Why Did Snape Try to Save Harry?

[Weasleyfanforever]

Ok, we all know that Snape saved Harry during the quidditch match, but why? We know, or at least we think, that Snape is good, but we also know he hates Harry because of his hatred for James. So why would he save him? Did this occur only to make us believe Snape was bad so that Quirrell was not suspected until the end?

Was Snape really trying to help Harry because he is a teacher, and Harry a student, or does Snape have some ulterior motive? Is he trying to make it look as though he is a good guy, only to be revealed that he isn't? What are your thoughts?

[Alz]

Ohhh, I really don't want to expose the winning hand on this one so soon into the site's new start ...

But I will say, remember in the world of Harry Potter that nothing is really as it seems and this is JKR using her text to manipulate us into thinking one thing when she is planning to turn things on there head ...

My comments will be followed up in the Snape thread in Character Discussions :)

[Kingsley]

For now lets just say that Snape was more anti-Quirrell than anything else
Looking forward to more Snape opinions though since he is the big wild card on this site it seems :rolleyes:

[Alz]

Like everything in Harry Potter, you take it at face value at your peril ...
Just think for a second the difference between doing something and thinking something, then you start to find your way on this question ...

If something is over emphasised, it is avoidance of a fact because the big things in Harry Potter are always subtle ... so my answer to this, he does not want to see any harm to Harry Potter for that would be a disaster!

[Tinkerbell]

My feeling is that Snape saved Harry not because he wanted to but because he had to. Whether this was for another purpose which will become clear in the future of the Septology, I am not sure, but agree with Kings that his prime concern was to thwart Quirrel in his dastardly deeds in the first place.

[Boing]

I would tend to lean toward the thwarting of Quirrell - although, if Snape truly is a double agent, as many suspect, wouldn't he have known that his leader was near? If that is the case, why would he try to thwart Voldemort?

Because he is more loyal to Dumbledore and that side. Also, perhaps Dumbledore has kept him in his confidence with the ultimate plan and he knew that, for the moment, Harry had to stay alive.

Another reason could be that he owed Harry a debt and was just trying to repay.

[Tinkerbell]

And don't forget that Snape still felt indebted - although begrudgingly - to James Potter from saving him from being killed by Lupin as a werewolf, and perhaps, as Boing says, he felt that in protecting Harry he was repaying this debt.

[Alz]

With my reflective cap on - a new cap so bear with me - I would point towards the same as Boing & Tink ....

He owed James a life debt and not sure James was ever able to claim on it even if he wanted to ...
Snape seems the type of person who doesnt want to be beholden to anyone and you can tell when he talked about it how much distaste he had ...
I think in his mind, if only in his mind, that by trying to save Harry from danger is payback and cancellation of that debt.

[Weasleyfanforever]

I would agree that Snape was doing it as a repayment of the debt, if it had only happened once, but Snape has tried to protect/ saved Harry more than once, whether in his eyes, or in someone elses. He saved him from Quirrell in PS/SS, he, along with the other teachers has done things to protect him in PoA, he is convinced that he has saved him, as well as Hermione and Ron in PoA, and then vouches for them, saying they must have been under a charm, he (purely speculative here ;) ) changed the port key in GoF :p, and in OotP, he gave Umbridge fake veritaserum to give to Harry. He has gone out of his way to help Harry way more than once, so I don't think it is just the life debt to James that he could be repaying...

[Alz]

Yah, we seem time and time again that this person that is written to have such distaste for Harry doesnt half seem to be there when needed!
if he really did hate Potter like he makes out, he would never have intervened so many times ...
I really think Snape has a guilty mind about something and he see's helping Harry through he young and fragile life as some ways of salving these waking nightmares he has about what he did, what he didnt do, what he could have done etc ...

[Kingsley]

Well now that I think about it--i think it was less out of an obligation to james as it might have been to whatever he did as a deatheater--I know Snape was said by Dumbedore to have turned good before Voldemort's downfall but that doesnt mean that Snape couldnt have done something to the Potter's
Whether it was the Godrics Hollow incident or another time when the Potters actually "defied" Voldemort and Snape--Snape could feel that he owes a debt from those incidents :cool:

[Weasleyfanforever]

I know Snape was said by Dumbledore to have turned good before Voldemort's downfall but that doesnt mean that Snape couldnt have done something to the Potter's. Whether it was the Godrics Hollow incident or another time when the Potters actually "defied" Voldemort and Snape--Snape could feel that he owes a debt from those incidents

I like the idea here, but what could Snape have done that would warrant so much help from himself if he really does dislike Harry as much as he tries to project?

OK, this just gave another idea for another thread, but I promise I WIll come back to this one... ;)

[Alz]

I think Snape is acting out of guilt - like he is apeasing his guilty mind ...
His small actions to help Harry are always done in a manner that Harry never really knows - and I dont think Snape wants the credit ...
This leads me to belive he feels remorse and guilt - but doent want to show externally because he feels the hatred he had for James was justified - a la pensive moment in OoTP ...

[Nagini]

Ok, we all know that Snape saved Harry during the quidditch match, but why? We know, or at least we think, that Snape is good, but we also know he hates Harry because of his hatred for James. So why would he save him? Did this occur only to make us believe Snape was bad so that Quirrell was not suspected until the end?

Was Snape really trying to help Harry because he is a teacher, and Harry a student, or does Snape have some ulterior motive? Is he trying to make it look as though he is a good guy, only to be revealed that he isn't? What are your thoughts?

I have a couple of theories on this, one is that Snape is indeed good or as good as Snape is ever going to get and he didn't want to watch a young boy die and he the moment also alerted him to Quirrell not being all he was meant to be or being more than he was meant to be as we later found out. :)

Snape may be one of the few that knows about the prophecy, whether he found out from Voldemort or Dumbledore would be interesting. But perhaps he knew that Harry must be kept alive to vanquish the Dark Lord.

[Alz]

I am in agreement with that a whole deal as well ...
Chance are because of where Snape floats he either knows the Prophecy or he has pieced it together - as such he wants to shoulder the burdon of keeping Harry safe and sound until the big face off ...
I still think he has his own 'thing' he needs to make up for - but overall he is acting on what he either found out or was told ...

[Boing]

If one looks at the scene from PS/SS where Snape "saves" Harry from Quirrell's supposed jinx, it is suspicious . . .

The kids all see Snape's lips moving and think that he is the one performing the jinx - we find out later that Quirrell admits to doing it himself. But, during the actual event, Hermione rushes over to stop Snape and in the process, knocks over Quirrell. She then runs to Snape, starts one of her infamous "blue" fires, and it says after about 30 seconds he notices and tries to put it out . During this time (after Quirrell has been knocked down, but before Snape's eyes have been averted from Harry), Harry still has no control over his broomstick and we hear several times that eye contact is needed to perform the jinx.

So, why was he still having trouble in that 30 seconds? Was Snape really trying to save him? Was it just a writing error?

[kathy61]

(I'm new here , so let me know if I don't do something correctly .)

My feeling is that more than any supposed debt that Snape may have (to James) , he has other reasons to save Harry . #1 - His allegiance to Professor Dumbledore . #2 - He may know that Harry is the real key to eliminate Lord Voldemort (prophecy) . #3 - Although Professor Snape has called Harry arrogant like his parents , he recognises that Harry has been a victom of bullying , like he had been (by James) . Also , Professor Snape can't reprimand Draco Malfoy & his group without causing suspicians as to where his loyalties lie . As Draco would no-doubt alert Lucius .

[Sirius-fan-forever]

Since we are never told in the books how the Potter 'thrice defied voldemort', I think it's quite possible that during one or more of these times snape was involved. It could even be that snape purposely asked to participate with these attacks or meetings since he hated James. So, I think he's probably doing it because of guilt. I also agree with Kathy61 that showing disfavour to Harry is a good way to get on Lucius' good side. As well as the fact that he's now working for dumbledore and may know something about the prophecy. :D

[Nagini]

That is an interesting thought there SFF! If Snape did help the Potters thrice defy Voldemort, it was before the prophecy was made. That would make Snape on the team for quite a while. If he was helping, its possible the Potters didn't know who their saviour was those times as Snape and Sirius dont seem to have worked on the same side before. I get that from their reaction to each other at the end of GoF and during OoTP.

[Padma Patil]

I would agree that Snape was doing it as a repayment of the debt, if it had only happened once, but Snape has tried to protect/ saved Harry more than once, whether in his eyes, or in someone elses. He saved him from Quirrell in PS/SS, he, along with the other teachers has done things to protect him in PoA, he is convinced that he has saved him, as well as Hermione and Ron in PoA, and then vouches for them, saying they must have been under a charm, he (purely speculative here ;) ) changed the port key in GoF :p, and in OotP, he gave Umbridge fake veritaserum to give to Harry. He has gone out of his way to help Harry way more than once, so I don't think it is just the life debt to James that he could be repaying...

This is so true. Maybe its like an obligation to Dumbledore. I think Harry really can't see this though. It seems that he would rather see Snape sacked than look at how often Snape has either saved him or done something for the good of his wellfare.

[Alz]

I suppose another way of looking at this if we can ... what possible reason for Snape to try and help anyone other than himself?
Most actions Snape make seem to be to serve himself and his interests - not like he has any other motivations - or does he?
Think about how he is willing to risk his life to spy against Voldemort - we are told this is because of Dumbledore - so is there a possible connection between Snapes willingness to help anyone - and those that have someway helped him?
If so - then there is an outside chance that the Potters might have helped him in some way - because his willingness to help Harry could be fuelled once again by the return on a past period where someone did something positive for him?

[Fortescue]

I think some of Snape's behavior toward Harry is an act - he has to act as though he hates Harry, especially in front of Malfoy and the other Slytherins. It goes back to what Lucius said to Draco in Borgin and Burkes in CoS when he told Draco he needed to quit getting on about Harry Potter, the one who stopped the Dark Lord. Lucius didn't want anyone to think that they were against Harry as Lucius was supposed to be one of the Death Eaters that had been jinxed into working for Voldemort and he didn't want people knowing how his family really felt about Harry.

Snape couldn't be soft on Harry in any way since he was supposed to still have a connection to Lucius. He couldn't have Draco going back to daddy and telling him that Snape was being nice to Harry Potter. Snape showed instant hatred toward Harry from his first appearance in the first book. I don't see how an adult can instantly hate a child like that even if the childs parent was an old rival. If his actions were how he really felt, that would make Snape a very dangerous person to Harry, but we know he hasn't been - so far. That's not to say that Snape might not become dangerous to Harry at some point - after all, JKR said we aren't to think Snape is too nice of a guy.

As for saving Harry, it could be to pay back James in some way, but he has already saved Harry's can more than once, so I would think that any debt there would be paid. It could be that he is acting as Harry's security guard on behalf of Dumbledore - one more person keeping an eye on Harry as it seems there are many people watching him from time to time.

[yarvelling]

Snape is obviously trusted by Dumbledore, and has been instrumental in saving Harry's life once (PS). He is also a 'retired' Death Eater, and as such is supposedly now working for the Order. But, what if he is also protecting Harry for his own reasons? Reasons that have not yet been established? Snape may have a magical debt/obligation to Voldemort, or may be still a loyal supporter, whillst working as a double-agent. He may be protecting Harry specifically in order that HE may deliver him to Voldemort in the belief that Voldemort will kill Harry.
He obviously hates Harry, partly because of his debt to James, and partly because he is the son of James; someone who made his junior life a misery at Hogwarts, and also he may have a strong hatred of Harry because it was he that vanquished Voldemort for all those years, robbed him of his power, and so maybe also robbed Snape of some lofty position at Voldemorts side!
There is so much more to Snape than JKR has let-on so far...perhaps at some point during the next two books she'll be good enough to answer all these questions for us....!!!

[Fortescue]

Actually, Snape has saved Harry's life twice that we know for sure - the second time he saved the lives of all those who went to the Ministry with Harry in OotP. If it weren't for Snape notifiying the Order that Harry had taken off for the Ministry with the other Hogwarts students, they would have all been killed by the Death Eaters. There's no way Harry could have continued to hold off all the DEs in the Department of Mysteries, much less, the new and improved Voldemort. If they'd have gotton the prophecy from Harry all they'd have to do was chuck him and the rest through the veil and Voldemort's plans would be complete. It would be as if Harry had never dueled and escaped from Voldemort in the graveyard the year before and no one would know what happened to Harry and the others, except maybe Kreacher. Voldemort would be rid of Harry and still not have announced his return to the rest of the Wizarding world. I think that time of Snape saving Harry was a pretty big deal.

I do agree that Dumbledore trusts Snape - I'm still not sure why. But, if Snape would have felt any desire to get rid of Harry for good he could have simply ignored the fact that Harry never came out of the Dark Forrest, and no one would have been the wiser.

[Alz]

I think what was interesting on this is the way in the film PoA that Snape is shown shielding the kids as Lupin changes where as in the books he is out cold and pretends that he tried to save them ... I think this is relevant that JKR didnt have such a big problem with that.
Ang Forte - not sure I ever saw it as Snape keeping Harry safe is like a delayed payback on the life debt to James - would be consistant - instead of one act - lots of small ones :D

[Fortescue]

I think what was interesting on this is the way in the film PoA that Snape is shown shielding the kids as Lupin changes where as in the books he is out cold and pretends that he tried to save them ... I think this is relevant that JKR didnt have such a big problem with that.

I never put that together. After all the times I've read the book and watched the movie I didn't think of the difference. Good observation, Blaise. It could be significant as to why Snape is so insistent on protecting Harry, after all, she has been trying to make a point with the whole Snape saving Harry for 'what' reason thing. It did have to be okay with JKR for them to change that one point from the book, and it did make Snape look a little braver in the movie - facing off with a werewolf to protect the students. It seems so unSlytherin of him :D


Ang Forte - not sure I ever saw it as Snape keeping Harry safe is like a delayed payback on the life debt to James - would be consistant - instead of one act - lots of small ones :D

When Snape saved Harry in SS/PS, it's possible that someone else could have stopped Harry's fall. I don't recall whether Dumbledore was watching the Quidditch match, but McGonagall was. Dumbledore kept Harry from hitting the ground hard in PoA when he fell off his broom, so maybe Snape's counter curse wasn't really considered saving Harry, as he wasn't really in mortal danger since there were other teachers around who could have stopped him before he hit the ground. It's just that Snape was the one on alert considering he knew Quirrell was up to something and I think he knew that Voldemort was somehow involved, but it was never said clearly in the book or the movie for sure.

But, in OotP, Snape was the only one who could help Harry when he notified the Order where Harry and the others had gone - and oddly enough, Snape was the only one left at Hogwarts who could help Harry, and who, to our knowledge, knew about the Order of the Phoenix. Snape might not have gone to the Ministry himself, but he did start the wheels in motion and even went so far as to go into the Dark Forrest to look for them in case they were still in there. I think his protecting Harry goes beyond any feelings of payback to James. It might have to do with loyalty to Dumbledore, but I think it's even more then that. I just don't know what yet :D Maybe it's just a combo of everything, and as you said, Blaise, maybe he's paying James back in fits an starts :D

[Alz]

I actually still think it goes deeper than a life debt - and is actually more to do with the mytery of the man we call Snape.
JKR is keeping him shrouded in that enigmatic way for a reason and I am sure the life debt has a part to play - but I dont think it is the whole reason Snape does try to protect Harry.
I think many times Snape does it in a manner that is subtle and not easy to spot - but all the same Harry does have someone else looking over him and his actions and someone who is keeping him safe.