Until the end of Goblet of Fire Snape, in my view, doesn't have any interest in maintaining a Death Eater cover
Not a proven interest, no. But if you buy into the theory that Dumbledore strongly suspected that Voldemort would return, and believed that he and his allies should be prepared for such an event, it's conceivable that Snape might have kept up some semblance of a DE cover in case it should be needed again. Not that I expect to convince anybody with that -- I'm just submitting it as a fairly reasonable possibility.
As for the idea of trying to justify Snape's actions, particularly toward Neville -- I don't think they are justifiable, frankly. Even if his motives are more complex than, "This kid is incompetent, incompetence irritates me, therefore I shall bully him mercilessly to vent my own frustrations because I am a petty individual", even if somewhere in the back of his mind he has a nebulous idea that he's acting for Neville's own good (and I wouldn't put money on that), it doesn't in the least excuse the misery he's caused Neville. (Which is part of the reason that in the Margot fic I have deliberately afflicted Snape with a third-born son who looks like Harry and makes potions like Neville. What goes around, comes around, and this time Snape had better learn to Deal With It.)
No, the chief reason that I feel there has to be more to Snape's behaviour than mere petty viciousness actually has very little to do with my confidence in Snape, and a great deal more to do with my confidence in Dumbledore. Not that I think Dumbledore is infallible or impeccable, but he has been presented to us so far as a wise, compassionate, generous Headmaster with a sincere interest in the welfare of all his students. As such, it's hard for me to imagine that Dumbledore would knowingly allow Snape to persecute the Gryffindor students for no good reason whatsoever.
I'm not saying I think Snape's attitude to Harry and Neville is all or even mostly an act -- in fact I think his dislike is quite real. But I honestly find it difficult to believe that Snape's only reason for giving his inner b-word (yes, I am overly socialized) free rein in the classroom is because he doesn't know how (or can't be bothered) to control himself. I find it hard to imagine that Dumbledore would keep Snape on at Hogwarts, much less put him in a position of evident trust and confidence (indeed, Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall appear to function as a kind of administrative triumvirate at times), if that were the case.
It's not the only Snape theory out there, or even necessarily the most credible one, but it's the one that works for me. At least until OotP comes out and knocks my fanon into a cocked hat. :)
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Not a proven interest, no. But if you buy into the theory that Dumbledore strongly suspected that Voldemort would return, and believed that he and his allies should be prepared for such an event, it's conceivable that Snape might have kept up some semblance of a DE cover in case it should be needed again. Not that I expect to convince anybody with that -- I'm just submitting it as a fairly reasonable possibility.
As for the idea of trying to justify Snape's actions, particularly toward Neville -- I don't think they are justifiable, frankly. Even if his motives are more complex than, "This kid is incompetent, incompetence irritates me, therefore I shall bully him mercilessly to vent my own frustrations because I am a petty individual", even if somewhere in the back of his mind he has a nebulous idea that he's acting for Neville's own good (and I wouldn't put money on that), it doesn't in the least excuse the misery he's caused Neville. (Which is part of the reason that in the Margot fic I have deliberately afflicted Snape with a third-born son who looks like Harry and makes potions like Neville. What goes around, comes around, and this time Snape had better learn to Deal With It.)
No, the chief reason that I feel there has to be more to Snape's behaviour than mere petty viciousness actually has very little to do with my confidence in Snape, and a great deal more to do with my confidence in Dumbledore. Not that I think Dumbledore is infallible or impeccable, but he has been presented to us so far as a wise, compassionate, generous Headmaster with a sincere interest in the welfare of all his students. As such, it's hard for me to imagine that Dumbledore would knowingly allow Snape to persecute the Gryffindor students for no good reason whatsoever.
I'm not saying I think Snape's attitude to Harry and Neville is all or even mostly an act -- in fact I think his dislike is quite real. But I honestly find it difficult to believe that Snape's only reason for giving his inner b-word (yes, I am overly socialized) free rein in the classroom is because he doesn't know how (or can't be bothered) to control himself. I find it hard to imagine that Dumbledore would keep Snape on at Hogwarts, much less put him in a position of evident trust and confidence (indeed, Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall appear to function as a kind of administrative triumvirate at times), if that were the case.
It's not the only Snape theory out there, or even necessarily the most credible one, but it's the one that works for me. At least until OotP comes out and knocks my fanon into a cocked hat. :)