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“I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member.” Groucho Marx
Something that struck me on rereading the Slug Club chapter in HBP: we can make some fairly informed inferences about the makeup (and intersections) of the Slug Club, the Pureblood supremacist faction in Slytherin, and the Dark Lord’s supporters in Slytherin.
The first thing to note is who is missing from the “Slytherin” compartment when Harry sneaks in to spy: a full half of the sixth years—Theo Nott, Daphne Greenglass, Millicent Bulstrode, Tracey Davis, and our hypothesized fifth Slytherin girl (two of whom at least were planned on Jo’s original class list to be half-bloods). Who is present? Three Death Eater’s sons, a Draco fangirl who always laps up his boasts and laughs at his anti-Trio taunts (including his calling Hermione a Mudblood), and a haughty Pureblood who expresses disdain for the “blood traitor” Weasleys.
I think we’ve isolated the Pureblood supremacist faction in sixth year Slytherin. Certainly Zabini makes it as clear as he can that he’s not there as one of Draco’s hangers-on, and one can hardly imagine Crabbe-n-Goyle and Zabini sharing any other possible commonality than blood prejudice.
Next, Zabini explains to Malfoy that “I don’t think Slughorn is interested in Death Eaters,” and that Sluggy’s interest in Nott evaporated when he learned his old friend Nott senior had been caught at the Ministry.
Which means we now have both a Death Eater’s son who doesn’t hang out with his house’s pureblood supremacists, and a pureblood supremacist whom Slughorn confidently expects not to be a Death Eater wannabe.
And indeed, look at Blaise’s reaction to Draco’s announcement that he might not be finishing school, having moved on to bigger and better things. Blaise is supremely underwhelmed, and his scathing comment is not entirely unambiguous about whether it’s Draco’s competence or his choices (or, indeed, Voldemort’s competence and choices) he most questions. “And you think you’ll be able to do something for him? Sixteen years old, and not even fully qualified yet?” And he never responds to Draco’s claim that the Dark Lord has a job he wants Draco personally to do.
That could indicate Blaise simply doesn’t believe a word of it. But why not say so? (Or just cough skeptically as he had about Harry.) Or it could mean he’d been convinced but didn’t want to admit it, but in that case he should be looking angry while the others look awed. But Blaise is smart and subtle. It could also indicate he secretly sides with Narcissa’s position, that Draco would be better off completing his education. And it could also be a subtle commentary on the sort of adult who shifts the heavy lifting off on unqualified kids. After all, none of the Slytherins have reason to think well of people like Dumbles.
But this criss-cross of alignments, of course, matches what we saw during Voldemort’s first rise. Sirius’s parents, although the worst sort of pureblood supremacists (or so it seems), threw a fortune into protecting their home against that Lord Thingie fellow. Having a father (Barty Sr.) strongly committed to one side didn’t guarantee the son would follow. And there were Slytherins (such as the then Head of House) who weren’t virulent Pureblood supremacists at all.
*
Now let’s return to the Slug Club. Slughorn wants to stay out of the direct conflict if he can. But if he has to choose sides, it won’t be Voldemort’s. So I don’t think he ever knowingly let the Slug Club be used as a Death Eater recruitment camp. (Well, in 1943, before he had Riddle’s measure, quite possibly it was….) But Slughorn refused to invite those he suspects to be aligned with Voldemort to participate in 1996; there’s no reason to suppose he did differently in 1977.
Of course, once Bellatrix married Rodolphus, Tom had an in with the younger Blacks (which apparently neither Horace nor some of the senior Blacks fully appreciated)—and the Blacks’ other in-laws, such as Lucius. So there may be plenty of Slug Club recent graduates that Horace doesn’t realize have been recruited.
The Slug Club is one of very few cross-house and cross-year organizations we actually see at Hogwarts (the one-meeting Dueling Club, the D.A.—which however excluded Slytherins, and one mention of a Charms Club being the others). There’s no reason to assume that was different in 1977 either. But in canon, no one younger than fifth year was invited.
Which takes us to the question: had Severus been in the Slug Club? Jodel answered in the negative (tentatively) on the grounds that young Severus, though certainly talented enough, was neither personable enough to attract Horace’s initial interest, nor sufficiently appreciative of self-serving favors to be worth Slughorn’s investment. But I think we can approach the matter from a different angle.
What was going on that fifth year? In their argument after SWM, Lily accused Severus of hanging out with known DE-wannabes. Sirius asserted the same in GoF, though admitting there was no evidence that Snape himself had ever joined Voldemort. Avery and Mulciber, whom we know were Sev’s friends towards the end of 5th year, and Evan Rosier and Rabastan Lestrange, whom Sirius says had been at some point, all had DE fathers/older relatives—exactly the demographic we saw Horace exclude later. So if Severus was hanging with that crowd, he wasn’t likely to be invited.
Now turn that argument on its head. If he weren’t invited into the Slug Club, with whom else could he hang out? The most talented and well-connected at Hogwarts were being solicited to align with Dumbledore, the Death Eaters, or the neutrals/establishment-supporters—the Slug Club. Any other fifth-year Slytherins not being invited into the Club were either talentless and without influence (in Slughorn's opinion), or Death Eaters’ kids. So if Severus were excluded from the club his choices were losers, or DE kids, or no one.
Who would, for sure, have been invited into the Slug Club in their class? Slughorn’s favorite, Lily Evans. She’d have been a fool to refuse, too, if she then planned on any sort of career after she graduated. Moreover, her being such a favorite of Slughorn’s suggests that she dealt better with his fulsome praise than her son did; she might even have enjoyed it and liked the man. And I very much doubt that being a suspected Dumbledore-supporter would have disqualified an invitee the way being a DE-sympathizer would.
Whom else would Slughorn have really, really wanted from that year? Obviously, James Potter and Sirius Black, if he could get them—wealthy Purebloods with the highest connections, obvious talent, and no DE-taint. But I don’t think he’d have anything much to offer them; they’d probably disdain his invitations.
Except… James is crushing seriously on Evans. And she’s going to Slughorn’s little get-togethers, and meeting potential contacts—and potential rivals to James. Moreover, if James and Sirius go, Snivellus probably won’t. In fact, he won’t even be invited, if James makes it clear that’s the price of his and Sirius’s attendance.
And after the end of fifth year, when Snivellus’s die had been well and truly cast, or in seventh when Lily agreed to start dating him, James might well have decided to dump that bore Sluggy. Hard. And take Sirius (and later Lily) with him. Which would explain nicely why James Potter, Quidditch star and Head Boy, never rated a single mention from that eminent collector Horace when he talked to Potter fils.
essay
Re: essay
In an earlier post of yours you made the point that when Twinkly hired Severus the only people who knew of his DE status were those that either Twinkles or Tom had under their respective thumbs. Which means that Horace, as an independent party (who only became more independent with his retirement) did not know. Did any of the former Slugs update him at any point after the hearings and trials? Is it possible that Horace's reaction to the events of the tower was so strong because that was the first time he realized Severus was ever involved with Tom? (And was his hospitality to Severus at the Christmas party an olive branch after excluding him from his chance with the Slug Club?)
Who knew Severus had been a DE?
Regarding who knew Snape had been a true Death Eater who (according to Dumbs) had turned his coat as a spy...
It seems to be the case that the information was either successfully suppressed or politely ignored. And I'm really not sure which.
On the suppressed side, a supposedly reformed DE is not on Rita's list of Dumble's doubtful hires in GoF, and Fudge really seems taken aback by Severus's Mark. If they hadn't found out, who had?
And really, don't you think the Board of Governors, in the heady post-Voldemort days, would have had something to say about that nasty-tempered, terribly young for the position, DEATH EATER Dumbles had installed a mere 2 months previously, even if the boy was supposed to have turned his coat and helped their side? It's not even like he'd had anything significant to do with Voldemort's defeat.
On the politely ignored side--there were 200 witches and wizards attending Karkaroff's hearing or whatever, and not a one of them talked? Yeah, that's likely.
Unless--they couldn't. The purpose of Karkaroff's hearing was for him to offer them names of previously unsuspected DE's in exchange (he hoped) for his freedom. And you certainly wouldn't want anyone tipping a friend off if s/he were named, would you? Maybe there's some sort of geas against speaking of anything one learned in a "closed" hearing. Which would explain why Crouch-playing-Moody would hint about Snape's former affiliations, but not say anything directly.
Thoughts?
Re: Who knew Severus had been a DE?
Yes, I know that. But look at what Blaise tells Draco on the train in HBP: "He asked me about Nott's father when I first arrived. They used to be old friends, apparently, but when he heard he'd been caught at the Ministry he didn't look happy, and Nott didn't get an invitation, did he? I don't think Slughorn is interested in Death Eaters."
We also know Nott was one of the DEs who got cleared by the Ministry after the first war.
So if Horace knew Nott Sr had been among Tom's friends (like he knew about Avery Sr, and Lestrange Sr) would he trust the Ministry's clearing? Would he need to know about Nott's recent capture at the Ministry to know not to invite him?
I'm with you on Severus, I don't believe many knew about his history - whether it was suppressed by the DMLE, Wizengamot or only Dumbles I don't know.
Re: Who knew Severus had been a DE?
There is no doubt in my mind that Severus was invited. He was a Potions genius, as Slughorn acknowledged, and that would be quite enough. In canon he doesn't exclude people for having shady friends, but for having criminal parents. Obviously Slughorn is not very aware about who is a DE wannabe anyway.
Invitations
There's no doubt that Sev's talent would have merited an invitation, I agree. But Jodel thought young Sev too "surly and gauche" and unlikely to be appreciative enough of Slughorn to be invited. (And one must admit one doesn't imagine him shining in the setting.)
This was all probably discussed to death in the fandom when HBP was published, but I wasn't around then.
But seriously--would YOU invite 16-year-old Potter, Black, and Snape to the same parrty? Or can you imagine Snape, at least, accepting if the others were there? Or Potter and Black not being mortally offended that Sluggy put them on a level with SNIVELLUS?
And between Potter and/or Black, and Snape--sorry, I may love Snape but the Duo is the more collectible.
And if they'd accepted Sluggy's invitations at first and then dropped him, that would explain Sluggy's utter silence about the great James.
As to shady friends versus criminal parents, well, I checked. If Zabini was at the Christmas party, Harry didn't see him. So it's possible (though not proven) that Horace might have become worried about who Blaise was hanging out with. (Shrugs--it was a crush at the party--maybe he was there and Harry didn't spot him.)
Re: Invitations
I personally think that James and Sirius wouldn't want to have anything to do with the Slugclub, Snape or no Snape. It's held by a Slytherin, it's full of Slytherins and even if it weren't it's not their brand of cool. So either they were invited and didn't come or Sluggy didn't invite them in the first place, because he sensed they wouldn't be interested or he didn't like their behaviour anyway, like lack of respect towards him - maybe. Unlike with the kids in HBP, he would have already known them by the time they were old enough. (And Snape is definitely likely to be at least less openly unappreciative about being invited then them.)
I don't know if he was aware of the Snape-Marauder troubles, he doesn't come off as the most aware guy. He's always making wrong assumptions about Harry, assumes Snape must be proud of Harry's potions success etc.
Re: Invitations
Very true. But... well, would you want James and Sirius at a party? The kind of more "refined," dinner party-type party that Slughorn would be likely to have, that is. I don't doubt that they *could* behave, if they wanted to, but I don't know whether they'd want to. James and Sirius would be collectible for their families, but if they seemed likely to behave badly, that might affect things.
(I can *so* imagine the Marauders playing a prank of some kind on a Slug Club gathering before James and Sirius were candidates for membership. Slughorn might be impressed with Ginny hexing someone *else*, but I doubt he'd've been so happy if it had affected *him* in any way.)
Not that I'm saying that Slughorn would find Severus's party behavior to be particularly delightful, of course. But being uncommunicative and glaring at people, or whatever, would cause less of a problem than what James and Sirius might do.
Also, as far as Slughorn's trying to recruit *Harry* goes... Harry's social "issues" are frankly more in line with Severus' than James'. Harry might be sullen and unfriendly at a party, but he wouldn't be raucous, or spike the punch with God-knows-what.
Lynn
But would it? My impression of Slughorn is that his Club is for obvious winners. He wants a guaranteed return on his investment. Consider the train scene with the potential Slugs: "Everyone here seemed to have been invited because they were connected to somebody well-known or influential -- everyone except Ginny. [...] Harry had the impression that Slughorn was reserving judgment on Neville, to see whether he had any of his parents' flair" (HBP, pp. 138-9). Aside from super famous Harry, Slughorn's picks are well-connected + talented or attractive/feisty/charming + talented (Ginny, Lily, Tom). Not, as far as I can tell, talented and nothing else. Marcus Belby is instantly dropped on hearing he's estranged from his famous uncle, though he could be a genius for all Slughorn knows at this point. Also, what terri_testing said above: Slughorn would probably not have liked Snape's manners or trusted him to understand that the Club is a mutual backscratching society.
IF (as has been discussed previously here on Snapedom), the true extent of Voldy's ideas didn't become known until after Snape and Regulus joined up in the late '70s, then it is entirely possible that Snape and Bella ran in the same crowd because Sluggy introduced them.
Bella (as a Black) was every bit as 'collectible' as Sirius or Regulus - but IF one accepts the Black Tapestry dates, she's too old to have overlapped at school. But Sluggy's parties are not limited to school age kids. And Bella might have been considerably toned down back pre-Hogwarts.
Does anyone remember the ratio of Slytherins among the kids invited to lunch on the train compared to each of the other houses? Now what would that ratio have been if Nott and Malfoy Snrs. had not been recently arrested? The Slug Club might have normally leaned to more Slytherins, just because Sluggy had more contact with them.
Altho' I tend to think that Gryffies in general would dislike the idea of 'networking'. No opportunity to 'shine' alone. Too much cooperation involved. -- Hwyla
That means that she was either not suspected of being a DE at the time -or- she was able to get off like Lucuis. So, I doubt Sluggy had any problem with inviting her to Club events == hwyla
But Horace knew Tom was worse than he appeared in public because he knew that at 16 Tom wanted to make 6 Horcruxes. So would he invite the sons of Tom close friends from school to his club? Bellatrix would still be invited - she was a Black, not a Lestrange, back then.
For all Sluggy knew back then, Tom's schoolboy friends may never have even suspected Tom might not be just what he appeared to everyone else to be in school - a smart, talented Headboy.
And it isn't as if we know whether Albus EVER told Horace that Voldy was once Tom - nor that a small group of Tom's old friends were calling themselves DEs back in the '50s-'60s. For all Sluggy knew young Tom might have disappeared and never returned.
I tend to see Sluggy's stance against the younger Malfoy and Nott to be more about the actual arrests of their fathers as PROOF they were DEs. Had neither been arrested then Theodore and Draco would have been invited - even tho' Lucius was once suspected. == Hwyla
Well-connected students
Harry, invited apparently for his celebrity status, Gryffindor
Neville & McLaggen, invited for their families, Gryffindor
Zabini, invited for his, Slytherin
Belby, invited for his, Ravenclaw
Ginny, invited for raw talent (hexing ability), Gryffindor
4 Gryffs, one Raven, one Snake. If Malfoy and Nott had been invited, it would have been 4 Gryffs, one Raven, three Snakes. But since one of the Gryffs is a spur-of-the-moment wild card, it would have been 3,3, & 1 plus one wild.
We see Arthur engage in his own version of networking - covering up law-breaking (Otto Bagman) and possible breaches of Wizarding Secrecy ('Moody'), eventually in exchange for favors, such as the tickets to the Top Box at the QWC.
However, I do think that Snape's appearance at the party is telling. Either Snape was an alumni member of the club after all, or Sluggy now finds him successful enough to attend the party.
Or perhaps it's professional courtesy?
I, too, think young Severus was never in the Slug club. At 16, he would not have been collectible enough, and he had no connections.
OR perhaps he actually thought Harry LIKED Snape since he was obviously so talented. I get a kick out of thinking Sluggy invited Snape because he thought inviting Harry's previous 'mentor' would help him secure Harry better into his 'collection'
BTW, isn't it strange that Minerva wasn't at the party? One would think that she was certainly considered very talented in her schooldays. However if she wasn't in the Slug Club either, then it might give light about James (since his talents were supposedly the same - transfiguration and quidditch - or was that another McGonnagal on a plaque - or again, am I mixing up canon with something else?) As one of very few animagi registered, she certainly was talented (of course she might have accomplished THAT after Hogwarts, so it might not have affected whether Sluggy wanted her in the club?) -- Hwyla
Thanks to everyone