Choices/Snape as abuser, SKIP if not interested WAS :Re: CHAPTER

[Jean Lamb]

No: HPFGUIDX 188582

This is how _I_ see Snape. 
 
Let's take Snape's situation as a teenager. First, he seems to have an
abusive home himself, judging by the memory in book 5, the way he's dressed
(or not, as the case may be), and his reactions to things. He is, at least,
neglected at home, and probably does not want to go back to the Muggle
school. At school, he is tormented on a regular basis (Lily is lots of
things during the Worst Memory, but surprised is not one of them). He is,
from _his_ point of view, nearly murdered by Sirus Black via werewolf. The
adminstration apparently never steps in, as Sirius Black is still present at
the school (and in Snape's opinion) allowed a second shot at his victim. (My
son, who is schizophrenic, assaulted someone at school and was suspended for
the rest of the year. His victim was protected, as Snape rather definitely
was not). Despite the Shrieking Shack incident, James Potter feels free to
attack Snape in public, which means he doesn't think he'll be punished for
it (and as we see, he is not--in fact, he begins to gain Lily's affections
because of the 'prank' which may have included being publicly stripped
naked). Lily, in fact, calls Snape 'Snivellus', and does not forgive the M
word. On the other hand, she _does_ forgive James for threatening to hex her
('don't make me hex you, Evans!') which shows that Lily _can_ forgive
insults and threats if they're from the right person. Nobody from the
administration ever interferes with the Marauders, and making Lily and James
Head Girl and Boy show the administration's approval of the couple. Sure,
Lily supposedly tells James not to torment Snivvy--but he (and his friends)
are still able to catch Snape alone without witnesses because they have the
Cloak and the Map. It would be fairly easy to dispose of a body there at
Hogwarts, and I'm sure Snape is well aware of this. He also knows that not a
single teacher will lift a finger to help him. 
 
Then Snape is given 'friendship' by a group in his own house. I very much
doubt that he is told that he going to join a group that will maim, torture
and murder Muggles and others. I believe, in my opinion, that he is
flattered and made much of by this group, and told he is very talented and
should go far. He is likely offered patronage for his future career, and
told that if he joins, they'll walk with him to classes and such to keep the
Marauders from finishing him off. By now, whether rightly or wrongly, Snape
probably suspects that James could get away with murder as long as his body
is disposed of properly. And given that he believes that they nearly did so
in his fifth year, and _did_ get away with stripping his clothes off and
nearly choking him to death with that Scourgify, he may not be wrong. 
 
During the war, by the way, the Ministry is sending people to Azkaban
without trial, torturing prisoners, and giving the Kiss without trial. It is
_not_ immediately apparent who the good guys are at this point. 
 
But with his new friends, he stands a chance of living to escape Hogwarts.
It's not till it's too late that he realizes what he's gotten into, and he
leaves. At grave risk of his life, he spies on the Death Eaters. Instead of
receiving any acclaim for his deeds, he barely escapes Azkaban and is
treated like a house elf by Dumbledore for the rest of his life. He is
virtually a prisoner of either Hogwarts, where he has very few good
memories, or of Spinners' End, which seems like Bleak House, only smaller. 
 
And then he dies, trying with his last breath to tell the son of his
greatest enemy how to defeat Voldemort. Only to be forgotten and despised by
the time of the Epilogue--Harry has to tell his son about his middle name in
a *whisper* and his main instruction to his son is "I won't hate you if you
Sort Slytherin, but here's how to get out of it". At best it's a mixed
message. 
 
Alla, if you honestly think that Snape would abuse a 16 year old child, then
I have no more to say on the subject, because you aren't going to listen to
anything anybody says about him in a positive way anyway. You hate him more
than you do Voldemort or anybody else, and I'm not entirely sure why. 
 
Jean Lamb

Do UPS workers learn Parceltongue?

tlambs1138 at charter.net

excessiveperky at LJ

 

 


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