Fandom Discussion and Poll: Snape and His Accursed Bloodline

[themostepotente]

sinick and I had a discussion not too long ago on Snape's bloodline and whether or not his bloodline was truly a secret.

I can buy that Dumbledore and McGonagall were privy to his familial bloodline, but anyone else? I think Snape being as unpopular as he was would have done just about anything to make certain his background was kept as secret as possible. It's been suggested that a lot of the kids sorted into Slytherin were actually half-bloods masquerading as pure-bloods to escape scrutiny or worse. This makes a lot of sense to me.

I guess the crux of our debate was whether or not Lucius knew Severus was a half-blood. I maintain that Lucius did not. I can't imagine Lucius would have had much to do with him otherwise, but then Lucius doesn't seem to mind that Voldemort isn't of pure blood.

sinick maintains that because pure-bloods are fewer in numbers than half-bloods and Muggle-borns, Lucius would be familiar with family names in conjunction with bloodlines. Goddess forbid, he would rub cocks noses with anyone of inferior status.

I must also stress that because Snape is an accomplished Occlumens, wouldn't he be able to keep his skeletons closeted? Well, maybe not from Voldemort. He, of course, is a skilled Legilimens.

Fuck, I'm confused :P

And while I'm on the subject of Snape's bloodline, there are ticky boxes to check regarding your thoughts...

[Poll #557878]

Lastly (I'm making this an essay style question :P), who might have been aware of Snape's bloodline? How did they come to find out?

--P

Comments

[iulia_linnea.livejournal.com]

Is it necessarily clear that Lucius knows about Voldemort being a half-blood?

[midnitemaraud-r.livejournal.com]

I was wondering the same thing. When Harry told Bellatrix that Voldemort's father was a Muggle, she was rather distressed and screamed that Harry was lying. You have to wonder who among his followers really knew/knows the truth.

We don't even know what he told his classmates - almost certainly that his parents were dead, but we don't know that he told them he lived in a Muggle orphanage. I can't see him sharing personal information regardless. And really - he was left in the orphanage by his pureblood witch mother (though he thought it was his father who had been the powerful wizard at the time), so growing up in such a place would not necessarily mean he hadn't been a pureblood and taken in by ignorant muggles when his parents died. The headmaster and professors obviously knew, but...

[iulia_linnea.livejournal.com]

I was thinking about that scene, too---and the fact that purebloods probably wouldn't have followed a half-blood. Of course, the concept of cheating death is a fairly powerful one, and that might have been enough to give the purebloods room for an exception. Voldemort had to promise them something, right?

[midnitemaraud-r.livejournal.com]

I don't know if he would have offered them immortality of their own - I think he's too selfish to share the secrets of the horcruxes and the complete truth about them with anyone. But he did offer them power, which, as we all know, is very seductive in its own right. Power over the rest of the wizarding world, but not an equal share with him, though he was obviously very good at making many of them think they were 'special' to him.

[iulia_linnea.livejournal.com]

I don't disagree---but isn't it possible that he "promised" what he wasn't actually planning to give? The Death Eater name seems too pointed . . . .

[midnitemaraud-r.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, it's absolutely possible. Voldemort lies and seduces.

You know, it's funny, for every new bit of information we obtain, hundreds more questions pop up. I know she plotted out her own 'rules of the wizarding universe' and gave each character a history and all that, but I have to wonder if she has enough 'real' answers for all of the questions and theories we come up with. Is this a point that she considered herself? I know she says that she'll answer all of our questions by the end of book seven, but I don't think she realizes the scope and depth of some of our questions. :)

[iulia_linnea.livejournal.com]

On questions and J.K.: Yep, she has no idea---but that is what fanfic is for. :)

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

Lucius couldn't be that blonde :P

[iulia_linnea.livejournal.com]

*snorts*