Voldemort's Intentions & Snape's Expectations

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 189827

Mike wrote:
> > I don't know that memorizing a bunch of curses makes Severus a genius. Smart guy I'll grant, and probably powerfully magical; though we really don't get to see him in action other than against kids and that master of showmanship and little else, Gilderoy Lockhart.
> >
> > He did invent his own spells, well, at least Sectumsempra. But at the time of Snape asking LV to save Lily, I don't see LV recognizing anything out of Snape other than he overheard a prophesy and would probably make a good spy.
> 
> Bart:
>      Let's see. A 10 year old having a knowledge of curses on the level of advanced 17 year olds is pretty impressive. Creating methodologies for potions that were easier and more effective than those in the advanced textbook is pretty impressive, too. His occlumancy skills are such that Morty doesn't even know that Snape is hiding his thoughts. And note that, other than Morty, he is the only wizard who managed to learn the "flying without a broomstick" method. Just to name a few things off the top of my head.

Carol responds:
I agree with Bart. I just want to add that in addition to Sectumsempra (and, presumbly, its chantlike countercurse) there are the hexes that Harry so greatly admired in HBP (I can't remember them all, but there's a toenail hex and the mysteriously popular nonverbal spell Levicorpus and its countercurse, Liberacorpus) and the highly useful charm that Hermione, despite knowing who invented it, uses so frequently in DH, Muffliato.

Harry or Ron, not know the identity of the HBP, refers to him as a genius. I think only Dumbledore fully appreciates Snape's brilliance. Unfortunately, he seldom praises him--even though he owes his life to Snape (as do Katie Bell and Draco before the end of HBP).

I agree with Mike that LV probably didn't know the extent of Snape's brilliance and with Bart that he certainly didn't know that Snape was using undetectable Occlumency against him (as illustrated in the first chapter of DH). I can only account for his promise to spare Lily (which, according to JKR, he intended to keep, no doubt because it cost him nothing to keep *her* alive, Harry being the only threat to his "immortality") because he asked the young Snape to name his own reward. Snape must have begun having doubts (and gone to DD out of desperation) somewhat later when he learned that LV intended to go after the Potters. Harry was not yet born (and, if my theory is correct, just barely conceived) when Snape reported the partial prophecy to LV, so, not having any idea that it involved the Potters, LV would not have hesitated to grant such a minor request. (Why not make an unwilling mistress out of a "Muggle" Order member? IMO, that's how he would see it.)

At any rate, he must, I think, have promised Severus that he would spare Lily at a point when he was "merely" killing off Order members one by one, not when he was specifically targeting Harry and his family. I doubt that Snape would go to LV at that point to request his reward. He must have seen the danger that LV might go back on his word and gone to Dumbledore for help.

Admittedly, JRR's time frame is far from clear, but that's the only way the promise to Snape--which LV *had* to have intended to honor for Lily to have that crucial choice that makes possible the Love Magic--makes sense to me.

Carol, wondering how many OWLs Severus earned and thinking it odd that JKR never informed us