...what a tale my thoughts could tell...

[rj_anderson]

dr_c has just reminded me, in a comment to the previous post, of another point I had noticed but forgotten -- and how could I forget this one, since it immediately generated a massive plot bunny in my brain, I cannot imagine --

Harry has a horrible feeling that Snape can read minds.

This may just be Harry's youthful paranoia, generated by his fear that Snape is evil and working on behalf of Voldemort, but it did strike me (and obviously dr_c as well) as an unusual thing for JKR to say.

Could there be some truth to it? Obviously it can't be as simple as Snape really being a mind-reader or Harry would never get away with anything; but could he have some limited kind of prescience or telepathic ability? If so, where did he get it from?

And if Snape has some idea -- even a general one -- of what people around him are thinking, might this be part of the reason he's so nasty and bitter all the time?

Comments

If that's true, he's lucky he's not crazy...

[(Anonymous)]

Well, crazier. Even limited mind-reading must be maddening.

He is definitely aware of people in some not yet defined way. He's noticed Harry despite the Invisiblity Cloak too many times for that to be coincidence or even Snape's generally suspicious nature.

Of course, there is a persistant fan-theory that Snape isn't entirely or at all Human -- the ever popular Vampire theory being one manifestation -- so if it turns out he isn't quite as Human as he seems, maybe his awareness is wholy natural, if not Human.

Neotoma

[firelocks.livejournal.com]

I always thought it was something he learned being a DE, and can still sort of sense things, but doesn't use it, because it's eeeeevil.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

See, this is so interesting (the whole idea of Snape having some kind of extrasensory perception, whether it's eeeeevil or not), I don't know why I haven't seen it in fanfic before. Presumably it's out there somewhere, but not in any of the Snapefics I've read.

Of course, I've not read any Snape-as-vampire fics either, and I'm sure there are a ton of those.

[dr-c.livejournal.com]

Note also that Voldemort himself has some definite abilities in this area: "He lies! He lies!" and "Do not lie to Lord Voldemort. He always knows." So that might support firelocks's theory.

Also, Voldemort's built-in lie-detector feature may add to the difficult of Snape's next mission; even if he is disguised as Crouch Jr., I would expect some clever evasiveness to be necessary from time to time. (In my fanfic, Snape managed to block Voldemort's mind-reading with a strong surge of "hatred for all things Potter." Whether this would work in the real story, I have no idea.)

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that's scary -- I never thought of the Voldemort lie-detector thing. I just assumed Voldie was bluffing, or just good at reading non-verbal cues, but then I'd forgotten the bit in PS/SS where he tells Quirrell that Harry's lying and he can't even see Harry at the time...

[theatresm.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about telepathy per se, but there's something going on: check out the "egg/Invisible!Harry scene between Snape, Fake!Moody, and Filch in GoF. Fake!Moody can definitely see Harry because of the magical eye; Filch cannot, though Mrs. Norris evidently can; Snape keeps shooting glances Harry's way and you get the sense that he knows *something's* there. This is furthered by the later scene in the Potions classroom, when Snape insists Harry had broken into his rooms, and that he knows Harry was prowling about.

So I'm fairly certain that Snape has something going on -- telepathy or a built-in "Sneak-o-Scope" type of talent -- that hasn't been revealed yet. And my sneaky, oh-please-let-it-be-true suspicion is that has something to do with the attack at Godric's Hollow and Snape's possible presence there the night Harry's parents were killed.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Not to mention that in the movie of PS/SS we have that scene where Snape appears to be able to see Harry through the Invisibility Cloak and even makes a grab for him ("Shout-out!" thought I gleefully -- but I'm not silly enough to think the scriptwriter had really read IWS 6).

Of course I realize the movies aren't canon, but given the level of consultation Steve Kloves had with JKR, and/or the top-secret stuff JKR told Alan Rickman about Snape, maybe there is something to that...

[jessanndi.livejournal.com]

Wow all these theories. I agree that JKR is very subtle in her clues so there is definitely some kind of extra ability there.

But the comments that follow reinforce the vampire theory that it maybe just an acute hearing ability as associated with the bat.

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

::adds Snape As Seer Theory to List of Favourite Theories Ever::

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

I know! I'm positively besieged with plot bunnies now -- what if Snape is plagued by a constant low-level babble of thoughts from the people around him, and suffers from ripping headaches as a result? Man, that would make anybody snarky. And there's the possibility that Harry is especially "loud" and irritating as a result of his connection (that is, both Harry's, via the curse scar, and Snape's own, via the Dark Mark) with Voldemort.

Except I can't help thinking you would write that particular bunny much better than I could -- it seems right up your [Diagon] alley.

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

My only problem with the notion is that surely having that sort of contact with people would give Snape a certain amount of empathy. Even if he were the Crabbiest Man Alive, he'd still find it a bit hard to torture/torment others.

Except I can't help thinking you would write that particular bunny much better than I could -- it seems right up your [Diagon] alley.

::blushes::

Though I'm still wibbling over what you did with Snape/'Lily', so I think you're being a bit unfair to yourself.

::files plot bunny away with the others::

Re:

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

You realize, of course, that now I am feeling the need to write a sequelish cookie of some sort just so I can give Albion a chance to demonstrate that he does have a sense of humour...

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

You realize, of course, that now I am feeling the need to write a sequelish cookie of some sort just so I can give Albion a chance to demonstrate that he does have a sense of humour...

::bats eyelashes::

Don't let me stop you. Though I'd be Highly Amused if Margot fell by the wayside while her big brother took the limelight ... again.

Erm. Actually, I think I'd be rather scared.

::checks escape routes::

Re:

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Though I'd be Highly Amused if Margot fell by the wayside while her big brother took the limelight ... again.

Again? Has he ever succeeded in doing it before?

But anyway, no likelihood of that happening -- I really don't think anybody is capable of taking the limelight from Margot, unless she decides to give it to them. And yes, that does include Snape.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Oh, duh, I have just realized what you meant. Never mind.

A better answer, then: Margot doesn't mind me writing Albion fics if I want to. She knows he's no threat to her supremacy. :)

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

There would be wonderful irony if it wasn't Dumbledore that read minds, but Snape. Or even that AD had bestowed the gift on SS.

Someone on LCD suggested that Snape was a people-savant in some way. Hmmm, need to play with this thought.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

People-savant? Meaning what, exactly? Presumably not what I'd have thought it meant (i.e. that he's good with people -- because he manifestly isn't). Do you mean that he's exceptionally gifted at "reading" people's expressions and reactions and guessing what's really on their minds? If so, that would certainly explain why Snape was suspicious of Quirrell long before anybody else...

Oy. Like I needed another reason to be fascinated with Snape.

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

The latter.

It fits in with my own Grand Unified Snape Theory, that he's insecure, and was bullied by Muggles. Because of that he became excessively adept at reading minds, and at a point when his magic was getting stronger. It evolved into an uncanny ability to read minds.