Snape in DH (WAS: Slytherins come back WAS: Re: My Most Annoying ...)

[Zara]

No: HPFGUIDX 180542

> Mike:
> It wasn't so much *with* Slytherin, for me, as it was with Snape 
and 
> even moreso with Draco. I know that JKR was keeping the whole Snape 
> arc a secret from Harry, but it wasn't a secret from her readers 
and 
> she knew it. I wanted more hints than the Hagrid detention for 
> Snape's true leanings, I wanted more scenes with Snape in general. 
> Maybe one of those 'sans Harry' scenes of Hogwarts somewhere in the 
> middle of the book.

zgirnius:
There were more hints. The inability of DEs to get into 12 GP, 
possibly. The business of the fake sword in Snape's office, I 
certainly thought. (It's also the incident of Ginny et. al. breaking 
into the office, but the fakeness of the sword is a separate issue 
from the 'cruel punishment'.) I was nervous from that point on until 
Griphook covered for Harry (and Snape, effectively), that the 
substitution might be discovered, since I favored the idea Snape 
would die as a result of being discovered in his betrayal of 
Voldemort. 

Above all, Chapter 19, "The Silver Doe". That was when I *knew*, 
without a doubt. (George's ear made me wonder for half the book...) 
It had to be him for any number of reasons. 

First, this was Rowling using one of the better proposed solutions to 
the ESE! theorists' objection, "But there is no point to Snape really 
being good because no one will believe it anyway and he will not be 
able to help." It was suggested that an unknown Patronus of a form 
that inspires trust could provide information and aid, and voila, 
there one was, providing aid. 

Also, the caster of the Patronus had access to the real sword. Which 
had been in the Headmaster's office. Yeah, it could have been given 
to someone else before DD's death, which he knew was coming, but then 
why bother with a fake and a will? 

And LOLLIPOPS, most of all. The actual *form* of the helpful mystery 
Patronus. I don't recall anyone suggesting Snape would have a doe 
Patronus, but some sort of pure innocent lovely woodland creature 
(unicorn was popular, IIRC) that symbolized Lily had certainly been 
suggested. A doe did make sense. James's mate, Harry's mom, etc. And 
she (the doe) was *familiar* to Harry. Of course! In the same sense 
that Prongs defended Harry from the Dementors, Lily was present to 
the caster of that Patronus. Harry would recognize her just as he 
recognized James. Had to be Sev.

I also do not think that a scene of Hogwarts in the middle would have 
been used by Rowling to hint that Snape was a good guy. From the 
behavior of the other teachers in "The Sacking of Severus Snape", I 
would imagine such a scene would basically duplicate in function the 
murder of Charity Burbage. We'd get to see Snape seemingly 
indifferent in the face of the Carrows' excesses.

Finally, not all of her readers saw the Snape character arc coming 
correctly. Not even on groups like this one, where we read and reread 
her books and discussed possible hints in her interviews, and so on. 
So her project of making it a shocking revelation near the end of the 
book was not wasted on all her readers. I'm not sure what the 
percentages are, or to what extent age might figure into it, but I 
would bet that fan forums do not give a correct impression on the 
extent to which the Snape arc was obvious to readers. Her own 
interview comments suggest to me that having it be a late surprise 
was her original vision, and the presence of a sizable segment of 
readers for whom it was working seems reason enough to me for her not 
to change plans.