Maurders - Blog Posts
Fancasting
so I was chilling on the interwebs and I saw some good ole’ fashioned hp fan casting posts, one of which casted a young (90s ish) Leonardo DiCapiro as Draco Malfoy and at first I thought “eh” but then I really thought about it more and...
YES
Severus Snape
This picture, of this expression, is perfect for him because I am still so unsure of him. I remember reading the 6th book and becoming even more uncertain (thou, of course, a large part of that was probably confusion from reading it within 48 hours while travelling cross-country) and still am to this day. But as the biggest contradictory and confusion, he has a lot to teach us.
Bullying is horrendous. I remember that Lily separately both (1) ended her friendship with Snape because of the whispers/rumours of him and his friends that were all related to pre-Death Eater activities and (2) later dated, fell in love, and married James Potter (which is a whole different thing that I need more information on because he really was privileged asswipe). But while they both hurt Snape tremendously, this was just on top of the years of torment James, Lupin, Sirius and Peter bullied him. In the flashbacks and history, we know that Snape had a terrible home (unlike James) and then, with this hatred of the world, goes to a school where he thought things would get better and this guy just beats down on him for being poor and odd. Dumbledore’s statement that “maybe we sort too early” was accurate, and came a bit too late. As later expressed Snape was courageous in the moment and whom you are housed with matters and maybe had Snape been in a different house he would have had more time with positive and loving peer influencers like Lily and less with future Death Eaters. So yeah, things could have all been very different. That picture of Daniel Radcliffe probably not, but could have been an outcome for Harry with his parents being Lily and Snape but the things that happen to us when we’re young may not break us but do define us.
This one is also tricky and not one I 100% agree with but see accurately represented in the books. Albus always insisted Harry call him Professor Snape. While I don’t believe in “respecting your elders” and, yeah, Dumbledore could’ve done more to ease this relationship he was overall right. Snape had a very traumatic life and while he was selfish and only came thru when it came to Lily, he still did with great harm to himself and was someone who should be respected because there were things he could teach Harry, thou not easily as both were incredibly stubborn. But on the other side, while Snape really needed to grow up when it came to Harry personally, there are teachers who are truly terrible and because of tenure stick around and should be fired and looked at to more by parents and teachers. On the other hand, especially in the states, teachers do so much more than parents and students and outsiders who don’t listen to the teachers they know realize. In one of the best funded and elite public-school districts we have, there are still young teachers I know who shell out a minimum of $400.00 a semester for thing their students NEED, let alone extra things they think can help their students progress. So before we whine and moan, remember that in most cases our teachers (and most people in public service) do more than we realize and are human; but there is a chance they might not be and if after a bit of reflection see that a teacher is either lazy or a bully report them, and parents, please listen.
Touched on by both parts above, we are reminded by Snape that (1) Bullying is bad, and (2) People are Human, both of these combine and remind us about the terrible cycles that people and generations can get involved in. The bullied become the bullies, the abused become the abusers. You never know what someone is going thru. Like the Dementors, Snape (which I feel weird referring to him now from writing our passage two) represented a lot of rough and upsettings things that can happen in life. But as with most clouds, there is a silver lining. If given another chance Snape would have tried to have been a better person, hold his temper more, see evil for what it truly was earlier on. If not able to change a thing, then I have no doubt he would have relived his life again in order to save Harry for Lily, all in the name of love. Always.
Side note: As contradictory and confusing as Snape is, and why with no one really knowing him, Harry felt he and those like him should be honoured. I get that part. But I will never accept that a child was named after him instead of Hagrid. Never! (But that’s a different issue of course).