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

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 184992

Potioncat, responding to the thread in general, but starting with

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/184968

> Alla:
> 
> Why? Who says that to be loyal to Voldemort he has to present 
himself 
> as loner? He can always IMO say later that I was just pretending to 
> be loyal to those people to spy for you my lord. I mean, Lucius 
> Malfoy for example have not decide to behave like Snape and 
„« maintained contacts even with people he despised, did he not?

Potioncat:
The difference between Lucius and Snape is that Lucius is out for 
himself. He doesn't seem to expect LV's return. Lucius's friends are 
likely to be Pureblood extremists any way. He does of course, 
associate with anyone necessary to reach his own goals. We know he's 
at the MoM hobnobbing with the officials. But he doesn't invite them 
to his house. He introduces Narcissa to Fudge at the Quidditch World 
Cup.

It's not that having certain friends would make it harder for Snape 
to convince LV of his loyalty---although it might.--It's more what he 
might have to do to those friends in his pretend service to LV. 

Severus has to keep in mind that he may have to betray a friend in 
order to carry out DD's mission as LV's man. And look at it this way, 
whichever side his friend is on, he might have to betray that friend. 
If he maintains a friendship with his DE friends, he knows that when 
their leader returns, he will be at war with them. If he makes new 
friendships with non-LV supporters, he may have to harm them as he 
pretends to support LV. 

I think he did have a friendship of sorts with the Hogwart's staff.  
That's when we see the conflict. In "Flight of the Prince" he has to 
get himself through a battle between teachers and DEs without hurting 
teachers or students while protecting Draco. "The Sacking of Severus 
Snape:" he has to defend himself against some formidable "former" 
friends without hurting them. DH chapter 1: he has to watch Charity 
die without revealing so much as a flicker of concern. 

He also seems to have continued his friendship with the Malfoys--I 
think--and he has to ignore LV's treatment of them.

I don't think he can get too close to his students. He can't make an 
effort to turn his Supremacist Slytherins and still face LV. I wonder 
if Snape has any guilt over his students who joined LV? And I wonder 
what the Malfoys' opinion of Snape is now that it's all over?

So he has his own emotional state of grief and guilt, combined with a 
limited support system. It isn't much different from the emotional 
state we see with Merope and Tonks.



http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/184970

> Alla:
> 
> No it does not overlook that. It seemed to me that Potioncat was 
> comparing Snape's situation and Sirius' situation and I said that I 
> can see distant similarities in their mindsets. However, I stand by 
> my assertion that Snape's situation was not just *not as bad* as 
„« Sirius, but much better and easier on Snape.

Potioncat:
My point was that Sirius was emotionally damaged in prison. JKR 
herself says so. IMHO Severus was also stunted by his own emotional 
prison. I¡¦m not trying to start a "Sirius this and Severus that" type 
of debate. (Which isn't to say I won't join in <eg>)



Someone posted that Severus wouldn't have gotten over Lily because 
this is JKR writing the story. And that's a very good point. (I'd 
attribute that idea if I could find the post.) Again, he's a male 
version of Merope and Tonks. 

It still seems to me that he had "gotten over" Lily for several 
years. She ended the friendship in 5th year. So there was what--about 
4 years of no relationship? All the while he's involved in activities 
that would harm her. She was actively opposing LV; he was a DE. He 
may have held a warm spot in his heart for Lily, but he wasn't pining 
for her. It was his guilt at her death that rekindled the intense 
emotions.

As to Pippin's posts, all I can say is, "Me too."