What, according to you, did Dumbledore think of Severus? I’ve seen him as sympathetic (the family Snape never had, etc.) but also as a cold and indifferent user. Occasionally I come across an actively malicious Dumbledore although that usually falls into the extreme bashing categorie.
I mean, I fall on the Manipulative Dumbledore side of the house, so, I feel like my opinion’s easily extrapolated from that.
That said, I don’t think Dumbledore thinks of himself solely as a chess master. He acknowledges he does this, yes, but he does so for what he believes are moral purposes and for the greater good of society. If you were to ask Dumbledore, he probably would say that he has a deep, personal, connection to Harry Potter and sees him as a grandson, doesn’t stop him from grooming him for suicide. He’d say that he was very fond of the Potters, was very close with them, even though their recruitment into the Order at such a young age was... not exactly kosher.
Which makes this question complicated.
Dumbledore very much uses Snape as a pawn, just as he does everyone else in his life. The difference is that Snape is a witting pawn, he gets to see the man behind the curtain more often than not. Snape to me is a bit like Dumbledore’s Dirty Harry, because he’s int he know and competent, he gets to perform the unsavory tasks that must be done.
Dumbledore also uses the life debt Snape never should have owed James Potter against him as well as his guilt and grief over Lily. He places him in a poisition that Snape actively doesn’t like and, well, pretty much condemns him to death when he has Snape kill him in Draco’s stead. Either the Order or Voldemort himself were going to kill Snape one of those days, and eventually Voldemort did.
However, I think if you asked Dumbledore, he would say that Severus is a close confidante and a friend found in surprising places. I imagine he views Snape as a complicated man, one who made poor choices fueled by rage in his youth, and now is walking the rocky path to redemption with Dumbledore’s help. Yes, Snape has to do all the awful jobs, but somebody has to do it and Dumbledore knows Snape won’t buckle under the pressure.
I doubt Dumbledore would claim he’s Snape’s found family, he might see himself as a kind of father figure for Snape but more in the sense that he’s a male, older, authority figure Snape can turn to for guidance. I think he’d be more likely to label them as friends.
While, of course, also proceeding to make the best use he can of Severus Snape, because that’s what Dumbledore does.
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