Snape's baby (was Re: Kneasy / Snape & Lily)

[eloise_herisson]

Catlady:
> By the way, an HPfGU post
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/137926 has
> independently come up with your theory that Snape's reason for 
allying
> with DD is to get revenge on LV for LV having murdered Snape's wife
> and child. This listie uses DD's words while drinking the green goo
> instead of using the Occlumency lesson flashback, and postulates 
that
> the Snape baby was born at the same time as Harry and Neville,
> therefore a possible Prophecy Baby. 

Eloise:

Yeah. That was the one I referenced the other day but didn't quote.

It's not impossible, but I think it's unlikely. Part of it's just a 
gut feeling that it's *wrong*, that although there's clearly more to 
learn about the past, this seems a step too far. I'm certain we'll 
get more about Lily, James and probably almost certainly more about 
Snape in relationship to Lily and James, but I have a feeling we 
won't get much more on Snape individually. Of course I could be 
comptetely wrong as Snape is now taking centre stage in the way that 
some of us always thougt he should. ;-)

Secondly, I believe I'm right in thinking that the part of the 
prophecy which Snape overheard was,

"The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches ... Born 
to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month 
dies ..."

For this to tie in, it means that Snape and his putative wife must 
already already have defied Voldemort three times (for Snape to think 
the prophecy referred to his chld) and that Voldemort must know this 
(for there to be any danger that LV would interpret it that way) in 
which case I'm very surprised that Snape wasn't AK'd on the spot, 
rather than punished for witholding the information by the death of 
his wife and child as the theory suggests. It certainly seems 
foolish, even by Voldemort's Evil Overlord standards to (apparently) 
put so much trust in one whom he knows has already defied him.

If true, it also means (although of course, this is par for the 
course for Kneasy's DD) that Dumbledore was slightly economical with 
the truth in telling Harry about the prophecy, by telling him there 
were only *two* children to whom this prophecy could refer.

OK, there's a get-out clause. If Snape *had* defied LV, but LV didn't 
know it he might worry that his hearing the prophecy would reveal it. 
or again, he might just be paranoid enough to think that LV might 
*think* it was his child despite his loyalty. But that requires 
adding yet another layer of supposition and again begs the question 
of why Snape didn't suffer Regulus' fate. Voldemort wasn't short of 
supporters back then.

The thing that the theory *would* explain is why there was such a 
long interval before action was taken against the Potters. (In fact, 
I'm rather surprised that Voldemort didn't immediately have every 
wizarding July baby he could find killed, just to cover his options.)

Of course, you *could* take the theory even further and suggest that 
Snape *sacrificed* this wife and child to LV in order to save the 
Potters - that might explain JKR's horror at the idea of being the 
object of Snape's affections! But again, that would be tantamount to 
his confessing to having defied him, which seems an unlikely action.

~Eloise