Snape and the Malfoys (Good Band name? y/n)
Another important fan opinion poll! Please take it and tell me what you think about the relationship between Snape and those Malfoys.
Poll
I just can't get over the feeling that JKR wants to tell me something about the relationship between Snape and Lucius. First there is this mysterious reaction Snape has to Harry mentioning Lucius' name as one of the Death Eaters at the end of GoF. "Snape made a sudden movement, but as Harry looked at him, Snape's eyes flew back to Fudge." He can't control his emotional response for a split second there. After all we know, it can not have been surprise. He knew very well that Lucius had to be there. So it was probably protectiveness?
But more importantly: Why did Rowling want us to think about it? Did she just decide that this would be the IC reaction for Snape to show, and that anything that makes the readers wonder about Snape's motivations is good, or was it supposed to be a strategically placed hint?
I'd like to note that there was a very easy way to mention a relationship between the two earlier in GoF, when Sirius talks about teenaged Snape and the Slytherins he hung out with. If JK just wanted to state the fact that yes, Snape and Lucius were acquaintances, that would have been the perfect time, I think.
Every avid Harry Potter fan was well aware of this mysterious reaction when they read the second hint of Snape's friendship to Lucius in OotP: "..how is Lucius Malfoy these days? I expect he's delighted his lapdog's working at Hogwarts, isn't he?" Snape reacts by telling Sirius that Lucius recognized him at the station. I don't think this second part is important, as it's something Snape would likely know as a double agent anyway.
Chapters later Umbridge is very disappointed in Snape's lack of helpfulness, especially considering that "Lucius Malfoy always speaks most highly of [him]" So hey, Sirius seems to be correct! How much insight Sirus has in the exact relationship between Snape and Lucius is a different topic, but the topic I care for the most is: Would JK tell us about the relationship between two characters in such an indirect, coy way, if it wasn't important?
In HBP we finally get black on white proof for their friendship when Narcissa tells Snape that he is Lucius' old friend. This "revelation" doesn't lead to a plot twist, so I don't think the hints in the previous books make sense as just leading up to it. I think all that must be leading up to something in Deathly Hallows.
Admittedly, anything that is going on between Snape and Lucius seems to have little to do with Harry, but there are scenarios where it could be important: Snape could convince Lucius to fight Voldemort, if only for his son's sake. He could attack Lucius to save someone else, which surely makes for a more exciting scene if it's full of trust and betrayal issues. (Isn't everything better if it's full of trust and betrayal issues?)
In any case, I think we will get a scene with Lucius and Snape, and the nature of their relationship, apart from being Death Eaters together, will be of importance.
Speaking of the nature of their relationship: Considering Sirius' lapdog comment I can't imagine anything else than Lucius "discovering" the weird but very talented little half-blood boy when they were in school together, and introducing him into the pure-blood and community. After all Sirius had no idea what Snape was up to after they finished school, neither that he was a Death Eater nor that he started teaching, so he had no way of knowing about any connection to Lucius then. And as far as we can trust JK Rowlings maths, the two are at least 5 years apart.
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I don't think that the relationship between Narcissa and Snape matters or will come up again, although I'm a shipper and would love to be proved wrong. Narcissa's story, unlike her son's, husband's or sister's, doesn't need any resolution. She could do nothing except for worrying and drinking tea during the rest of the war, and the Potter books wouldn't be any worse for it. Considering how many characters do need a resolution in the last 600 pages of the series, I could well imagine that this is her destiny.
Anyway, her connection to Snape doesn't seem very personal. He might have very well been moved by the beautiful, desperate mother buttering him up, without it necessarly being because it was Narcissa. A counter argument is that she seemed shocked when he told her she ought not to speak, when the Dark Lord forbade it. She seemed to expect Snape to be more loyal to her than to Voldemort... This could still have more to do with him being Lucius friend that with their own relationship, though.
If she plays a role, I think she will act against Voldemort, definitely for her sons's sake, either with Snape's or Andromeda's help.
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Naturally, I expect that Draco's story will be linked to Snape. It seems quite likely that Snape will ... lead him on the right path? HBP certainly gives the impression that Draco and saving Draco is a priority for Snape, probably partly because of his relationship to Lucius.
Contrary to a lot of fanfiction, I don't believe that Draco will continue his bratty defiant attitude towards Snape in the next book. He certainly didn't seem defiant the last time we saw him. Most the boy's bravado is gone for now.
What do you think?
Poll
I just can't get over the feeling that JKR wants to tell me something about the relationship between Snape and Lucius. First there is this mysterious reaction Snape has to Harry mentioning Lucius' name as one of the Death Eaters at the end of GoF. "Snape made a sudden movement, but as Harry looked at him, Snape's eyes flew back to Fudge." He can't control his emotional response for a split second there. After all we know, it can not have been surprise. He knew very well that Lucius had to be there. So it was probably protectiveness?
But more importantly: Why did Rowling want us to think about it? Did she just decide that this would be the IC reaction for Snape to show, and that anything that makes the readers wonder about Snape's motivations is good, or was it supposed to be a strategically placed hint?
I'd like to note that there was a very easy way to mention a relationship between the two earlier in GoF, when Sirius talks about teenaged Snape and the Slytherins he hung out with. If JK just wanted to state the fact that yes, Snape and Lucius were acquaintances, that would have been the perfect time, I think.
Every avid Harry Potter fan was well aware of this mysterious reaction when they read the second hint of Snape's friendship to Lucius in OotP: "..how is Lucius Malfoy these days? I expect he's delighted his lapdog's working at Hogwarts, isn't he?" Snape reacts by telling Sirius that Lucius recognized him at the station. I don't think this second part is important, as it's something Snape would likely know as a double agent anyway.
Chapters later Umbridge is very disappointed in Snape's lack of helpfulness, especially considering that "Lucius Malfoy always speaks most highly of [him]" So hey, Sirius seems to be correct! How much insight Sirus has in the exact relationship between Snape and Lucius is a different topic, but the topic I care for the most is: Would JK tell us about the relationship between two characters in such an indirect, coy way, if it wasn't important?
In HBP we finally get black on white proof for their friendship when Narcissa tells Snape that he is Lucius' old friend. This "revelation" doesn't lead to a plot twist, so I don't think the hints in the previous books make sense as just leading up to it. I think all that must be leading up to something in Deathly Hallows.
Admittedly, anything that is going on between Snape and Lucius seems to have little to do with Harry, but there are scenarios where it could be important: Snape could convince Lucius to fight Voldemort, if only for his son's sake. He could attack Lucius to save someone else, which surely makes for a more exciting scene if it's full of trust and betrayal issues. (Isn't everything better if it's full of trust and betrayal issues?)
In any case, I think we will get a scene with Lucius and Snape, and the nature of their relationship, apart from being Death Eaters together, will be of importance.
Speaking of the nature of their relationship: Considering Sirius' lapdog comment I can't imagine anything else than Lucius "discovering" the weird but very talented little half-blood boy when they were in school together, and introducing him into the pure-blood and community. After all Sirius had no idea what Snape was up to after they finished school, neither that he was a Death Eater nor that he started teaching, so he had no way of knowing about any connection to Lucius then. And as far as we can trust JK Rowlings maths, the two are at least 5 years apart.
---
I don't think that the relationship between Narcissa and Snape matters or will come up again, although I'm a shipper and would love to be proved wrong. Narcissa's story, unlike her son's, husband's or sister's, doesn't need any resolution. She could do nothing except for worrying and drinking tea during the rest of the war, and the Potter books wouldn't be any worse for it. Considering how many characters do need a resolution in the last 600 pages of the series, I could well imagine that this is her destiny.
Anyway, her connection to Snape doesn't seem very personal. He might have very well been moved by the beautiful, desperate mother buttering him up, without it necessarly being because it was Narcissa. A counter argument is that she seemed shocked when he told her she ought not to speak, when the Dark Lord forbade it. She seemed to expect Snape to be more loyal to her than to Voldemort... This could still have more to do with him being Lucius friend that with their own relationship, though.
If she plays a role, I think she will act against Voldemort, definitely for her sons's sake, either with Snape's or Andromeda's help.
---
Naturally, I expect that Draco's story will be linked to Snape. It seems quite likely that Snape will ... lead him on the right path? HBP certainly gives the impression that Draco and saving Draco is a priority for Snape, probably partly because of his relationship to Lucius.
Contrary to a lot of fanfiction, I don't believe that Draco will continue his bratty defiant attitude towards Snape in the next book. He certainly didn't seem defiant the last time we saw him. Most the boy's bravado is gone for now.
What do you think?