#snarthur

(PS: thank you for answering so many asks about crack ships, it's both really interesting and hilarious!)

thank you, anon, because i'd never really stopped to think about this one and now i'm extremely compelled by the concept!

the weasley siblings - percy included; he's the person who gives harry the bit of gossip which heavily influences his opinion of snape [that snape wants the defence against the dark arts job] in philosopher's stone - all canonically loathe snape, and there's undoubtedly a lot of open bitching about him in that household [ginny being convinced snape's up to something in order of the phoenix on the grounds that bill also reckons so is a prime example of sibling unity in loathing someone, and i relate].

molly and arthur, however, seem to have much more respect for snape, and much more conviction - prior to the end of half-blood prince - in his loyalty to the order. molly reproaches harry for refusing to speak respectfully about snape in order of the phoenix, and sirius is of the opinion that she'd be angry if she discovered he was suspicious about snape's motives in teaching harry occlumency. arthur has sufficient authority in snape's eyes - and in sirius' - that his mere presence in the room stops them fighting when snape comes to grimmauld place to arrange harry's occlumency lessons; and he's also - while lupin is the more vociferous defender of snape - unwilling to indulge harry's belief that snape's up to no good after he overhears him discussing the unbreakable vow with draco malfoy in half-blood prince [despite the fact that - in further evidence that he's one of the best adults in the series - he takes the rest of harry's concerns in that book seriously, especially as they relate to malfoy].

which is to say, arthur [and molly] can undoubtedly be written to value snape as a member of the order in a way that other members might not. and this might combine nicely with the family's canonical willingness to take in waifs and strays. ron telling harry in order of the phoenix that snape "never" eats at grimmauld place suggests that molly and/or arthur have asked him to [and we see arthur luring kingsley round with the promise of meatballs, the cheeky devil!]. i think you have a hook for a lovely bit of snarthur by writing arthur as determined to get snape to look after himself for once, and snape's canonical willingness to submit to men who tell him what to do [snapemort and snumbledore nation, join forces and rise up] being activated by the force of arthur's daddy-ish determination...

but, on a more serious note, i also think you could do something very interesting with snarthur post-war. one of the striking things about arthur is that, despite the fact that neither he nor molly were order members in the first war, they are its most important members within days of voldemort's resurrection and, following dumbledore's death, it is arthur - rather than kingsley, who one might expect to be better placed for the role - who becomes its de facto lynchpin. arthur also appears to be a central figure in the resistance more broadly - when the trio break into the ministry in deathly hallows, arthur feels no fear about letting "runcorn" know where his loyalties lie - while also remaining in his state job, despite his knowledge of the atrocities voldemort's regime is committing, because he evidently regards it as his duty to the war effort to retain access to the state machine and the information the order can glean from it.

[i would quite like to see this timeline clarified from the version i often see in fics: the evidence of deathly hallows is that all of the adult weasleys remain in their jobs until easter 1998, so late march/early april. they are not in hiding before then, and there is no evidence that the burrow is destroyed or ransacked prior to this date, including when the death eaters turn up at bill and fleur's wedding.]

arthur is, then, in a really good position to be able to appreciate - in a world in which snape lives - just what he went through as a spy, particularly as the war built to its conclusion. i am always struck by sirius' statement in order of the phoenix that arthur is a man who understands that "there are things worth dying for" in war, but i think that [unlike sirius] arthur also demonstrates throughout canon that he understands the flip-side of this: that there are things worth living for.

[this is a man, after all, who jumps straight into remadora shipping while his son lies injured and dumbledore lies dead. king shit.]

and - and this is one of the reasons why i enjoy post-war mess so much in a fic - it's frequently the case that it is often harder to live for something than to die for it. a snape who's miraculously survived nagini's bite [something else these two have in common!] finding himself confused and unmoored in a world in which he's just... free is a trope i adore, as is the idea that arthur's canonical interest in fixing things extends to being a mender of people.