Death Eater - Tumblr Posts

It’s so common to have first war Snape be some super badass high ranking Death Eater, which is really odd imo. All the evidence points to Snape being not at all remarkable among existing Death Eaters. Karakaroff named him as a last resort, and didn’t attach any specific crime to his name, unlike the other names he gave. Sirius didn’t know he was a Death Eater, and Voldemort thought he was low profile enough that Dumbledore would not know he was a Death Eater and hire him as a teacher (though Dumbledore did in fact know). He wasn’t trusted with a Horcrux. His soul is also intact until he kills Dumbledore, which wouldn’t happen if he had directly killed anyone (which doesn’t remove the possibility of him killing people indirectly like he did the Potter’s).

The crime that is consistently emphasized with regards to Snape isn’t active malice or sadism. Rather, it’s indifference. Whether it’s Mary McDonald or James and Harry, the crime that is emphasized were he’s involved isn’t hurting them, but not giving a shit when others do. Only when the one person who he does care about beyond himself is murdered, by his own indifference to the suffering of an innocent by delivering the prophecy, can Snape’s moral journey begin. Evil prevails when men do nothing. Snape learned that lesson painfully, and so he embarks on a journey to learn by actively fighting against evil, so that what’s left of Lily can live. In the process, he expands his moral universe beyond Lily, culminating in his year as headmaster, where he gives everything of himself to save others, including those he hates. He also accepts that Harry has to die, acknowledging that Voldemort’s defeat and saving the wizarding world is more important than his personal atonement to Lily. He loves the wizarding world, more than he ever did Lily. Snape’s arc is one of moving from selfishness, to selflessness.