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Jun. 26th, 2003 11:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
louiseluxI've watched 'Once More with Feeling' twice over the past few days. One of my favourite bits is at the beginning, when Buffy sings (something very like) '...we'll do or die, and I've died twice.' Giles looks at her and gives the sweetest smile, and I turn into a little puddle of goo.
I'm deep into my second reading of OotP, and am noticing so much more than I did during the first frenzied read-through.
Warning: serious rambling ahead. I wanted to put down a few thoughts before I forgot them.
Spying
So, what about Snape calling Voldemort 'Dark Lord'? I keep wondering if this has something to with Occlumency and Legilimens, and is a precaution against making a slip-up. When Harry asks him, Snape agrees that his job is finding out what Voldemort is saying to his followers; but that doesn't necessarily mean that Snape has any contact with Voldemort, it could just mean that he meets/spies on Death Eaters. Whatever he's doing, spying seems to be involved. Perhaps under a disguise, or maybe with an invisibility cloak, in which case the Occlumency would help protect him from prying minds. Or perhaps he spies just as himself.
I always assumed that Voldemort must know Snape betrayed him last time round, as he seems to know that one of his Death Eaters has left him forever. (GoF) I thought that meant Snape, but maybe he was referring to Karkaroff, and Snape has maintained his cover during the time Voldemort has been away.
Sirius says, of his brother's death, that no one just leaves Voldemort-it's for life, either that or you die. Now, as a far as we can tell, unless he's taking some weird-arse resurrection potion (well, you never know) Snape is not dead, so it's likely that none of the DE's, or Voldemort, *knew* he was a spy, otherwise it's probable they would've killed him.
Occlumency
If Snape's worried that Voldemort or one of the Death Eaters might be able to access to his memories using legilimancy, it would be a sensible protection for Snape's memories and emotions regarding Hogwarts and Harry Potter to be bad ones. So maybe his hateful behaviour has a purpose behind it, and it's not all based on the bullying James etc inflicted on him. Because, and here's the thing, why does he let himself get so wound up by Harry, and why does he show it, especially if he's supposed to be so good at controlling his thoughts and emotions? We also don't know if occlumency and legilimancy are undetectable. It's clear that Harry can feel Snape looking at his memories, and Snape can feel Harry looking at his. So it's likely that, for example, Voldemort woUld be able to to tell if Snape was practising Occlumency against him. Snape tells Harry not to say Voldemort's name, and then has a funy little vulnerable moment, when he unconciously touches his left arm. I think that there's evidence of some other psychic link, perhaps linked to the dark mark. I'd guess that there's some wizarding way of communicating that we haven't seen yet. Dumbledore says as much when he talked to Harry about how Snape checked that Sirius was safe.
I'm not saying that Snape is a secretly a cheery soul, hiding his joy of life under a bushel. From what we see of his past, it's obvious he was never a carefree person. But it looks like he's using his anger and resentment to make it easier for him to maintain a front as a DE.
Of course, if he isn't spying, then who knows?
I'm deep into my second reading of OotP, and am noticing so much more than I did during the first frenzied read-through.
Warning: serious rambling ahead. I wanted to put down a few thoughts before I forgot them.
Spying
So, what about Snape calling Voldemort 'Dark Lord'? I keep wondering if this has something to with Occlumency and Legilimens, and is a precaution against making a slip-up. When Harry asks him, Snape agrees that his job is finding out what Voldemort is saying to his followers; but that doesn't necessarily mean that Snape has any contact with Voldemort, it could just mean that he meets/spies on Death Eaters. Whatever he's doing, spying seems to be involved. Perhaps under a disguise, or maybe with an invisibility cloak, in which case the Occlumency would help protect him from prying minds. Or perhaps he spies just as himself.
I always assumed that Voldemort must know Snape betrayed him last time round, as he seems to know that one of his Death Eaters has left him forever. (GoF) I thought that meant Snape, but maybe he was referring to Karkaroff, and Snape has maintained his cover during the time Voldemort has been away.
Sirius says, of his brother's death, that no one just leaves Voldemort-it's for life, either that or you die. Now, as a far as we can tell, unless he's taking some weird-arse resurrection potion (well, you never know) Snape is not dead, so it's likely that none of the DE's, or Voldemort, *knew* he was a spy, otherwise it's probable they would've killed him.
Occlumency
If Snape's worried that Voldemort or one of the Death Eaters might be able to access to his memories using legilimancy, it would be a sensible protection for Snape's memories and emotions regarding Hogwarts and Harry Potter to be bad ones. So maybe his hateful behaviour has a purpose behind it, and it's not all based on the bullying James etc inflicted on him. Because, and here's the thing, why does he let himself get so wound up by Harry, and why does he show it, especially if he's supposed to be so good at controlling his thoughts and emotions? We also don't know if occlumency and legilimancy are undetectable. It's clear that Harry can feel Snape looking at his memories, and Snape can feel Harry looking at his. So it's likely that, for example, Voldemort woUld be able to to tell if Snape was practising Occlumency against him. Snape tells Harry not to say Voldemort's name, and then has a funy little vulnerable moment, when he unconciously touches his left arm. I think that there's evidence of some other psychic link, perhaps linked to the dark mark. I'd guess that there's some wizarding way of communicating that we haven't seen yet. Dumbledore says as much when he talked to Harry about how Snape checked that Sirius was safe.
I'm not saying that Snape is a secretly a cheery soul, hiding his joy of life under a bushel. From what we see of his past, it's obvious he was never a carefree person. But it looks like he's using his anger and resentment to make it easier for him to maintain a front as a DE.
Of course, if he isn't spying, then who knows?