Of This and Other Worlds

I am going to lj-cut the following remarks because they involve an idea I thought of two days ago and have been entertaining in my mind off and on ever since, and even though I have still yet to see or read any of the purported HBP "spoilers", this idea of mine seems awfully like something that might be one of them. So, just in case it is a spoiler, don't click on the following if you want to remain unspoiled, but...

( The theory, which is mine, by Anne Elk )

Oh, and if anybody tries to post real spoilers or what they have been led to believe are real spoilers in the comments: please don't. Like I said, this is an idea of my own, not something I want to see confirmed or denied by anything outside the text of HBP itself. Thank you.

First, I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to shoebox2, who has recently returned to the Canadian Idol recapping scene with the advent of CI3 -- huzzah!

Second, in regard to the just-released full cover of HBP, lizbee and I had this conversation on IM tonight:

( Possibly spoilery speculation about hands )

Make of that what you will. I feel pretty confident I'm right, though.

( ETA: Further commentary on the hands thing )

We know a few new things: ( Spoilers and Speculations )

I was kind of meh before this, but now I'm pumped. Especially now I've seen that UK adult cover. Whee!

My reaction to finding out that Snape was a Capricorn instead of a Scorpio:

...

...

...

Er, was I supposed to care about this?

Sorry, I've just never had the slightest interest or confidence in astrological signs as a means of personality determination. I don't think I even bothered to decide when D&L Snape's birthday was, since it never came into any of the stories. Besides, if Snape were a Scorpio, as many people sincerely believed suited him to a T -- dude, that would make him the same sign as Kalan Porter (you knew I had to get a reference in there, didn't you?). Any astrological sign which can encompass both those personalities is so vague as to be completely useless, if you ask me.

Speaking of Snape, I've heard rumours -- I'm so out of the loop these days -- that Snape is "really" completely obsessed with his own selfish ambitions to the exclusion of all else, and that he is "really" evil or at least completely amoral and only prepared to support whichever side appears to be winning at the time. *yawn* Sorry, but I seem to recall having this discussion around the time PoA (the book, not the movie) came out and it didn't interest me much then either. JKR will let us know what's really going on in Severus's mind in good time, I'm sure. In the meantime, there are perfectly good canonical reasons to believe that he is not entirely self-interested, and the game of "My Snape Is More Canonical Than Yours Because He's Meaner" smacks of pettiness and wishful thinking to me.

Personally, I'll take any Snape who appears to look, speak and behave similarly to the way he does in canon, and where any obvious deviations from canon are noted and intelligently addressed in the context of the fic. I'm tired of Snapes who are sekritly beyootiful, expert oenophiles, and own sprawling manor houses to which they invite a host of wide-eyed Mary Sues (Hermione!Sue very much included) -- but I'm also tired of Snapes who are actually more vicious, selfish, and flagrantly amoral than I've ever seen Snape behave in canon. Oh, and Snape is not a dribbling psychological mess, either. He certainly has Issues, but if he really had all the Issues that some fic writers foist upon him, the guy would never get anything done because he'd be curled up in a corner in the St. Mungo's psych ward somewhere, gibbering.

( My Snape, for the record... )

I've already written a lengthy essay about the question of Snape's redemption, and a number of stories about the possibility of him having a successful romantic relationship, so I won't bother repeating any of that here. Basically, if my view of Snape is deemed hopelessly romanticized and uncanonical in certain quarters, no skin off my nose. Those who enjoy the stories I write will go on enjoying them, and those who don't are perfectly free to move on and seek out the kinds of stories they do like.

There were a few things in the oral presentation that didn't make it into the essay, or at least not in such a detailed form, so I'm adding them in here. The presentation followed pretty much the same thought flow as the essay, but I think I did a better job of backing up some of my arguments in the presentation. So here's the Special Bonus Section of the game, for those playing at home:

( What is Redemption, Anyway? )

Later, having established that JKR's Christianity does, by her own admission, have an influence on the outcome of the books, I came back to the subject of redemption in the Biblical sense and its possible impact on Snape's character arc, as well as including some thoughts on this motif in the Narnia books (since JKR unabashedly acknowledges her love of and indebtedness to that series as well):

( Has Snape Already Been Redeemed? )

And, of course, this would be further complicated by the question of just how much of his nasty behaviour is exaggerated (or at least, deliberately unrestrained) on account of his need to preserve his cover as a Voldemort sympathizer.

Finally, and less importantly, when discussing in the early part of the presentation whether or not JKR's comments about Snape in interviews should be taken at face value, I mentioned the Rickman factor -- that JKR was not only delighted with AR being cast in the part, but that he was in fact her first pick for the role -- and suggested that if Jo had really wanted the audience to dislike Snape and have no sympathy with him, she chose the wrong actor. :)

Anyway, I think those were the only really significant departures from or additions to what I'd written in the essay. So... now you know what you missed!

*******************
ETA: kizmet_42 wrote something in an e-mail regarding the essay that I think worth reposting here, as I can see that I didn't make myself quite clear on this particular point:

( I doubt very strongly that Harry and Snape will ever have any sort of non-adversarial relationship... )

However, I actually agreed with her, and said so in my reply:

( What I meant by 'resolve their mutual hostility' was not 'become friends' so much as 'declare a cease-fire'... )

I hope that makes things a bit more clear.

Sorry for the delay on this, I was waiting for lydaclunas to post her account of things so I didn't overlap too much with hers, but then LJ ate her post and she hasn't rewritten it yet, so I'll do mine and she can fill in wherever she likes. I know she has at least one piece of incriminating evidence picture that I wasn't planning to include in my recap, for instance...

Anyway. On to Saturday morning, and the real beginning of Convention Alley!

I have a memory like a sieve, so I remember meeting a number of people at breakfast, but I can't remember all their names: however, I do recall meeting Yolanda, and Trista Merrill (one of the other presenters, who had her copy of her PhD thesis in tow -- how cool is it that she did a Pottercentric thesis?), and chatting with a guy named Robert and a blonde, bespectacled Hufflepuff so cute I wanted to adopt her. And, of course, we chattered away happily about all things Potter until it was time to go to the first session.

( Session One: 'Severus Snape: Romantic Byronic Hero or Unredeemable Greasy Git?' )

Afterward there was a general discussion, which I was in the middle of and quite enjoying when I glanced back to see sheryll urgently beckoning to me. I hurried up to talk to her, only to learn that Roslyn LaDrew, who had been scheduled to present during the next session, was still on the road, and would I mind doing my seminar next, in her place?

I hadn't exactly been prepared for that -- I'd been counting on presenting during the third session, after lunch and some free time -- and for a moment my brain just went *wkrstksft* (major House Points to anyone who gets that joke). But then I heard myself say, "Uh, yeah, sure," and a few minutes later was sprinting through the pouring rain, desperate to get back to my residence and grab my notes.

( Session Two: 'A Deeply Horrible Person: The Unlikely Redemption of Severus Snape' )

After I'd got through my presentation, the feeling of trembly breathlessness gradually eased, especially once I'd got some lunch down and had a relaxing chat with Stephanie and some other Snapefans. And then -- hey -- I could just lean back and enjoy the rest of the convention! Which I did, starting with Phyllis Morris's seminar in the early afternoon.

( Session Three: 'Reflections in the Mirror of Erised: Clues to Harry’s Ancestry and Destiny' )

( Session Four: 'Balancing Right and Wrong: Rule-Breaking in the Harry Potter Novels' )

The afternoon ended, for me at least, with Wendy Spiesman's ( Small Group Discussion: 'Dumbledore Trusts Severus Snape - Do You?' )

Hm, this is getting to be quite a long post, so perhaps I'll save Saturday evening and Sunday morning for Part Three. Stay tuned for The Truth About Steve Vander Ark, and more of callyperry's pictures!

I was debating to myself just last night whether I ought to write up a theory that had been taking shape in my mind over the last few weeks, when I saw this, on the comments to a recent posting at The Leaky Cauldron:

I kind of get this idea that all of the Marauders were vying for Lily (as if she were some object *F*) and James just happened to win...but it's curious how they end up together. I mean, the scenes in OotP. Eek. I'm wondering if James does something to her magically to entice her.

So, since I am obviously not the only one who has had this thought since reading OotP, and since lizbee and pharnabazus have been kind enough not only to indulge my heretical musings in this regard but to admit that the idea makes sense and even (in the case of pharnabazus) to suggest corroborating evidence, I am going to make the case here and let my readers tear it to bits -- or build it up some more -- as they see fit.

Ahem.

( James Potter Is Ever So Evil. )

Will somebody badger Alec into getting a LiveJournal and posting his ideas to unplottables where they can be properly appreciated and enjoyed by a wider audience?

Anyway, here's a recent one from him, which was short and pithy enough that I couldn't help but be fascinated by it:

( Fit the First )

And then, from a subsequent e-mail:

( Fit the Second )

I think I shall cross-post this to unplottables. And I hope it generates all kinds of questions and arguments, Alec, so you will have to get a LiveJournal to respond to them properly! I am 38% evil, after all...

I've given up (for the moment) on reading OotP aloud to my husband, since we are both rather busy, and started re-reading the book alone. I'm doing this primarily with an eye to catching any inconsistencies or considerations that relate to the revision of D&L, but it's interesting to see how many other little details I hadn't noticed before. I'm up to Chapter Sixteen and have collected quite a lot of these already, so in no particular order, here they are:

( Dum de dum dum... )

I think that's all for the moment...

Inspired by ajhalluk's latest (and deliciously snarky) post about fandom cliches that need to be retired, stat. One of these was the idea that Snape is bullying Neville out of some kind of "tough love", and it got me thinking about why Snape might resent Neville so particularly. Which led to an intriguing new idea:

When Trelawney first made her prophecy about the child who would be Voldemort's downfall, did Dumbledore and Snape have a disagreement as to which child it would be -- Dumbledore's preference being Harry and Snape's being Neville? Is part of Snape's resentment of Neville due to Neville's having apparently "let him down" in that respect?

If so, the way Snape treats Neville might be a combination of trying to force Neville into displaying some magical ability (I wouldn't call it "tough love", since no tender feelings are involved on Snape's part -- he's merely trying to prove he wasn't completely wrong about Neville's potential), and sheer frustration with Neville's spectacular (and often hazardous) incompetence in his class.

It probably doesn't help that McGonagall seems to find Neville equally frustrating to deal with (and she's generally considered a good teacher both in and out of canon, so it's not just Snape's personal teaching method that's at fault) -- and has even been known to take it out on him in public (see GoF, when she takes him to task for his inability to perform a simple Switching Spell, and basically tells him he's a disgrace to the whole school). She and Snape probably gripe about him to each other in the staff room, which only reinforces their respective perceptions of him as an embarrassment and a failure.

I suspect, however, that Neville is going to display a bit more gumption -- even and perhaps especially to Snape -- in Book 6. And I'm really, really looking forward to it. *rubs hands together*

P.S. Is it wrong of me to secretly hope that in Book 7 we find out that Neville was really the child of prophecy and the hero of the whole story after all? I mean, even aside from all the dreadfully mixed feelings this would be sure to cause in Snape, I think it would be way too cool. But I doubt JKR's going to do that...

P.P.S. I've just checked to confirm this -- it's after Dumbledore awards points for courage to Neville in PS/SS that we see Snape shaking McGonagall's hand with a "horrible forced smile". If he's been clinging to the hope that Neville might yet display some sign of child-of-prophecy potential and trump Harry in that respect, that smile might not have been quite as wholly artificial as Harry thinks...