This is intended to slip into canon with barely a whisper, so it has no indication one way or the other. Plus, from Percy's point of view he's guilty.
My stand is that JKR has been redeeming Snape so often in the series it is unlikely he's genuinely a Death Eater.
If you're wondering about my thoughts in the background, this is a Snape filled with regret and resigned to being the "bad guy" who killed the beloved Dumbledore, despite his real intentions.
In this, while Percy was in his presence, Percy sensed something off: his political radar expected one kind of reaction from Snape, and this sorrowful sense of resignation didn't fit the bill for a guilty murderer. Deep down, he knew. Percy has always known the truth about Harry, and Snape here, but he believes "the facts" and "the evidence" before his own intuitions and opinions. It doesn't occur to him that "the evidence" could be wrong.
So once he was out of Snape's presence he started second-guessing himself. He's angry with himself less for the blowjob and more because of his reasons for it: kindness. And this is his first real feelings for a man (which is rather sad, but they made a powerful connection). He could easily fall in love with Snape, and perhaps he has. These feelings are that overwhelming to him, and irrational.
By-the-way, it's subtle and you're not intended to know (because Percy doesn't know) but Snape cast Legilimens here, before the sex:
He looked up into Snape's burning eyes
and here, after:
But Snape remained, his steady eyes on Percy who felt curiously vulnerable and naked under that gaze.
He was assessing the danger, but instead found that Percy's concern was genuine. For a hunted man hated by all, this was water in the desert. It was so unexpected he didn't want to leave.
So despite the sordid location and the sadness, this is a love story and a story about trust: trusting one's instincts, and finding someone you can trust.
You can bet that if Snape survives and is vindicated he's going to look Percy up. The one man who was genuinely concerned about him, despite it all? Oh yeah, Percy passed a major test of character there for Snape.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2005-08-04 06:30 am (UTC)My stand is that JKR has been redeeming Snape so often in the series it is unlikely he's genuinely a Death Eater.
If you're wondering about my thoughts in the background, this is a Snape filled with regret and resigned to being the "bad guy" who killed the beloved Dumbledore, despite his real intentions.
In this, while Percy was in his presence, Percy sensed something off: his political radar expected one kind of reaction from Snape, and this sorrowful sense of resignation didn't fit the bill for a guilty murderer. Deep down, he knew. Percy has always known the truth about Harry, and Snape here, but he believes "the facts" and "the evidence" before his own intuitions and opinions. It doesn't occur to him that "the evidence" could be wrong.
So once he was out of Snape's presence he started second-guessing himself. He's angry with himself less for the blowjob and more because of his reasons for it: kindness. And this is his first real feelings for a man (which is rather sad, but they made a powerful connection). He could easily fall in love with Snape, and perhaps he has. These feelings are that overwhelming to him, and irrational.
By-the-way, it's subtle and you're not intended to know (because Percy doesn't know) but Snape cast Legilimens here, before the sex:
He looked up into Snape's burning eyes
and here, after:
But Snape remained, his steady eyes on Percy who felt curiously vulnerable and naked under that gaze.
He was assessing the danger, but instead found that Percy's concern was genuine. For a hunted man hated by all, this was water in the desert. It was so unexpected he didn't want to leave.
So despite the sordid location and the sadness, this is a love story and a story about trust: trusting one's instincts, and finding someone you can trust.
You can bet that if Snape survives and is vindicated he's going to look Percy up. The one man who was genuinely concerned about him, despite it all? Oh yeah, Percy passed a major test of character there for Snape.
Icarus