Snape and moral courage WAS: Re: The Houses, Finally

[littleleahstill]

No: HPFGUIDX 184673

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "sistermagpie" <> So there's 
definitely a little switcheroo going on here with Snape. 
> He originally agreed to protect Harry's physical life because Lily 
> would want Harry alive and well. This is not the same as 
safeguarding 
> Harry until the best time for him to be killed. The first scenario 
is 
> what Snape takes to be Lily's wishes; the second is Dumbledore's 
> wishes. Snape could have chosen to defy Dumbledore but didn't. 
Would 
> Lily have made the same choice? Quite possibly not. Snape's 
> motivation regarding Harry was originally that Lily would want him 
> personally protected and not that Lily would want Voldemort 
defeated. 
> I mean, of course Lily *did* want Voldemort defeated, but 
Dumbledore 
> is switching around the priorities. Lily would presumably have 
died 
> thinking that Harry's safety was one of her reasons for wanting 
> Voldemort defeated. He changes it Harry's death being a necessary 
> sacrifice for Voldemort's defeat. Dumbledore merely used Lily's 
> desire to protect Harry to suck Snape in and after that replaced 
that 
> with his own agenda.
> 

Leah:  Yes,this is quite right, and I remember being surprised 
in 'The Prince's Tale' when we skipped from "Always" to Snape going 
along with Dumbledore's plan.  I wanted a scene in between looking 
at what Snape was thinking, because the switch didn't make that much 
sense.  I also think a story line in which Snape didn't go along 
with Dumbledore's plan but had to work with Harry to find an 
alternative would have been quite interesting but obviously not what 
JKR wanted to tell us.

The logic gap is why I suggested that Snape had just enough 
information and knowledge of Dumbledore to think the old whatsit was 
up to something, and that Snape had better not interfere in it. That 
way he could still hope that he was still protecting Harry in some 
unknown way.

Equally, he could have just concluded as Pippin said, that saving 
the wizarding world from Voldemort was more important than saving 
Harry's life by eg. changing his memory and sending him off to 
Australia.  Snape got quite a lot of stick after DH for leaving 
Voldemort because of Lily rather than because of any moral epiphany, 
so had he stuck to his task of physically protecting Harry and let 
the rest of the world go hang under Voldemort's rule, I do think he 
would certainly have been accused of lacking moral courage. 

The other thought is that perhaps Horcrux!Harry could not be 
protected except in the short-term.  Voldemort could not die while 
the scar horcrux remained and if he ruled and increased in power, 
perhaps his hold over the scar horcrux would increase.  Even if 
Voldemort were to be disabled in some way, for example by having a 
Dementor suck his own soul piece, it might be that the soul piece in 
Harry would gain in power, (a bit like the power of the diary soul 
over Ginny).  Pure speculation of course, but the Prophecy did say 
that neither could 'live' while the other survived. 

As to Lily's reaction, I rather hope that she would have wanted her 
child to live - suicide cheerleader Lily was very off putting IMO. 

Leah