Snape's Unseen Pensieve Memories

Book 5: HP & the Order of the Phoenix Forum

Every Occlumency lesson, Snape starts with getting rid of three memories. One of these is investigated by Harry. What we are going to concentrate on here, however, are the other two .

We know a few things about Snape:

• He is a "double-agent" between Death-Eaters and the Order.
  
• Dumbledore trusts him
  
• Obviously also Voldemort trusts him.

Snape doesn't want Harry to see the other two memories. One of them has to be the reason Dumbledore trusts him.

My theory is that Snape was the one that alerted Dumbledore that Voldemort was going to attempt to kill baby Harry. Snape couldn't follow a leader who would kill a baby. Dumbledore knew that for Snape to do anything to help James, he had to have come over to the good side. He risked his own life to save Harry.

The other memory. It may have to do with something horrible, and illegal, he did for Voldemort.

Dumbledore was his headmaster, always kind, always fair. Snape went to him, and he knew that he would help.

Also, it might not be that Voldemort was going to kill a baby, but it was Lily's baby. I'm still with the theory that Snape was in love with her. Or, another twist... Snape is Lily and Petuna's brother, but was given up for adoption so no one knew that there was a connection. I KNOW... stretching things too much, right? But, that's what JKR does. She stretches our imaginations.

Anyway, what if he was in love with Lily, and didn't want her to have to suffer a loss that would devestate her beyond all belief. Or, he didn't want Voldemort to kill Lily, because he was in love with her, and even if he couldn't have her, he didn't want her dead.

I forgot about Lily. I do think that he loved her. I think it is a combination of both of our ideas. He told Dumbledore to help Lily and save her baby.

Maybe the other memory is one of Lily.

Quite possible... since she WAS in the one memory that Harry already visited. Anything is possible. It could be a memory of him betraying Voldemort, and he doesn't want Harry to see that. It could just be something stupid that happened to him. Hopefully, we will find out those other two things. I think that they are important.

I like all the connections between Snape's memories and Dumbledore and Lily (*sudden idea* LOVE TRIANGLE *is quickly strangled* XD!!), but I found the most interesting things involving his childhood. I find Snape to be a very intriguing character and I wonder why he is the way he is; I think that the pensieve gave us some hints to the answer of this question. Harry saw him sitting in a corner while his parents argued and such. I know a lot of people who have a crappy home life - heck, mine's not so great, either - and different people handle it in different ways. He seems like the person who could turn cold and bitter because of his experiences, which may explain why he can be so nasty. This will sound uber cheesey, but I think he's really sensitive deep down.

Cheeeeesy! He isn't sensitive, but I also don't think he's simply an evil bastard he appears to be. I don't think we'll get to read something as cheesy as Snape being sensitive deep down, not from JKR. But, if Snape gets over his bad memories from childhoood, he might become a better person. Not less harsh, but less bitter, and less vengeous.

Snape and his childhood. What a horrible thing for Harry to see. I wonder if the memories that were removed were ones that Dumbledore knows about. You just never know with Snape.

How does Snape know which memory Harry saw?

He was probably watching from behind Harry for a few seconds.

That is my favourite chapter in the whole book. I am so sadistic!