ship_manifesto | Argus Filch/Severus Snape (Harry Potter)

Title: An Acquired Taste
Author: Delphi
Spoilers: Books 1-5
Email: delphislash@yahoo.ca
Notes: Some snippets taken out of a previous Filch essay.

He pushed the door ajar and peered inside - and a horrible scene met his eyes.

Snape and Filch were inside, alone. Snape was holding his robes above his knees.
- PS

An Introduction: (or Why Snape/Filch is like Escargot)

It strikes me as telling that when I first sat down to write this essay, I contemplated titling it "In Defence of Snape/Filch." After all, in the wizard-swapping world that is the Harry Potter slash fandom, this is one of the rarest pairings when it comes to characters who have actually shared scenes in canon - and is perhaps the one that provokes the most negative reactions in lieu of simple disinterest. 'Ick' is the term that tends to come up the most, I believe.

This obviously gave me pause, and yet as I further sorted through the tangle of why I love this pairing so much - rereading canon scenes and favourite stories alike - it became obvious that Snape and Filch don't require a defence at all. Rather, in the tradition of many of the finer things in life, this pairing is simply an acquired taste.

Like certain unpronounceable dishes on the menus of fancy French bistros, it may look strange, it may look frightening, and you might wonder who in their right mind ever came up with that combination. But with a bit of courage and the right cooks, you may find yourself hooked after only one bite.

A Refresher Course

Severus Snape: Potions master, Head of Slytherin, ex-Death Eater, turncoat, spy. He of the greasy hair and sallow skin, hooked nose, yellow teeth, and cold black eyes. Silky-voiced and sneering, he is one of the strictest teachers at Hogwarts, demanding utter obedience and respect from his young charges - a respect he seems to get precious little of elsewhere, given his checkered past and status as one of the youngest teachers at Hogwarts. His temper is as short as his grudges are long, and yet despite these less than sterling qualities, he is perhaps the most widely 'shipped character in all of the Potterverse.

Why? Because as we've discovered through the progression of books, Severus Snape is a man of many faces. He's a biased, unpleasant individual with a sharp tongue and too much pride, yes. But he was also once a bullied boy who would rather face worse treatment than swallow his pride and acknowledge himself as a victim. He's the only person who has managed to join the Death Eaters and then betray them without finding himself killed by either side. He has risked death in an attempt to prevent Voldemort's return to power, saved Harry's life, shaken the hand of a man he hates, and seems ready to sacrifice all he's earned for himself in order to fight for Dumbledore's side. He is intelligent, a lover of logic over esoterica, and a deliciously obscure puzzle for whom we don't yet have all the pieces.

Argus Filch: In comparison to Snape, no one could look simpler on the surface than Argus Filch. A man of middling to advancing age whose life's obsession is keeping the goings-on at Hogwarts neat and orderly, he's the typical cranky old caretaker, more mindful of the castle as a building than as a school. He tosses out detentions left and right, makes wild threats, and yearns for a return to the days of his predecessor, when the judicious use of corporal punishment ensured that his position was a respected one.

And yet, from Chamber of Secrets on, we've glimpsed depths to the character: His shame at being discovered as a Squib, and the determination that's led him to still be trying to overcome his condition after all these years. The disdain he gets from the students. His grief when Mrs. Norris is lost to him. All these things paint a different portrait than the one we see through Harry's young eyes. From a less innocent perspective, Argus is still a mean man, yes - a petty man at times, and a suspicious one always. But we can also see that he's a sad man, an outcast, and above all, lonely.

You Got Speculation in my Canon - You Got Canon in my Speculation!

So what is it about these two prickly characters that seems to connect in canon?

I can't be the only one whose mind slid into the gutter the first time I read the lines that open this essay. Admittedly, we discover immediately after that Snape has an injured leg and that Filch is handing him bandages. On reflection though, this doesn't really detract from the slashiness of the scene. Plot devices aside, this is perhaps the most intimate we've heretofore see either character being with another person throughout the entire series. Filch appears on the surface to be very much in favour of people doing things for themselves, and the list of people to whom we can imagine Snape baring his wounds seems very short indeed.

This scene is rife with subtext: How likely is it that bandages are kept in the staff room? Did Snape call Filch in there to tend to him - or was Filch the one to notice the injury and insist on making sure it was treated? From a narrative standpoint, the situation is set up to give Snape a reason to talk out loud while still intimating that the "good" teachers are in the dark in regards to his run-in with Fluffy on Hallowe'en. However, given that Snape's sole line in this vein is "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?" we could just as easily have the scene play out without Filch on his knees.

Filch's involvement serves a running theme throughout the Potter books: that 'unpleasant' and 'evil' can be exclusive concepts. The similarities between the two are illustrated here. We are willing to believe that both of them are in on an evil plot simply because they're both cranky individuals who don't like children. A closer look reveals more. Most important is the fact that Snape obviously considers Filch to be reliable and trustworthy. This isn't an honour that we can imagine such a pragmatic man easily bestowing. He's well-versed in betrayal - to consider Filch loyal implies a trust we see him exhibit with few others.

And Filch? Well, from what we've seen, he's more than earned it.

Every time we see these two together, Filch is doing his best impression of a faithful terrier (or perhaps a smitten schoolboy). In Philosopher's Stone, we have him running to find Snape: "You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody’s been in the Restricted Section.”

Interesting, when you consider that they're on the fifth floor when this happens; nowhere near Snape’s office or (likely) his rooms. Does Filch keep track of everyone's nightly patrols and wanderings, or just Snape's?

And when Snape replies, “The Restricted Section? Well, they can’t be far, we’ll catch them,” we get the sense that this is not the first time they've patrolled the corridors together.

It's obvious enough for even Harry to remark upon it: “Filch wouldn’t help us if his life depended on it, he’s too friendly with Snape.”

Friendly, yes, or devoted. In Goblet of Fire, Filch comes achingly close to his white whale of kicking Peeves out of the castle when he thinks he’s caught the poltergeist stealing a Triwizard clue. We get a lovely midnight meeting between our pair, both in their nightclothes, with a jubilant Filch and a livid Snape whose office has been burgled. This excerpt, to me, sums up their relationship perfectly:

“- I was coming to investigate -”

“- Peeves threw it. Professor -”

“- and when I passed my office, I saw that the torches were lit and a cupboard door was ajar! Somebody has been searching it!”

“But Peeves couldn’t -”

“I know he couldn’t, Filch!” Snape snapped again. “I seal my office with a spell none but a wizard could break!” Snape looked up the stairs, straight through Harry, and then down into the corridor below. “I want you to come and help me search for the intruder, Filch.”

“I - yes, Professor - but -”

Filch looked yearningly up the stairs, right through Harry, who could see that he was very reluctant to forgo the chance of cornering Peeves. Go, Harry pleaded with him silently, go with Snape [...]

“The thing is, Professor,” said Filch plaintively, “the headmaster will have to listen to me this time. Peeves has been stealing from a student, it might be my chance to get him thrown out of the castle once and for all -”

“Filch, I don’t give a damn about that wretched poltergeist; it’s my office that’s -”

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.

Snape stopped talking very abruptly.

The subtext - oh my, the subtext.

On the surface, this can be read as nothing more than a superior ploughing through his subordinate. Snape insists, Filch protests, end of story. A closer examination, however, reveals the possibility of a multi-faceted exchange. For instance, Snape’s request that Filch join him is quite politely phrased, for Snape. Conversely, there’s a hint of passive-aggressiveness in Filch’s “plaintive” excuses. Snape in turn sounds as though he habitually hears altogether too much about Peeves.

Had they not been interrupted by Moody later in this scene, I can equally picture either Filch giving in and sullenly consenting to the search (sighing heavily all the while) or Snape rolling his eyes, making a scathing remark, and stomping off after ‘the intruder’ by himself.

We see here that Filch clearly calls Snape “Professor” both directly and in reference to him. Neither of them fall into the Albus Dumbledore trap of using a given name when he needs to get his way. What’s notable is that Snape calls Filch consistently by his surname; he doesn’t refer to him as “Mr. Filch” in conversation as the rest of the staff do. The line between condescension and familiarity is blurry here, but the fact remains that Snape comes off as much more casual with Filch than he does with anyone else of his acquaintance that we see. I think this is one of the reasons I enjoy slashing them so much. Filch gives Snape the respect he craves in a non-threatening, unconditional manner (and if Filch was indeed the caretaker in Snape’s day, then Snape has certainly earned that high regard).

No wonder Snape seems more candid around Filch, and why I can imagine him willing to show more vulnerability. It’s no risk and all reward from his end. And perhaps, once in a great while, he actually enjoys indulging in the decadence of being magnanimous to someone.

But what is behind Filch’s fondness for Snape? Certainly they’re kindred spirits in their love for rules and discipline, but Professor McGonagall is every bit as strict as Snape, and all across the board for the four houses too. Perhaps Snape was one of the few students that Filch could tolerate back in the day. After all, in Filch’s mind, the real criminals are boys like Harry, James, Sirius, and the Weasley twins: the boisterous sort who run in the halls, track in mud, and sneak out after dark. The impression we get of Snape as a boy in Order of the Phoenix is quiet and studious; whatever altercations he might have gotten into may not have fallen under Filch’s jurisdiction, and I’m sure he delighted in ratting the Marauders out to Filch whenever he could.

Perhaps Filch has watched Snape rise up through the ranks, local boy makes good, to the position of Head of Slytherin. Or perhaps it's that Snape is the sort of wizard Filch imagines he might have been. Not handsome or popular or charming, no - but powerful, and a force to be reckoned with in the eyes of the students of Hogwarts.

But Isn't Filch...Ugly?

And here we have it, the crux of things - the protest to which this instinct for a defensive treaty arises.

The answer is: Yes.

With an addendum: But so is Snape.

Or rather, they're both men who are more likely to resemble someone you'd meet in the street than someone you'd find on a Hollywood screen. Like the song says, you don't have to be a supermodel to do the animal thing. People of less than stellar looks have sex too, and in a written media like fanfiction, a mental picture should take the backseat to compelling imagery and well-written emotional motivation.

And to be honest, the lack of pretty is one of the factors of this pairing that appeals to me the most. In many other pairings, there is an effort to give Snape a "makeover" so that he compares to his partner. His hair isn't greasy - it's just cauldron fumes. His nose isn't really all that big, and his teeth are white, and he's hiding a magnificent body under those robes.

To take this even further, I think it's fair to say that most popular Snape pairings require him to change drastically inside as well as out. After all, as it stands in canon, Snape doesn't like Harry or Remus or Sirius or Hermione. To bring them together in anything resembling a healthy way, Snape usually has to make amends for his past behaviour, see the error of his ways, and suddenly become a whole lot nicer if he wants to keep his partner. Which, while it can be very well-written as character development, is a trifle unsatisfying at times.

Is it so far-fetched that Snape might actually want to be with someone who...well, likes him? Someone he, true to Slytherin form, can feel just a tiny bit superior to, and therefore trust not to hurt him? Someone with whom he shares common values and an interest in...discipline? The one person who knew him in his youth and still seems to wholeheartedly approve of the man he's become?

Have a nibble, and then you tell me.

Recommended Reading

appleviking:
Untitled Drawing - NC17

atdelphi:
Blind, Deaf, and Dumb - NC17 Underage Content
In the Eye of the Beholder (sequel to above) - NC17 Underage Content
An Eye for an Eye (sequel to above) - NC17 Underage Content
On the Wall - NC17 Light BDSM
Things that go Bump in the Night - NC17 NonCon, Knifeplay
Miser's Gold - NC17 Underage Content

Gwendolyn:
With Friends Like These, Who Needs Elephants - PG13

juxiantang:
Lonely - G

Mathilda:
Filthy - R

millefiori:
The Old Punishments - NC17 Corporal Punishment

mimine:
Untitled - NC17

neon_yellow:
A Matter of Healing - NC17 - Issues of Consent

ntamara:
La Langue de Botched Potions - PG13

predatrix:
Every Day This Week - PG13
Filched - NC17 Underaged, Corporal Punishment
Had Up on the Carpet (sequel to above) - NC17 Light BDSM
Cat Who Had the Cream (sequel to above) - NC17
Required - NC17

sakuracorr:
Closets - PG13

sinick:
The Case of the Boomslang Skin - PG13