SEVERUS SNAPE
Who is Severus Snape? What made him the man he is?
What is his future?
Severus Snape one of the most complex and enigmatic characters in the Harry Potter books. Full of surprises. In the very first book by J.K.Rowling we were mistaken into believing that he was the main evil villain who was serving Voldemort. We were full of hatred as we continued reading the chapters, how it was 'he' who cursed Harry on the broom, that it was 'he' who had threatened 'poor' Quirrel about his loyalties. We were all extremely surprised to find out that it wasn't in fact him who was committing evil, but the so-called 'innocent' Professor Quirrel. Snape had in fact been trying to save Harry's life throughout the book.
Many questions arise during the books, which have many different answers. I am posting here most of the more frequent asked ones first, followed by others. Of course the answers are only suggestions, sometimes even guesses but can lead to something. If you have any interesting questions, which could be worth discussing, send them in and I will post them up here with my opinions. If you have any good answers to questions, or want to contradict my suggestions, email me them and I will also have them up here. It's very good when a lot of people take part in discussions as some people can notice small hints which put together, could add up to a missing part of the puzzle.
How is Severus Snape connected with Harry Potter?
What will happen to Severus Snape?
This question has been on many people's mind, including my own. What does the
future hold for the Hogwart's Potions Master?
I have read many good, detailed
reviews with many different opinions on various websites, so I decided to start
a thread to 'sum' them all up. According to me, he is the most interesting
character in Harry Potter. On countless occasions we have been mistaken in
believing that he is the villain in the books.
A popular suggestion is that he will become a sort of sacrifice at the end of
book seven. In other words, at first he is despised by everyone, but then he
does something heroic which takes away his life and proves him as a 'hero'. Many
believe that he will die protecting Harry, hence making him realise that he was
wrong about his teacher.
Some say that, in fact, Harry Potter will die in order to save Snape's life,
making him finally forgive Harry's father. Everything is possible.
Was he possibly the source that warned Dumbledore about James and Lily Potter
being in danger? Maybe.
Are there any chances of him falling in love in the future books?
Daria: Well,
anyone can fall in love, so obviously there could be a
chance. Could it be a new DADA professor? I am pretty sure that the next DADA
will be female, seeing that Professors Quirrel, Moody and Lupin were all male.
Finally, what are the possible futures of other Harry Potter characters?
I think that this is a topic which will be interesting to discuss, as I am
currently re-reading all the Harry Potter books for the eighth time (so I can
stumble upon any clues J.K.Rowling had left.
(Small note: My opinions are expressed under the name'Daria')
Daria: I love the scene with Ron and Harry getting their hopes up about Snape quitting his job, when he is behind them the whole time. I bet he felt slightly bad bout the 'nobody likes him part'... what about all the fans who LOVE him? I couldn't help but laugh at his sarcastic answer... even though I felt sorry for him. Being the cynical man he is, it still must be pretty tough to witness students hoping for his death behind his back.
Norvegica: Knowing myself, I'd say that Snape is unsurprised by the negative attention he gets, and maybe it's a point of pride to be unpleasant. When one is noted for being mean and nothing else, one generally cultivates it in lieu of other social skills. It's like because being a social reject is all one is known for, one might as well be the best social reject one can be.
Of course, he might have moments where he feels bad about not having friends or even people who appreciate him, but he'd justify it by having the opinion that most people are untrustworthy, idiotic dolts who are out to marginalize and dislike him. So he preempts them by disliking them on the spot as a sort of defense.
It's futile for him to get people to like him as he is, so he doesn't try.
Daria: But one thing does mystify me throughout the books - after all the things he had done, doesn't he recieve any spec of gratitude, from anyone? Obviously, I like Harry Potter but one must be a bit blunt to not realise Snape's good deeds, even if they are done in a particularly evil way. It's a bit funny the way Dumbledore treats him, as if drives his patience for a joke, but isn't it a bit risky? Snape could easily switch sides again if he feels that his pride is being stamped on?
Norvegica: First off, since Snape is still a spy against Voldemort, he can't be acknowledged publicly in any way; that would blow his cover wide open. He's not in Azkaban because of Dumbledore's behest and maybe because nobody else was able to implicate him in court. It's clear that the public at large does not know, though the members of the Order of Phoenix do know his previous allegiance.
I don't think that Snape can turn back to Voldemort, because Snape's the sort of person to take personal decisions very seriously. I don't know if it's the moral implications of Voldemort's actions in the first war or if Snape finally realized the flaws in his plans for world domination, but Snape's made his choice and he won't go back even on account of being unappreciated.
He's got precious little to be prideful about anyway. Sure, he returned from Voldemort's camp, but one doesn't walk away lightly. Maybe he is shamed by how he allowed the ideology to blind him. If so, and with his intelligence, it is more a blow to his pride that he got conned by a madman than get called "my boy" by Dumbledore.
That is the angle on which his pride would hinge, I think. I don't think the moral implications of genocide weigh that much in the decision making, since he used the epithet "mudblood" in his memory.
One person of my acquaintance said of me, "You may be sarcastic and mean, you may even attack the people who make you angry. And you do. But I think there are even lines you won't cross; you've got a strong personal code holding you back. You just happen to have lower standards when it comes to what you allow yourself to not do."
Snape's got limits.
There are other factors at work, I think. There's the wizard's debt between him and James Potter, which James can't collect on because he's dead, so it goes to Harry. Snape can't waive this obligation, even though he despises Harry.
Dumbledore in comparision is a better person to answer to, unlike the homicidal and meglomaniac that is Voldemort, though neither can be trusted by Snape. Snape is intelligent enough to be aware that he's being used by Dumbledore; he puts himself in harm's way spying for the Order. He's too useful for Dumbledore to completely dismiss.
Voldemort gaining complete power will mean little gain personally to Snape, if he operates on that selfish level that seems characteristic of Slytherin. James and Sirius are already dead. Remus would probably be executed, but that pales in comparision to the satisfaction he gets from first two deaths. He would have to put up with Peter's presence within Voldemort's ranks. On that note, dealing with Remus would be better.
He might get some power under such a regime, but then he would have to continously watch his back when it came to the Malfoys, the both of them, and any other Slytherin out for power.
He has nothing personal against muggles, which is something, since all his vitriol is reserved for personal reasons, like the Marauders. With his personality, if they leave one alone, you leave them alone. Wholesale killing is not to his taste, unlike Macnair.
All in all, it's a scenario of kissing up to an insane man who might just kill you just because he got too paranoid. As evidenced by what Hitler did to many of his personnel. Dumbledore might grind his nerves by being eccentric and making him do things he emphatically doesn't want to do, like stand Harry's presence and try to teach occulumency at the same time, or even dismissing him, like the time-turner episode with Black's escape, but Dumbledore certainly wouldn't kill him for insubordination.
On consideration, then, he won't change sides because Voldemort is insane, he's too smart to swallow a radical ideology that involves genocide again, he's got a debt to pay, muggles haven't tormented him like the now dead James and Sirius, and he only really has to worry about Mad Eye out of his colleages in the Order being eager to get him out of the way, unlike the unknown quantity of the Deatheaters in a regime of Slytherin power games.
jordanz: Severus Snape is complicated. I think he will live and prove himself.
Daria:Yes, he definitely is. I think that his future can have a million different
endings. Maybe the last chapter in book seven would sound like this:
He rubbed his eyes and lowered his quill, gently observing the text on the
parchment, before dipping his quill into the ink bottle and writing 'The End'
slowly and carefully, as if weighing out each letter.
He smiled sadly to
himself, shaking his head slightly as he glanced out of the window. His two sons
and daughter were happily playing in the garden, running around and laughing.
"Are you coming, dear?" A woman in a light, white dress stepped into the dark
room and planted a kiss on her husband's cheek.
"Yes, yes. I think I finally finished it... Now the world know the true story
about The-Boy-Who-Lived and saved us all. Pity he isn't with us anymore... it
would have been interesting to hear his opinion concerning this book."
The woman smiled quietly and took his hand, leading him outside into the bright
sun.
A warm breeze flew in through the opened window, ruffling the curtains and
turning the pages of [I]Harry Potter - Biography and What Really Happened[/I],
and stopped at the page where it was written in bold letters [B]Author -
Severus Snape, Order of Merlin First Class and Potions Master at Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[/B]'
****
That was one of my cheesy ideas about the seventh book...
the_verb: It's a nice ending, but I have a sinking suspicion that Severus Snape will never have a very nice ending. Whether he wants one or not-- because, while it's infinitely possible that he saves the Order of the Phoenix, that fact that he was a Death Eater (and nominally still is) will still weigh heavily upon him in the wizarding world...
... and then there's always the possibility that he'll betray them all. Rowling's funny like that. You'll never know what she's planning 'til she pulls it out of her hat.
Mae Noelle: Aha... I'm torn between a nice, sad, bitter ending for dear Severus, and a nice, big fat cheesy one that'll tear me to peices. (I won't outwardly like anything that is... grr... sweet or happy (I deteste happy endings) but inside I'll feel nice and fluffy, and consoled on the matter).
Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure it won't be a happy ending. ... and you didn't mention the possibility that Snape might not end up on the good side at all! I'm thinking that Ron's going to be saying, 'Maybe it's SNAPE!' every five seconds, and everyone else say, 'Snape is GOOD' every other five seconds, and then near the end of the book it actually BE Snape. It's almost like JKR's lulling us into a false sense of security concerning Snape, with all the 'Snape is GOOD' remarks being forced into our heads... I mean, I hope Snape's not evil, and that he's not raping and pillaging with the rest of the death eaters (and never did), but I've found with JKR every time I try to rationalize it seems she goes out of her way to stir it all up, ahaha.
quote:
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... and then there's always the possibility that he'll betray them all. Rowling's funny like that. You'll never know what she's planning 'til she pulls it out of her hat.
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Ditto, the_verb... who KNOWS what'll happen...
Woo... I could go on this subject for hours! Snape's, in my opinion as well, the best character of them all, on every possible level. ^^
Daria: That could also be true. Actually J.K.Rowling has mentioned several times in her
interviews to look out for old Snape, so some betrayal should be expected.
Maybe, let's say, Snape would turn to the other side in book six and just before
the end, sacrifice himself (just a cheesy example) for the good side. He could
also switch sides just before the Good Side wins... which would be a bit
unthoughtful, and as we know Snape wouldn't do anything unless he had thought it
all out first.
Reply to Mae Noelle,
---------------------------------------------
Quote: It's almost like JKR's lulling us into a false sense of security
concerning Snape, with all the 'Snape is GOOD' remarks being forced into our
heads...
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Yes, but that might only seem true to immersed Snape fans who desire that he is
a good guy, telling themselves every second that Snape is on the good side (I
bet that if Snape was slowly killing an innocent victim in book seven, some
people would be telling themselves that it's the victim's fault, lol), and then
maybe
noticing their consistent reaction to any evil-seem-to-be action of Snape,
concluding that J.K.Rowling wants those judgements to be aroused.
You must think more from another's perspective as well; for example, before I
saw Snape on the screen, I used to despise him even after I read book 4 for the
fourth time, totally agreeing with Ron, thinking that Dumbledore is very
eccentric to have employed a so-called-former-death-eater. Whenever we had any
discussions about Harry Potter with my friends, we would always complain about
Snape. Of course, after I saw Alan Rickman, my image of Snape changed completely
and I re-read the whole Harry Potter series, paying more attention to details.
Only then, did I realise that Snape, no matter what he said, is in fact on the
Good Side.
Concerning him changing sides... that could definitely be argued. Any mention of
his past, makes him wince and clutch his forearm, which according to me is proof
of deep regret and discomfort. Of course, his views on what's good and bad could
always change radically in the future.
Will there be any slash pairings in the future books?
Daria: Oddly enough, there are more slash fans than there are straight fans. My answer is no - I doubt there will be.
I would like to slip in my comment about slash.
First of all, some time ago it was considered a 'unique' thing, and therefore extremely angsty. Most fanfics were straight, and when slash ones came out, people began to read them and write their own. At one point, they were worth looking at, since they were considered a 'rare' and 'new' thing. But now... *sigh* it's rarer to find a straight relationship, which is a pretty major turn off for slash. I am not homophobic but I prefer straight lemons (perveted smile ).
Oh yeah, one more thing. I don't think that J.K.Rowling will make any slash relationships in the books. I am not saying this as an offence, because I don't want anyone to be affronted by my opinion, but if she did, it would mean that her books would have to have a rating. She is a children's author, so I am sure she will try to avoid things which could risk it's 'universal' rating. Many parents would also get angered by slash content and could arouse quite a lot of commotion.
I would like to mention one more thing about slash.
Look, guys can love each other as brothers or friends, they don't necessarily have to be gay to love each other. Yes, I like to imagine that Snape likes Lupin and vice versa, but that doesn't mean they need to start a relationship to prove their love. I mean, they are many other ways of expressing their feelings, withought being 'together'.
Many people who wish for them to be friends, are mistaken into believing that they want them to be in love and have a relationship. So one should think about the ship before becoming a member to one.
This is just my opinion, I am not trying to flame anyone else!
