very clear and accurate idea that Quirrell is trying to steal
the Stone for Voldemort.

Snape was in grave danger from Voldemort whether he knew it or not,
and I think he did know it. He was also in grave danger when he
returned to Voldemort with his prepared cover story (which is how I
read "If you are ready, if you are prepared") for his actions relating
to Quirrell (and reasons for not being in the graveyard).

He also placed himself in grave danger by facing a werewolf about to
transform and a man he thought had betrayed the Potters and murdered
thirteen people in PoA. The danger from the werewolf, at least, was
very real. We don't know *exactly* how much personal danger he's
placed himself in, but we know (unless we choose to read the one
Voldemort believes has left him forever differently than Snape himself
reads it) that as of the end of GoF, he was in danger of being killed
by Voldemort, and only Occlumency and a gift for creating plausible
cover stories saved him. We know that he spied for Dumbledore "at
great personal risk," which surely means the peril of death if
Voldemort found out. He's doing the same thing from the end of GoF
onward, again risking death by sending the Order to the MoM. (I won't
even talk about the risk he's facing now from both sides.)

Carol, assuming DDM!Snape, of course