Chapter Discussion: Prisoner of Azkaban Ch 19: The Servant of Lord Voldemort

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 190744


> > Pippin:
> > Is Harry's judgement  so poor that he named his son after a very evil person? Do you think young Al will want to change his name?
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Absolutely! I love Harry's character, but this was one of my very strong disagreements with him. I mean, it is all in the degree. I would have thought that it would have been very much appropriate for Harry to acknowledge Snape's contributions to the cause, but to name his son after son was quite creepy for me. I can see how JKR wanted it to be seen as noble act of forgiveness though.
> 

Pippin:
Now that is astonishing.  For me, if Harry did not forgive Snape that would be understandable.   It would also be, well, Snape-ish. So Snape-ish that I can hardly believe-- wait a minute,  who are you and what did you do with the real Alla? <veg>

 Siriusly, if Harry did not forgive Snape,   It would be impossible for me to see it as anything but JKR either approving of Snape's action in not forgiving James,  or else sending Harry down the same tragic path. 

I don't see the naming of Harry's son as an act of forgiveness, though forgiveness was a necessary precursor to it. I see it as Harry acknowledging his personal debt to Dumbeldore and Snape. If he had not done that, if he had only acknowledged their service to the Order, I would see it as doing exactly what Snape did. 

 Snape never  said that James was cowardly or self-serving as an Order member.  It was all about the way that James tormented him at school. Because of that, he was never going to acknowledge  that James had saved his life for any but the most selfish reasons. 

I never thought of this before (see, we do get new ideas around here) but perhaps what Snape would have preferred was not to have died in the tunnel, or conquered the werewolf,  but   to have been rescued by someone who actually gave a $#@! for him as a person -- and who wouldn't embarrass him, of course. Picky, picky, I know. 

And that's the point. We can't be afford to be choosy about our saviors, and Harry was wise enough to see it. Dumbledore and Snape could have left Harry to his fate -- which they saw as certain death without their intervention--but they didn't.  

They didn't have to risk their lives, but they did. 

So what if they didn't do it for him? They did it for the things that Harry loved, for Lily and for Hogwarts, for a world where innocence and trust still have some value. That was enough for Harry. It's enough for me. I can't see them as evil for doing that, even though Snape could not perceive Harry's innocence and Dumbledore took advantage of it. 


As always with JKR, there's a common sense reason to do the right thing along with the noble one.  Harry can hardly ask the leaders of  the wizarding world to turn their backs on old grudges if he's not willing to do it himself. If Snape ever taught Harry anything, it's that carrying a grudge against the dead can only harm the living. 


Pippin