This entry will be a bit more informal than my other essays, because I really couldn't decide how Snape's fellow teachers and Order members felt about him--which was why I suggested it as a topic, because I was curious about what the rest of you think.
I thought it was rather sad that, after the initial shock wore off, not one person among his colleagues seemed to doubt Snape's guilt at the end of HBP. Admittedly, the evidence certainly seems damning, since Harry personally witnessed Snape casting a Killing Curse on Dumbledore, and they have the body to prove it. On the other hand, remember that Sirius was "witnessed" murdering Pettigrew and numerous innocent Muggles, and it turned out that he had been framed. Shouldn't someone--perhaps Lupin, remembering how his friend was falsely imprisoned--at least consider the possibility that Snape had been framed? Did no one suspect (as most of us did) that Dumbledore arranged his own death? Of course, that may be expecting too much from them, since they believe Dumbledore to be a wise and good man, and they probably can't imagine that a good man would ask a friend to murder him. But did no one consider the possibility that Snape was faced with the choice of blowing his cover as a Death Eater or killing Dumbledore, and chose to keep his cover? They wouldn't necessarily have to approve of his choice, but even the mere thought of it never seems to cross their minds. But perhaps it never occurs to them because they would never consider doing such a thing themselves, no matter how crucial it was to the war.
Anyway, since they seemed to have little trouble believing in Snape's guilt, I wondered if they had disliked and/or been suspicious of Snape all along. It seemed sad to me that Snape didn't have at least one friend who believed in him, no matter how damning the evidence.
However, L, Oryx, and
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terri_testing make excellent arguments on the original challenge post that there is no evidence that the other teachers are distrustful of Snape before Dumbledore's death, and that they seem to accord him the trust and respect due a fellow teacher--which I find reassuring. But I wonder, did he have any actual friends among them? We don't see a great deal of his interaction with the other teachers from Harry's POV, but I get the impression that he was a little distant from everyone but Dumbledore. That would partly be of necessity, since as a spy, he would have many secrets that he could not share with even a close friend, and that would create a distance in and of itself.
It's completely fanon, but I like to picture Sinistra as a former Slytherin, and imagine that, although they aren't close friends, she and Snape occasionally share a glass of brandy and talk about their students, or some interesting research article they've come across, or Quidditch, or what have you.
In the original challenge post, Oryx pointed out that Snape and Filch are seen associating with each other, and that Snape goes to him to have his wound bandaged after Fluffy bites him, and that he freely discusses Fluffy with Filch. Certainly there's a level of trust there, and perhaps Filch admires, or at least respects Snape as a strict teacher who won't be soft on the students. That doesn't necessarily mean that they're friends, but if they were, that would be quite interesting--the former Death Eater befriending the Squib. But in a way, they are both outsiders--Filch being a Squib, of course, and Snape being a half-blood of poor origins, who had tried to fit in amongst the wealthy purebloods. Maybe there was an unspoken sense of understanding between them.
And how did Snape's colleagues feel when they found out the truth? I certainly hope that they felt very guilty, although that's rather cold comfort, considering that Snape is dead and no longer able to accept their apologies. (Which is why I prefer fanfic where Snape survives over canon! ^_^) Perhaps, although it's not quite the same thing, they apologized to his portrait? And I think that McGonagall in particular would have a few choice words to say to Dumbledore's portrait about sacrificing both Harry and Snape. Or at least, I hope she would!
And I can picture Slughorn doing a little revisionist history and saying that he knew all along "that Severus was on our side"!
McGonagall, for example,I think never trusted him,because in the end of HPB she says something like...(Dumbledore)"didn't want to hear a word against him".That means there must have been loads of "words against him".
As for McGonagall...she could be speaking of other people's "words against him," but then again, maybe she did have her suspicions. Or maybe she was suspicious at first, but put her faith in Dumbledore's trust, and was reminded of those old suspicions when Snape apparently turned traitor.
Which reminds me of a point I meant to make, and then forgot about, because I was rushing to post the essay by the end of the month. Hagrid tells Harry that the "bad" witches and wizards come from Slytherin, but later dismisses Harry's suspicions about Snape, the Head of Slytherin. I forget his exact words, but his reasoning seems to be: Dumbledore trusts Snape, so he must be okay. So his faith is more in Dumbledore than in Snape, and I suspect that it's the same for most of the other teachers and Order members as well.
I would think that initially he was very slow to warm up to those who had taught him, those who were around while he was being tormented by the Marauders and did not come to his aid. Yet the teacher he is most openly affectionate with is McGonagall. Did he convince himself she did not know? Did he believe that James and Sirius were so good at hiding their misdeeds from her and appearing as heroes?
I can imagine he had an easier time with teachers who had taught him but not the Marauders. I don't any of them but possibly Remus taking Arithmancy or Ancient Runes, but I can see Severus taking those subjects and enjoying the intellectual challenge. So I can imagine Vector and the unnamed teacher of Ancient Runes as colleagues whose company Severus would like.
OTOH he would keep his distance from Trelawney. She is a reminder of the prophecy and how everything went wrong.
Quirrell is described as a young man, likely younger than Severus. Since he knew of the rivalry between Severus and the Marauders he probably was at school during some of those years, but his younger age meant he wouldn't have been in position to be of help to Severus, so there wouldn't have been resentment over that. We do not know what House Quirrell had been in, though I imagine him as a Ravenclaw, thinking about morality as an abstraction and thus falling for Voldemort's amorality by intellectual persuasion. I wonder if before Quirrell's Sabbatical the two of them were friends? Was Severus one of the first to suspect there was more than a misadventure with a vampire behind his personality change?
What did Severus think of Slughorn? Of course the only years they both taught were HBP and DH, and in HBP Severus was already under the stress of Dumbledore's plans for him. Did Severus appreciate having (yet?) another Slytherin around? Did he feel his old Head of House had let him down during his days as a student by not supporting him enough, or perhaps by letting former favorite students like Lucius Malfoy and perhaps Bellatrix Black-Lestrange access to younger people whom they ended up recruiting to Voldemort's service?
(And how come I haven't yet seen anyone shipping Severus Snape with Charity Burbage?)
- Oryx
Oh, very good point--I didn't even think about that, although it should be obvious! Perhaps he liked McGonagall because she had treated him well as a teacher--she is described as being "strict but fair" (admittedly, from the biased point of the Gryffindors), and Snape appears to have been a clever and hardworking student, so she might have praised and encouraged him in class. (Which would probably only further motivate James and Sirius to pick on Snape, unfortunately.) So I think he may have convinced himself that the Marauders managed to hide the worst of their misdeeds from her, and she saw only the harmless pranks. After all, they managed to fool nearly everyone else, including Lily.
I also hadn't thought about the fact that most of the teachers are older than Snape, and had been there since he was a boy. So there would be some distance between them, a generational gap I suppose, even if they did respect each other. If he did have a good friend among the teachers, it would be more likely, as you suggest, that it was someone closer to his own age.
As for Charity, I'm a slasher, so the thought never even crossed my mind! ;-) But considering that he already has one tragic not-quite-romance where the woman he loved died because of his actions, I'd hate to put him through the misery of being unable to prevent the murder of his second love. Still, I'm sure there must be some Severus/Charity fics out there somewhere.
Yet, in POA, Minerva's description of Sirius (in the 3Broomsticks) implies that she did not see the Marauders as 'harmless' pranksters exactly - at least not while they were still at Hogswart. She specifically refers to them as leaders of their little 'gang' and as 'troublemakers'
Then again, she also seems to be susceptible to lies from her charges (witness Hermione's lie about the troll in the bathroom - no sense at all that Minerva didn't believe her wholeheartedly)
So, I think it possible that whenever Minerva actually 'caught' the Marauders 'red-handed', she meted out relatively strict punishment to them. Punishment that they probably blamed on their victim (Snape?). But that her view of justice was that there must be solid 'proof', meanwhile they were also probably very good at lying shamelessly to her face. If she didn't recognize it in Hermione in her first year, then I feel sure James and Sirius were capable of fooling her on several occasions.
Then we have Albus. Whether he had a close relationship with the Marauder boys is totally unknown. But we do see him over-ride suggestions for punishment (bk2 when Harry and Ron make their crash entrance). He seems to rely more on letting the perpetrators understand exactly how 'disappointed' he is in them, than in actual punishment.
So, I think it possible that Snape may have accepted Minerva as friendly, even if he thought she should have punished the Marauders more.
I also think Snape's seeming friendship with Minerva was firmly rooted in a teasing over their House Rivalry and that it might have a bit to do with the fact that when we first meet them, Slytherin has won the House Cup for the past 6 or 7 years straight. Snape might just have felt more disposed towards the friendly banter because he had been the winner for so long -- Hwyla
Minerva's opinion of the Marauders
This from the woman who may have been at school with Tom Riddle. Minerva was NOT a fan of James Potter; either she was too junior to interfere with their games, or if she was head of house, Dumbledore probably interceded on the boys' behalf. Or she simply couldn't figure out what to do to stop them. They were punished plenty, acto Filch's files--but never in ways that had an effect on their behavior.
But overall Severus doesn't bear grudges as much as, perhaps, he ought to about the older staff. I'd say Dumbledore bore quite a lot of responsibility for letting those little proto-torturers go unchecked, and Severus was devoted to Dumbles.
Or maybe---when I started working in therapy on the abuse I suffered as a child, it was a long time before I got around to being angry about the other adults who stood by and let it happen. It was even a while before I could be angry at those I had specifically asked to help who had failed me.
Severus has never had therapy, and I doubt anyone, ever, has given him reason to think along the lines that he deserved to have been protected from abuse. And how much can he really afford to be angry at Dumbles or Minerva, or even Sluggy, for failing him when he was a child?
As to Sluggy--the only time we saw them together, Severus was remarkably tolerant of Sluggy's drunken affection. And Sluggy clearly holds Severus in respect for his abilities. On the other hand, Snape didn't budge an inch when Sluggy tried to get him to go lightly on Draco's gatecrashing. He's Draco's Head of House, and he'll decide. Echoes of Lockhart offering to brew the restorative potion! But Severus is "curt" here, not "icy:" which given the stress he's under (this is his first chance ALL TERM to drag Draco off in private to find out what the fool boy's plans are) must indicate, I think, some underlying warmth for Sluggy.
Re: Minerva's opinion of the Marauders
Once the reign of terror began, who would want to support Severus? Those that might have a clue to his position as protector, they would not want to risk exposing Severus' true motives with all the DEs and spies in the school. Those that felt him a traitor would try to undermine him. Not an enviable position for Severus in any case.
The only intimate relationship with a colleague that is revealed in DH is the one with Charity, and that took place before the school year began. I think that since it was widely known that Severus had the dark mark and that Dumbledore was instrumental in getting him out of Azkaban, that the Dumbledore cache was enough for most to at least tolerate him in the school. Once Dumbledore was dead, all support was firmly withdrawn.
I really wish that we had more information about Hogwarts during that year, but what I infer from Severus' expulsion was that any friendships that he might have made before his return as Headmaster were not continued. I believe that the escalation of violence from the DE teachers was coming to a head, and with the "Chosen One" returning to Hogwarts, it was a signal to begin the revolt.
I am sure that many of his colleagues had some guilt about doubting Severus' true motives after Dumbledore's death, but since he was at the helm during that terrifying year, I am sure that they could justify the feeling of betrayal, and in the long run, nobody really cared to remember how much Severus had done to protect them all.
I think that only Remus and Kingsley may have had an inkling that Severus was trying to complete the task set by Dumbledore, but they certainly had their hands full that year. I cannot imagine that any of the teachers were allowed to leave Hogwarts that year, and any of the Order members outside of the school would be only hearing rumors. That isolation did no one any good, least of all Severus.
Here's my take on it, using as many canon pointers as possible:
Dumbledore:
This is one of the most fascinating dynamics that I've seen. Dumbledore appears to reach out to Snape more than anyone else and tries to include him in events (grabbing desert after Harry and Co are taken to McGonagall, pulling a cracker with him during Christmas break one year, etc). He also seems to understand Snape's feelings and motivations more than others. When Snape flies into a rage at the end of PoA, Dumbledore explains that Snape has suffered a great dissapointment. In turn, Snape defends Dumbledore, sticking up for him when Harry's name is pulled from the Goblet of Fire.
Until the end of DH, I thought that Dumbledore was one of the people who Snape was closest to and possibly cared for him the most. DH showed the callousness with which Snape was treated. This must be one convoluted relationship.
McGonagall:
There's not much to go on, but these two do seem to have a sort of friendly rivalry. At one point, she says to Harry that she wants him to win a match - something about how she's become used to seeing the cup on her mantle, and if Snape wins he will be insufferable. Snape also greets her rather cordially when she returns from Saint Mungo's. There was probably some initial awkwardness due to the former student/teacher relationship, and the poorly-addressed Marauder situation. However, like Severus, Minerva is not one to suffer fools gladly. Both seem to be strict disciplinarians.
Filch:
Snape seems to get along well with Filch. As mentioned, Filch helps to bandage Snape's leg. Both seem to enjoy catching rulebreakers.
Hagrid:
I don't recall much direct interaction with Hagrid and Snape. As the original post mentions, Hagrid disparages Slytherin House, but sticks up for Snape because Dumbledore believes in him.
Burbage:
I don't recall any interaction between them, until her capture by the Death Eaters. Her pleas to Severus for help might not indicate a close relationship - she might just be appealing to him because they both worked together and have a casual working relationship.
I actually did see a Snape/Burbage romance fic somewhere, but I can't recall where.
Flitwick:
No direct interaction that I can recall, except during the duel at the end. Both seem to be strong duelists.
Slughorn:
There is very little direct interaction, but I think I can read a lot between the lines. Slughorn favors those who show promise, including Mugglebors and students from other houses. This would seem to be a good idea, but I wonder if he did so to the detriment to his House. While he was busy favoring those like Lily, others such as Malfoy and most of the Slytherins in Snape's class were being seduced by Voldemort. Snape clearly needed a Head of House to intercede on his behalf. Since the pants incident apparently happened AFTER the werewolf incident, several people (notably Slughorn) dropped the ball.
Slughorn showed obvious favoritism to Harry, including trying to get him out of Snape's detention. He also let Harry and Ron join his class with only A's (though his overall standards may have been lower than Snape's). I am really curious if Snape was originally part of the Slug Club. Snape was definitely talented, but lacked connections or social graces. Snape did appear at Slughorn's party (probably under duress), so who knows?
I'm wondering if Slughorn tried to interfere with Snape's Head of House duties. Other than the Harry detention incident, I didn't see a lot of evidence. Snape might appreciate having a fellow Slytherin and Potions master around, but he might also feel threatened.
No direct interaction that I can recall, except during the duel at the end. Both seem to be strong duelists.
Slughorn:
There is very little direct interaction, but I think I can read a lot between the lines. Slughorn favors those who show promise, including Mugglebors and students from other houses. This would seem to be a good idea, but I wonder if he did so to the detriment to his House. While he was busy favoring those like Lily, others such as Malfoy and most of the Slytherins in Snape's class were being seduced by Voldemort. Snape clearly needed a Head of House to intercede on his behalf. Since the pants incident apparently happened AFTER the werewolf incident, several people (notably Slughorn) dropped the ball.
Slughorn showed obvious favoritism to Harry, including trying to get him out of Snape's detention. He also let Harry and Ron join his class with only A's (though his overall standards may have been lower than Snape's). I am really curious if Snape was originally part of the Slug Club. Snape was definitely talented, but lacked connections or social graces. Snape did appear at Slughorn's party (probably under duress), so who knows?
I'm wondering if Slughorn tried to interfere with Snape's Head of House duties. Other than the Harry detention incident, I didn't see a lot of evidence. Snape might appreciate having a fellow Slytherin and Potions master around, but he might also feel threatened.
Lupin:
Definitely an antagonistic relationship, at least from Snape's end. I do believe that Lupin neither likes nor dislikes Snape. However, there was one scene that really stood out. Lupin coached Neville on turning his bogart!Snape into a cross-dresser. I imagine that it was intended to alleviate Longbottom's anxiety, but it also turned Snape into a laughingstock. There should have been a better way to accomplish this without trying to undermine Snape's authority and reputation.
Quirrell:
When I look back upon the books, it strikes me that Quirrell had more observable interaction with Snape than many of the other professors. Snape appears to get along with Quirrell, talking with him during the feast. Later, he pressures Quirrell to give him information and to choose his loyalties, so this adds an element of bullying. In DH, we find that Snape is keeping an eye on Quirrell at Dumbledore's request.
In all, I believe that the professors initially accepted Snape only on Dumbledore's good word. Eventually, Snape carved himself a niche in the Hogwarts faculty - he is a taciturn man and difficult to get along with, but at least a few of the professors seemed to accept him on his own terms. I don't blame them for thinking that the murder and defection was genuine, since it was spectacularly executed. I believe that their doubts of Snape's loyalty were due to supposed 20/20 hindsight vision. Snape let his actions be deliberately vague. So vague, in fact, that Harry's testimony might still not be enough to sway public opinion. However, I do hope that those who worked closely with him will know the true value of his contributions.
Dumbledore: Now that we know what Lily's death meant to Severus, I can't agree that Dumbledore interpreted Severus' flipping out in the hospital wing correctly. Either he misunderstood, or more likely, was being deliberately patronizing and belittling. Severus wasn't just disappointed that he lost his Order of Merlin. He was hurt very deeply that Sirius was believed over him (not just by the kids but by Dumbledore too), and the man he still believed at that point to have been Lily's betrayer was given aid to escape. OOTP again proved that Dumbledore totally misunderstood or belittled Severus' feelings, when he forced him to teach Harry Occlumency, despite the way such a subject was likely to bring up unresolved past hurts and despite the danger of exposing Severus' secrets to Voldemort and just leaving the two of them to work it out, knowing the history between the two of them and Harry's attitude.
Filch: I find it noteworthy that in HBP Severus does not use Filch's assistance. I think Filch's support of Umbridge put an end to their relationship.
Remus: The relationship was antagonistic both ways, but while Severus is openly antagonistic, Remus plays passive-aggressive. Look at the scene where Harry sees Severus bringing Remus the Wolfsbane Potion, and read it with the knowledge that once Severus was within reach of the transformed Remus. Severus wants assurance that Remus will be safe, but Remus refuses to drink the potion in front of Severus. I think it took Remus a few years to get to the point where he neither liked nor disliked Severus (and the change may have come because Remus was feeling lost after Sirius' death). But antagonism aside, Severus went against Dumbledore's orders and risked his cover in attempt to save Remus.
I also suspect that Lupin's outward politeness to Snape, including always calling him by his first name, is a form of passive-aggressiveness, and he knows that it probably gets on Snape's nerves more than if Lupin was rude to him.
Of course, I'm a Snupin shipper, so I like to imagine that Lupin has real respect for Snape, and feels more than just "neither like nor dislike". ^_^ Well, I do think that he sincerely respects Snape's abilities as a potion-brewer, if nothing else, and he probably respects Snape's abilities as a spy, and understands how difficult a job that is, given how much he dislikes his own role in spying on the werewolves. But their past history obviously makes even a friendship difficult, let alone a romantic relationship. *sigh*
I don't know how Severus would have taken such an attempt. I think he would have been willing if he saw a sign that Remus became a more responsible person.
- Oryx
Altho' I would put the passive-aggressive bit down as the conversation with Snape over the Map.
I think one more thing one must remember about the scene where Snape brings in Remus' potion is not just that Snape has seen Remus transformed, but he has also known Fenrir (and his werewolf associates) and seen them act with the Death Eaters. This is not just fear of werewolf Remus. But fear for Harry, who he finds sitting alone with Remus having tea.
I've now lost the quote, but Remus says that he once felt bad for Fenrir - I tend to believe that the years have made Fenrir MUCH more vicious - his maiming of Bill was apparently an unheard of action before in the first war - so I think Fenrir once also had a 'friendly face' - one used to bring the little kids close to him (a kind of similarity to pedophiles)
So, I think Snape sees the 'tea' as Remus making inroads with Harry - becoming his friend SPECIFICALLY to lure Harry to Sirius Black (supposed Death-Eater) -- Hwyla
Regarding Dumbledore pre-DH, I also thought he cared about Snape, although maybe his actions and understanding of Snape were sometimes flawed--not understanding how difficult it would be for Snape to teach Harry Occlumency, for example. But when he had his talk with Harry, he blamed himself rather than Snape, which I assumed was a sign of caring and remorse. But in DH, it seems like he cares about Snape only as a pawn in his grand plan. But then why he does he take the blame for the failed Occlumency lessons? To give the appearance, if not necessarily the substance, of compassion? Is his remorse not so much for Snape's pain and Sirius's death, but that his plans went awry?
Or maybe he cared about Snape to a certain extent, but is not really capable of caring deeply for another person? The impression I got from DH was that Dumbledore was completely self-centered. He supposedly loves Harry, but he saw that love as a weakness, an unexpected flaw in his plan--an odd reaction for someone who preaches about the power of love. But I guess I'll stop now, before this turns into a full-blown essay on Dumbledore.
Re Slughorn: I also was curious about whether Snape was in the Slug Club. I checked the Lexion, and he isn't on the list of official members, or on the unofficial list of Slughorn's favorites. Of course, it's possible that he was in the Slug Club, and Slughorn just never mentioned it to Harry, but I suspect that Snape wasn't influential or popular enough to warrant special attention as a student. I suspect that Snape might have resented the fact that Sluggy gave special treatment to his favorites and ignored the rest of this students. Also, the fact that young Snape has written so many alterations in his Potions textbook indicates to me that he wasn't getting much out of the official lessons. Probably Slughorn was teaching out of the text by rote, and Snape got bored and did his own research. And in my opinion--and I suspect Snape's--Slughorn was deficient in his duties as Head of House for apparently letting the Death Eaters freely recruit among his students. (I blame Dumbledore for that, too.) I see Headmaster Snape treating Slughorn coolly, with some not-so-thinly-veiled contempt.
See my reply to Oryx for my comments on Lupin.
Alison
- Oryx
On the question of whether Dumbledore is not really capable of caring deeply for another person?
Very interesting when people make comments like this. Consider the following from an interview on Mugglenet when Rowling quotes this statement by her sister about Dumbledore: "'Well he's too detached, he's too cold, it's like you,'" she said! [Laughter]"
I remain astounded that she would quote that statement in a forum for public consumption, let alone accompany it with laughter.
As to your comments on Slughorn: Word.