Snape/Dumbledore (Harry Potter)
Title: Pulvis et umbra sumus
Author: sakuracorr
Spoilers: Pretty much tidbits from all the books
Email: sakuracorr@gmail.com
Notes: Thanks to thenotoriousso4 for the beta and to atdelphi for the quote and the wonderful inspiration she provides.  To switchknife, for paving my road to the HP fandom with quality slash.



“To me, shared secrets are the crux of this pairing. It doesn't matter if one has a fondness for May/December romances, or an eye for the darker side of patronage in the wizarding world, there is no denying that Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore are bound together by something.  Be it love or lust, benediction or debt, as readers we glimpse stronger ties than Harry can yet understand - and as writers we get the pleasure of turning subtext to text.” –atdelphi

I. The Discovery of Magic

The other night I was rereading The Hallelujah Series by Dien for the second time in my life.  Rufus Wainwright was playing along on my computer, and I had the same blanket over my head (much in the fashion of young girls playing Mary in Christmas plays) that I had over my head the first time.

It wasn’t raining, but the ambiance was still magic.  I was still entranced in a way that I have rarely felt since I was thirteen, just starting into fanfiction, and polishing off something like twenty fics a night.

I probably don’t have to tell anyone how rare that feeling of magic can get.

There are authors who can write something so amazing their words linger with you.  You think about their stories suddenly and without warning because the feeling is still there, despite the fact it has been a year, two years… a lifetime.

The difference between great authors and great pairings is that great authors are to great pairings just icing on the cake (mind you very good icing, but icing all the same).

I’ve read many great fics by great authors who wrote their pairing so beautifully it ached, but in the hands of the average fic author the pairing shriveled like a raisin in the sun (pardon the clichés).  With a great pairing, you don’t have to have the great author to really enjoy the fic, because the pairing works.

It works.

It’s been about a year since thenotoriousso4 got me into the HP fandom through switchknife’s rec site, and that great pairing, for me, is still Snape/Dumbledore.  With every fic I read, it’s still like discovering magic.

II. The Brooding Potion’s Master

"I think they've both got a point," said Sirius, looking thoughtfully at Ron and Hermione. "Ever since I found out Snape was teaching here, I've wondered why Dumbledore hired him. Snape's always been fascinated by the Dark Arts, he was famous for it at school. Slimy, oily, greasy-haired kid, he was," Sirius added, and Harry and Ron grinned at each other. "Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in seventh year, and he was part of a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters."

Guarded is a good word to use when describing Severus Snape.  He isn’t Harry, who is the child growing into a man, young, naïve, and inexperienced.  He’s seen things and done things JKR will probably never go into detail about.

Complex is another word that you can’t avoid when talking about Snape.  He adamantly supports Slytherin, dotes on Malfoy, and probably knows more ways to kill people than any Nazi could ever think up.  On his arm is the dark mark, signaling him as a Death Eater and by association a once murderer.

In contrast, he saves Harry Potter’s life more than once and risks his life to spy for the Order.

On the outside, he is often a man of passionate anger and resentment, but anyone who studies human nature will tell you no man hates strongly who does not love strongly nor hurt strongly.

III. Bumblebees and Lemon Drops

"Crackers!" said Dumbledore enthusiastically, offering the end of a large silver noisemaker to Snape, who took it reluctantly and tugged. With a bang like a gunshot, the cracker flew apart to reveal a large, pointed witchs hat topped with a stuffed vulture… Snape's mouth thinned and he pushed the hat toward Dumbledore, who swapped it for his wizard's hat at once.

Albus Dumbledore is greatest wizard of his time, the only one You-Know-Who is afraid of, and greatly in touch with his inner child.  He’s often portrayed unconcerned, humming, a bit absent-minded, and in good spirits.

Dumbledore is considered by most of the wizarding world to be too trusting because of his support of Lupin, Black, and Snape (most notably).

Despite his displayed carefree nature, like Snape, Dumbledore has another side to him.  As the leader of the Order, JKR portrays him as intensely serious and not to be trifled with.  There are also instances where he seems troubled and withdrawn.  Dumbledore, like Snape, has seen much of the worst of the wizarding world and is in no way naïve, despite his typical carefree outward nature.

III. Aspects of the pairing or “It’s the dynamics, stupid”

Harry looked into Dumbledore's light blue eyes, and the thing he really wanted to know spilled out of his mouth before he could stop it.
"What made you think he'd really stopped supporting Voldemort, Professor?"

Dumbledore held Harry’s gaze for a few seconds, and then said, "That, Harry, is a matter between Professor Snape and myself."

The appeal of Snape/Dumbledore is something past age and appearances.

It is noticing that a great majority of the time, Snape’s bouts of anger come when Dumbledore does not heed his advice.  It is thinking about how much Snape seems to think he would.

It is realizing that their pasts are so intractably bound, and that Snape pays Dumbledore a reverence he won’t pay anyone else.  Aside from conversations with Draco (which are oddly vague) and instances where Dumbledore is supporting Harry Potter, Snape shows that he is loyal and respectful of the Headmaster.

"We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contestants, Dumbledore," said Karkaroff, his steely smile still in place, though his eyes were colder than ever. "Otherwise, we would, of course, have brought along a wider selection of candidates from our own schools."

"It's no one's fault but Potter's, Karkaroff," said Snape softly. His black eyes were alight with malice. "Don't go blaming Dumbledore for Potter's determination to break rules. He has been crossing lines ever since he arrived here -"

"Thank you, Severus," said Dumbledore firmly, and Snape went quiet, though his eyes still glinted malevolently through his curtain of greasy black hair.

This subtext relationship is painted as private, but even if someone were to read it without being a Snape/Dumbledore shipper, they would see that there is some attachment between the two men that goes beyond friendship…

Especially when you count the number of redeemed Death Eaters…

All subtext aside, though, and there are still two characters whose personalities work fantastically together.  There are many contrasts between the two.  These contrasts at times work together though.  Where Snape can be prone to emotions (outwardly anger), Dumbledore is patient enough to deal with that.  Where Dumbledore can be too trusting, Snape is suspicious enough to stay on guard.  Dumbledore is outgoing enough to have a relationship with Snape (who is the equivalent of the friend you have to call all of the time and doesn’t want to stay on the phone when you do).  Together they balance out.  Their flaws work together.

They also have enough in common to have a relationship.  Intellectually, the two are well suited enough to enjoy each other in that manner.  In terms of what they have seen and done, neither has to tell the other how gruesome the world can be.  Both have the capacity to be dead serious.  They both are secretive enough that they can respect each other’s privacy.

What that whole last paragraph equates to is that Dumbledore and Snape can really talk.  The books hardly mention either of them having serious conversations with other characters, especially when it comes to anything personal.  When Dumbledore relates information to Harry, it is often when it no longer matters.  Snape is barely seen saying anything without a hint of sarcasm, but there are so many aspects to his character that hint he might have more to say that this.

Snape and Dumbledore could talk to each other, because there are few characters with the same experience and maturity.

And Snape enjoys few people’s trust, yet Dumbledore obviously trusts him a great deal.  Even if it doesn’t signify some intimacy in the past, it would certainly explain a certain reason Snape might feel attached to Dumbledore.  Trust is also important to any relationship.

There are/would (depending on what you believe) be rough patches in their relationship (among those their feelings over a certain Harry Potter), but they work together well enough to see why, in the end, there is something longer lasting than anger and more important than a shag in the Astronomy Tower.

IV. Sex and Age (but ewww, isn’t Dumbledore like old!?!)

If the setting wasn’t the wizarding world, I am inclined to believe Dumbledore would be dead.  That being said, this is the wizarding world.  In the wizarding world, with the various ages of people I’ve seen thrown around, I am not much more inclined to see Dumbledore different from any eighty year old muggle.

A lot of people have an objection to his age and an offshoot of that, the age difference.

As to Dumbledore’s age, I can’t really change the canon facts, so if that is your objection to the pairing, it will stay your objection.

To me the age difference is not too hard to reason out.  Snape was portrayed as not really fitting in with his generation.  Dumbledore certainly is inclined to act younger than he is.  The two almost meet in terms of maturity (both having times when they act younger and older than their respective ages).

It also conveys what is said connotatively about the pairing.  There is something about their relationship that transcends age and traditional bounds people place on relationships.

And as to the sex, if you are past the age-aspect, it still is really fun to read, and there can be a surprising amount of variety to it.

V. Conclusion

The best thing about Snape/Dumbledore is there are many roles they can have and still manage to keep that something that attracted me to the pairing in the first place.

They can take on the quiet aspect of a day spent drinking tea together or the angst of a fight or the need for redemption.  They can punish each other, they can heal each other’s wounds, and they can murder each other with truth.  At the end of each fic you read, you wonder how one of them could have existed without the other.

It’s not just love or hate or sex with Snape/Dumbledore.  It’s not about appearance.  It’s more about acceptance.

Even after a year, Snape/Dumbledore still holds that magic for me it’s held since Dien’s fic.  I’m at the end of my essay, and I feel as it I’ve barely been able to fit that to words.

It’s beautiful, and how often can you say that about an old man and a loner snogging in an office, huh?

Recs

A big thanks to atdelphi for these, too, as I had the addresses of one or two but would have had to search around for everything I remembered reading otherwise.

Required Reading

The Hallelujah Series by Lady Dien - The very best place to start, and still one of my absolute favorite series of fanfiction.

Singing the Body Electric by atdelphi - So wonderful there are not words to describe her.  If you don't read her, you are missing out on beautiful, beautiful literature (not fanfiction, literature!).

Author Sites

http://www.skyehawke.com/archive/authors.php?no=209 jeddy83's site

http://diana.slashcity.com dkwilliams's site

http://juxian.slashcity.net juxiantang's site

http://ntamara.arithmancy.net ntamara's site

Archives/General

Albus Dumbledore/Severus Snape Buggering Bee

ADxSS discussion list on Yahoo

If you know any other good links, etc, don't be afraid to tell me about them in a comment!