Headmaster for a day (was Prank WAS :Re: CHAPDISC: DH33, The Princ

[montavilla47]

No: HPFGUIDX 184979

> > Potioncat:
> > > His situation wasn't as bad as Sirius's, but it was similar. He
> was  alone, even among others. If the Potters had lived, both Sirius
> and  Severus would have had the chance to actually grow up. Had Lily
> lived,  Severus would have gotten over her.
> > 
> > Montavilla47:
> > I like to think so.  Because, frankly, he could have done
> > *much* better. 
> > 
> > :)
> 
> Pippin:
> It's hardly fair to compare Snape as he might have been to the Lily of
> SWM. Snape at sixteen was no prize either. They were both behaving the
> way Dumbledore says people often behave, IMO, each thinking that what
> they have to say is most important and disregarding everything the
> other person is trying to tell them.

Montavilla47:
Yes, but it's pretty obvious to me that even comparing the Lily-of-then
to the Snape-of-then, she wasn't in love with him--even if she liked
him as a friend.  That's a horrible outlook for a romantic relationship.

Had he gotten beyond her, he might have met someone he loved who 
would appreciate himself for himself.  That would have been much 
better for him, no matter who it was.  

Of course, I'm basing that on a Snape who realized the error of
Voldemort's ways.  Were he still a loyal follower of the Dark Lord,
then I doubt he'd make a good partner for anybody--except a 
fellow Death Eater, which would be far worse than Lily.

So, I'm probably expecting the impossible, since Canonical
Snape would still be a Death Eater if he had gotten over Lily.

It's a paradox. :)

> Pippin:
> Snape had nothing to live for until he agreed to protect Harry. Sirius
> did not want to die, but did not have the will to escape Azkaban until
> he realized that Harry's life depended on it. The physical
> descriptions of the two men, both gaunt, with sickly complexions and
> deadened eyes, hint at the similarities in their situations. 
> 
> Sirius's deterioration at GP hints that even if Snape had lived to be
> reconciled with those who thought he had betrayed them,  he wouldn't
> really have recovered. 

Montavilla47:
But Sirius's deterioration was due to his being stuck in a very 
horrible situation--basically having to go back to live as an unhappy
teenager in his parents' house.  The portrait of his mother treated
him even worse than his real mother would--since she would have
the capacity to change, while the portrait  probably doesn't.  

He was better when he *was* reconciled to those who thought
he had betrayed them, namely Lupin and Harry.  During GoF, 
he seemed capable and fairly happy.  It's when he was forced back
into the place he thought he'd escaped when he was sixteen that
he started to deteriorate.

Interestingly, Snape is also living in the house of his parents.
But he seems more comfortable.  The demons of his childhood
appear to have been exorcized.  And, even if the furniture is 
shabby, he has his books and his wine, and he's not ashamed to
let even the aristocratic Narcissa Malfoy in.  So, while Snape seems
unable to go beyond his school days, he's obviously reconciled 
with his childhood.