You Gotta Suffer to Win: An In-depth Analysis of where Snape’s Loyalties Truly Lie


So here we go. I know you’re all probably sick to death of hearing arguments about Snape whether they’re arguing for him or against him. But just kick back and hear me out on this one because I really think I might have something here.

First of all, an overview. It is my opinion that Snape, though disturbed and slightly malicious is not in fact loyal to Lord Voldemort (LV). The murder of Dumbledore (DD) was simply the end result of a year of discussion and debate between Snape and DD, not Snape’s final blow against one of LV’s most dangerous foes. So where did I come up with this far-fetched theory? What makes me so sure? Allow me to elaborate!

Our story begins, not in Chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (HBP) but much earlier. In order to understand the events of HBP we must first understand what took place between a number of key players way back before LV was sent into hiding by baby Harry.
During the course of HBP Dumbledore tells Harry the reason he trusts Snape and believes he is no longer a Death Eater (DE). According to DD and Trelawney, Snape was in fact the DE who overheard the prophecy in the Hog’s Head Inn. Once he knew the partial contents of the prophecy Snape hastened to his master’s side and informed him of the birth of a wizard boy in July whose parents had thrice defied Voldemort. Presumably, Snape did not think the prophecy through enough to realize that, by telling LV this, he was sending his master to murder one of two boys (and perhaps families). Now, how do I figure that? Why would Snape care whose home he sent LV to? Well here’s the kicker – say I’m Snape and I run to my master and let him know about the birth of this boy who will have the power to defeat him. Once I’ve told LV about the prophecy, LV decides he’ll just go ahead and kill the boy he thinks most likely to be a problem (in this case, LV chose Harry). So if I’m Snape I automatically ask, “But what will you do with Lily and James, master?” And LV inevitably answers, “Why, I’ll kill them too of course.” Because let’s think about it; Voldemort isn’t a merciful kind of guy, he enjoys murdering people and the Potters are bothersome anyway. At the time of the prophecy they had already defied Voldemort three times. They’re a powerful combination, both highly talented and capable, why shouldn’t LV just get rid of them if he has the chance? Might as well make a clean job of it and clear out the whole family.
So, knowing that LV is going to murder the Potters, Snape is faced with a dilemma. But why? You’ve all heard it before and you’re all thinking it now. Snape doesn’t want Lily to die. In my opinion HBP presented us with even more evidence of Snape’s feelings for Lily. This love for Lily can be the only reason (in my mind) that DD believes Snape truly abandoned LV after the Potters’ deaths. What do we know about DD? He is constantly reminding Harry that it is Harry’s ability to love that sets him apart from LV. Dumbledore values the trait of love above many others and is always saying so. If I were DD and Severus Snape walked into my office right after LV had murdered two of my close friends and allies what could he possibly say to make me trust him? (Keep in mind that DD knew it had been Snape who had informed LV of the prophecy) Snape would have to make a pretty convincing case for himself. Snape comes in and confesses his love for Lily. He tells DD that he has loved Lily since their time together at Hogwarts and that he could never again work for LV knowing he had murdered Lily. This seems like the only argument Snape could make for himself that DD would accept. In Snape’s love for Lily DD sees that Snape still has that all important capacity to love and that Snape is not a lost cause (as LV is).
In HBP DD tells Harry, “You have no idea of the remorse Professor Snape felt when he realized how Lord Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy, Harry. I believe it to be the greatest regret of his life and the reason that he returned – “ (HBP American Edition p. 549) “The greatest regret of his life.” Wow. Do you think the murder of James would have made Snape feel that way? Harry obviously doesn’t think so. Just after DD makes this statement Harry expresses his disbelief that Snape would regret the murder of the Potters. But what could make their deaths the “greatest regret of [Snape’s] life?” Why, the death of the woman Snape loved of course.
But what new evidence do we see in HBP that Snape even looked twice at Lily? Let’s look at it systematically. One thing to keep in mind is that we generally see Snape’s view of Lily through Harry’s eyes. Our thoughts about the Snape/Lily relationship are colored by Harry’s assumptions and observations. This does not mean that Harry is wrong for making these assumptions, Harry has a set of beliefs just like anyone else, but I think that in this case his beliefs are flawed. Harry thinks he knows how Snape felt about Lily based on one occurrence. Once Harry has seen Snape call Lily a mudblood in the pensieve Harry believes he knows all there is to know about Snape’s views of Lily. But how representative of Snape and Lily’s relationship is this one occurrence? Let’s look at Snape and Lily in comparison.

Snape
• Hogwarts Potions master for 14 years
• Able to brew the tricky Wolfsbane Potion
• Exhibits great insight into the art of potions (as displayed by the HBP potions book)
• Was a Slytherin who hung around with other DEs at Hogwarts
• Was presumably an NEWT potions student

Lily
• Slughorn’s favorite Potions student
• Showed fantastic talent in the subject of potions
• Was a Gryffindor and generally nice person who was liked by everyone and pursued by many boys
• Was presumably an NEWT potions student

So what do these observations tell us about the relationship between the two?
• Snape and Lily were probably in a class together without James (and maybe even without any of Snape’s Slytherin friends).
• Snape and Lily are both awesome at potions, so they may have competed for Slughorn’s favor OR they may have even helped each other in potions class. (remember that Hermione says some of the writing in the HBP potions book looks like a girl’s handwriting)
• The Main Point – Snape and Lily had the chance to become friends in an environment without hostility. Snape may have developed respect for Lily during this time. He may have even fallen in love with her.
• But outside of potions class other variables came into play that affected Snape and Lily’s behavior.
• Snape the Slytherin calls Lily a mudblood in front of his friends (and Lily’s). Being a Slytherin, would Snape readily admit to being friends with a Gryffindor and a muggleborn Gryffindor to boot? No way! In front of other Slytherins and/or Gryffindors Snape would treat Lily like dirt.
• Lily spends more time with James and has the chance to fall in love with him. Time spent together in NEWT potions class is simply not enough time for Lily to see the better side of Snape. She isn’t given the chance to fall in love with him and Snape is either too shy or too afraid (or both) to pursue Lily openly.

This is a typical high school love affair scenario. One person is attracted to another but never voices this attraction for fear of rejection or peer ostracism. This hypothesis is leant further weight by Snape’s dislike for Harry. Why does Snape hate Harry so much? Is it because he looks just like James? Sure that’s part of it. But what’s the biggest part? Every time Snape sees Harry he’s reminded of the fact that Lily chose James instead of him. Just the presence of Harry has to be horribly painful for Snape. Harry is James’ son – the son of the man who tormented and hated Snape throughout their time at Hogwarts. But Harry is Lily’s son – the son of the woman Snape loved; the last bit of Lily still alive.

So now that we know why DD trusts Snape (and it seems like a pretty solid reason to me) we must look for proof that Snape is still loyal to DD. How could Snape have murdered DD and still be a good guy?

The next piece of evidence I want to discuss are the events of Chapter 2 of HBP. In this chapter we witness Snape entering into the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa. At this point does Snape know Voldemort’s “plan” involving Draco? In my opinion, the answer is no. Considering Snape’s placement at Hogwarts and Voldemort’s tendency to distrust his DEs I doubt that Voldemort would let Snape in on Draco’s mission. Snape is ideally placed to thwart Draco at any time; if Voldemort doubts even for a moment that Snape is loyal (and let’s face it, this is Voldemort, so we have to assume he has a naturally skeptical/distrusting nature), he would not let Snape in on the plan.
So let’s assume that Snape does not know what Draco’s mission/Voldemort’s plan is. If he doesn’t know the plan then why does he lie (to Bellatrix and Narcissa) and say he does? And more importantly, why enter into a vow that could ultimately cause your own death without knowing what you’re promising to do? I see three possible reasons (and there are probably many more).
1. Bellatrix is close to LV and already distrusts Snape, so he claims to know the plan in order to convince Bellatrix of his own closeness to LV or just to spite Bellatrix. This seems like something Snape would do just to mess with Bella, but it is an unlikely reason for such risky behavior.
2. Snape cares more about Draco than we know. Being the son of an overbearing father himself, Snape may empathize with Draco and harbor a wish to help him out of any situation that may hurt him. Snape obviously knows this “plan” whatever it is, is likely to hurt or kill Draco because of the way Narcissa is panicking. This reasoning may seem far-fetched but Snape knows more about the inner workings of the Malfoy family than we do (remember Sirius calling Snape “Lucius Malfoy’s lapdog” in OoTP?), so he may know things about Draco we are not privy to.
3. Snape feels that taking the vow will make his cover even deeper. That is to say, if Bellatrix and Narcissa see him take the vow they will certainly tell Draco that he did. This may lead to Draco trusting Snape enough to tell Snape the plan and/or ask Snape for help. Taking the Unbreakable Vow may be the only way Snape can find out what the plan truly is and let DD know. We have to look at this reason without taking later events into consideration. We know that Snape’s taking the Vow did not in fact cause Draco to ask for Snape’s help, however DD did find out Draco was trying to kill him somehow and it may have been Snape that found out – we may not have seen it, but it may have happened. This explanation also provides proof that Snape is still working for DD. I think this is the most likely explanation.

Now that we know why Snape would lie, we must look for proof that he does not know Voldemort’s plan.
• “’And, should it prove necessary. . . if it seems Draco will fail. . .’ whispered Narcissa (Snape’s hand twitched within hers but he did not draw away), ‘will you carry out the deed that the Dark Lord has ordered Draco to perform?’” (HBP American Edition pg. 36) Ahhh…the hand twitch. This little movement has been cited by many as proof that Snape either doesn’t know the plan or is unwilling to carry out this deed. I believe it is in fact proof that Snape has no clue what he’s agreeing to. It’s an involuntary twitch. Maybe Snape didn’t expect Narcissa to add this little clause to the agreement and it’s too late to back out now!
• Throughout the Hogwarts school year Snape is constantly asking Draco what actions he is taking in light of his assignment from LV. This is a delicate situation for Snape (assuming he is loyal to DD and still does not know the plan). Snape must pretend to Draco that he does know the plan while asking questions the answers to which will potentially reveal what the plan truly is. If Snape knows already then why bug Draco all the time? Why not just let him get on with it until Snape was sure Draco would fail and then do the deed himself?
• If Snape is evil, why wait? Why not kill DD earlier in the year at any of the times when he is alone with DD? Snape might even have been able to kill DD in private and get away with it (without anyone knowing Snape was the culprit). Could he just be waiting for Draco to finish the task? I think it’s evident early on (at least from the Katie Bell incident) that Draco is unable to carry out his mission, so I doubt Snape believes Draco will succeed. If Snape is evil, and he knows he has to kill DD at some point (because Draco can’t/won’t) he could have done it at anytime.

So now we’ve seen the proof that Snape a) doesn’t know the plan and b) is still loyal to DD. At some point after Snape enters into the Unbreakable Vow either DD or Snape figures out what Draco’s mission actually is (“‘Yeah, well, you still didn’t realize who was behind that stuff, did you?’ sneered Malfoy, as Dumbledore slid a little down the ramparts, the strength in his legs apparently fading, and Harry struggled fruitlessly, mutely, against the enchantment binding him. ‘As a matter of fact, I did,’ said Dumbledore. ‘I was sure it was you.’”) (HBP American edition pg. 588)
At this point in the story Snape and DD know what Draco’s mission is and what that implies for the two of them. To recap, Draco has been assigned by LV to kill DD. Snape has entered into the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa, meaning that, if Draco fails to kill DD, Snape must kill DD or he himself will die. This entire situation is known to DD. Dumbledore knows that it’s either him or Snape (since we must assume that DD knows Draco will never be able to carry out the mission – “Draco…you are not a killer…” [HBP American edition p.592]). So if DD knows that Draco won’t/can’t kill him, this leaves DD to decide what action to take concerning Snape, the Unbreakable Vow and himself. Dumbledore has only two options: 1) allow Snape to kill him therefore cementing Snape’s place as a spy among LV’s DEs and 2) forbid Snape to kill him therefore resulting in Snape’s death.

So DD is faced with one question: Who is more important, he Dumbledore or Snape? Let’s compare the strengths of the two characters in light of the war on Voldemort.

Snape
• Snape’s closeness to LV places him in a position of power
• Snape can assist Harry in his struggle against LV by working behind the scenes within the ranks of the DEs. He can work to destabilize LV and sabotage his actions.
• Snape can also continue giving LV false information about the Order and Harry himself.

Dumbledore
• DD could assist and instruct Harry up until the final battle with LV. DD could share his knowledge of advanced magic and the dark arts.
• DD could continue to guide Harry in the search for LV’s horcruxes.
• But, ultimately DD will not be the one to defeat LV, and unless DD stays out of the conflict entirely he will likely die in the battle against LV (before Harry has the chance to kill/destroy/defeat LV).

Knowing these pros and cons we must ask ourselves why DD would decide Snape was more important than he was. What is there to be gained by the death of DD and the continued existence of Snape?
• By killing DD Snape would cement his status as a truly loyal DE and entrench himself in the ranks of LV’s most valued supporters.
• DD would know that he would almost inevitably meet his death in the final battle with LV. The only person who stands a chance of defeating LV is Harry and anyone who stands between LV and Harry will likely be killed. DD knows that he will ultimately face LV before Harry does and that he will be killed or badly incapacitated (but be serious, this is LV – would he leave DD alive? “There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!” [OoTP American Edition pg. 814]).
• DD sees Snape as being potentially more useful to Harry than himself (even if Harry has no clue Snape is helping him).

It’s crucial to my hypothesis to assume that DD did consider all the things I’ve discussed and that in the end he concluded that Snape’s life was more important than his own. So now we have to consider how this decision makes Snape feel. I think that Snape totally disagrees with DD’s decision. We must assume that Snape argues with DD and asserts that DD is much more important and instrumental to Harry’s success. As evidence that Snape and DD argued at least once we must look to Chapter 19 of HBP. Hagrid overhears Snape and DD arguing,

“’Well – I jus’ heard Snape sayin’ Dumbledore took too much fer granted an’ maybe he – Snape – didn’ wan’ ter do it anymore – ‘
‘Do what?’
‘I dunno, Harry, it sounded like Snape was feelin’ a bit overworked, tha’s all – anyway, Dumbledore told him flat out he’d agreed ter do it an’ that was all there was to it. Pretty firm with him. An’ then he said summat abou’ Snape makin’ investigations in his House, in Slytherin. Well, there’s nothin’ strange abou’ that!’ Hagrid added hastily, as Harry and Hermione exchanged looks full of meaning. ‘All the Heads o’ Houses were asked ter look inter that necklace business – ‘” (HBP American Edition pgs. 405-406)

We can learn a lot by analyzing this bit of overheard conversation. Maybe Snape didn’t want to do “it” anymore. What could “it” be? I assume that this is Snape telling DD that he doesn’t want to be a spy any longer; maybe Snape would rather openly declare his loyalty to DD before his own death. Hagrid thinks Snape is feeling overworked – what mission could make Snape feel totally and completely overworked? What mission could make Snape feel like DD was asking way too much of him? DD has assigned Snape to kill him (DD) at this point and Snape is arguing that he won’t do it. DD then firmly tells Snape that he had agreed to do “it” (kill DD) and there was no backing out now. Now this part is a little confusing to me – had Snape previously told DD that he would indeed commit the murder, or is DD referring to the Unbreakable Vow? I don’t know, but after this exchange DD obviously mentioned something about Draco – what other investigation in Slytherin could he be referring to? DD is addressing Snape’s investigation of Draco; perhaps relaying his belief that Draco will never be able to go through with his assignment and that Snape killing DD will mean the continued survival of both Snape and Draco. This conversation raises some questions and it doesn’t fit exactly into my theory – but it also doesn’t contradict me. I don’t think we could expect much more information from such a partial exchange. Hagrid didn’t hear the whole thing and for all we know he’s not even recalling all of what he did hear. But most importantly, this proves that there is some disagreement between Snape and Dumbledore.
In my opinion there is also some unstated conflict that we can infer about DD and Snape’s relationship – even more reasons why Snape would not want DD killed and least of all by himself. I think Snape feels a certain way about DD as a person.
• No one in the wizarding world trusts that Snape has truly switched sides (from the DEs to the Order). DD is Snape’s one true supporter (and probably the only person to whom Snape admitted his love for Lily).
• Snape grew up in a house with an abusive father. Although we don’t know if Snape was physically abused we do know that there was emotional abuse (and apparent physical spousal abuse). This environment would lead Snape to search for a more stable and supportive father figure (remember that Snape identifies himself as “half a Prince” – he completely renounces the half of him that belongs to his father). We know that he found LV first, but while LV could give Snape a “home” and protection (“But look, Harry! My true family returns…” [GoF American Edition pg. 646, emphasis is the author’s own]) there is a lack of love where LV is concerned. I would argue that love is an essential ingredient in a father-child relationship. So Snape ends up coming to DD after Lily’s death. DD believes Snape, trusts him and (I’m sure) gives him the sort of sympathy he’s never had.
• Over the years Snape grows to love DD as a mentor and even as a father figure. DD has given him support and believed in him as a man. He has taken Snape in even after Snape caused the deaths of Harry’s family (and two of DD’s good friends) and committed many other atrocities during his time as a DE (since I doubt he could have been a part of LV’s ranks without doing some pretty nasty things).

Taking all of this into account, when DD tells Snape it is his duty to kill him (DD), how do you think Snape would react? Snape isn’t exactly a touchy-feely kind of guy – he wouldn’t suddenly burst out that he loved DD as a father and that he could never do such a thing. No, Snape would get angry with DD. He would tell DD he’d had enough and that he didn’t want to do this anymore. He might go as far as to tell DD that his own life (Snape’s) wasn’t important.

Finally we must consider one very strong piece of evidence.

“But somebody else had spoken Snape’s name, quite softly.
‘Severus…’
The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading.
Snape said nothing, but walked forward and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word. Even the werewolf seemed cowed.
Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face.
‘Severus…please…’
Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore.
‘Avada Kedavra!’”

Hmmm…definitely food for thought. Dumbledore pleading? Snape’s face contorted with revulsion and hatred? If these characters were any other people I wouldn’t think twice about these descriptions. In any common death scene where you have a murderer and a victim you would expect to see the victim pleading for his/her life and the murderer looking on with hatred and rage in his/her eyes. But Dumbledore and Snape? I don’t think so. There’s more to this scene than meets the eye.

Would DD plead for his life? If Snape is indeed loyal to LV, then DD’s final words are completely out of character. DD does not fear death. He has led a long and fruitful life.

• Witness DD’s explanation of death to Harry in SS/PS: To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure (sorry I can’t cite this one properly, I can’t find my copy of SS/PS!). Wouldn’t you classify DD’s mind as well-organized? Throughout HBP he is constantly commenting about his dizzying intellect and how brilliant he is.
• Recall DD and LV’s long-standing argument: DD believes there are other ways of destroying a man than by killing him, while LV argues that there is nothing worse than death. “’There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!’ snarled Voldemort. ‘You are quite wrong,’ said Dumbledore…” (OoTP American Edition pg. 814)
• Looking at this in a more abstract way, Dumbledore was and is a Gryffindor and was once head of Gryffindor house. The defining trait of any Gryffindor is his or her courage – would a Gryffindor plead for his life? Or would he die upright and proud as is fitting for a wizard as great as Dumbledore?
• No, DD is in fact pleading for Snape to carry out the action that the two of them had agreed on. DD is begging Snape to kill him.

Now, about Snape’s facial expression at the crucial moment. “There was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face…” It would be easy to translate this into revulsion and hatred for DD, but is it really as simple as that? What has DD done, even if Snape is a loyal DE, to incur Snape’s wrath? Nothing that we know of. The hatred and revulsion we are seeing is not for DD, but for Snape himself. Snape hates himself for what he is about to do – he is revolted by his actions and cannot believe he is going through with this plan. He hates himself for murdering the one man who ever trusted him, the one man who believed in him. This theme of anger and self-loathing is also visible in another key confrontation towards the end of HBP,

“’Kill me then,” panted Harry, who felt no fear at all, but only rage and contempt. ‘Kill me like you killed him, you coward – ‘
‘DON’T – ‘ screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them – ‘CALL ME COWARD!’” (HBP American Edition pg. 604)

“As though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house…” Wow. That’s pretty intense. If I was Snape and I’d just carried out a mission that would greatly please Lord Voldemort would I be feeling that much pain? Would I be upset at all? No way! I’d be elated. I would be on my way to tell my master what an awesome task I’d just accomplished. This is not the description of a loyal DE who has just carried out an important mission for his master. This is the description of a man who has just had the most horrible experience of his life.
Notice that Snape’s rage is only invoked when Harry mentions Snape’s murder of DD and then calls Snape a coward. Why would calling Snape a coward be such a big deal? Simple, it took some major courage for Snape to do what he just did. And it’s going to take some major courage for Snape to keep on acting as a spy/saboteur within LV’s ranks. If Snape was really a coward wouldn’t he have just gone ahead and died himself? Wouldn’t that have been easier than a) killing someone you loved and then b) going to join the ranks of someone you hated (LV) as though you were truly loyal to that person. In Snape’s mind Harry has no idea the strength and fortitude it has taken for him to make it through the night. So what insult could be more horrible, more pervasive, than being called a coward by the very person you are working to assist?

A very brief summary of my theory:
• DD trusts Snape because Snape’s major reason for leaving LV’s ranks was his love for Lily Evans Potter.
• Snape entered into the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy without knowing what he was agreeing to do.
• At some point after discovering that Snape had agreed to kill DD or die himself, DD decides that Snape is more important and that he (DD) will sacrifice himself.
• Snape disagrees with DD’s decision and argues with him about it, both because Snape sees DD as an important figure in the war against LV and because Snape loves DD.
• Atop the Astronomy Tower DD pleads with Snape, not for his life, but for Snape to go ahead and do the deed – kill DD. Here we also see Snape’s face contorted in hatred, but this is not hatred for DD, but hatred for himself.
• After the murder of DD we see Harry confront Snape and Snape respond with anger and pain to Harry’s accusations. This pain is due to the heavy weight of the atrocity Snape has just committed.

In the end, in order to place himself in the best position to help Harry (among LV’s DEs) Snape had to kill the one man who ever trusted him. By killing DD Snape ensured that he and the rest of the Order (not to mention all the others who had loved DD) will suffer greatly. But sometimes, you gotta suffer to win.

So there you have it. That’s my theory and that’s all the evidence I have to support it. Let me know what you think! Please feel free to send me an email at veronicavale at hotmail dot com.