In Defense of McGonagall

[Heather Moore]

No: HPFGUIDX 30072

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at h...> wrote:
> 
> This is how Snape describes the {dementor/BCJr} events in the office:
> 
> "When we told Mr. Fudge that we had caught the Death Eater 
> responsible for tonight's events," said Snape, in a low voice, "he 
> seemed to feel his personal safety was in question.  He insisted on 
> summoning a dementor to accompany him into the castle.  He brought it 
> up to the office where Barty Crouch --"
> 
> Apparently, Fudge summoned a dementor to escort himself and Snape 
> into the castle.  By Snape's own admission, Fudge did not summon the 
> dementor after Fudge was already in the castle.  Snape definitely 
> knows that Dumbledore does not permit dementors in the castle.  In 
> PoA, Ch. 9, Dumbledore tells Snape and Percy, "I'm afraid no dementor 
> will cross the threshold of this castle while I am headmaster."
> 
> Nevertheless, Snape does nothing to prevent Fudge from bringing the 
> dementor, and worse, actually brings the dementor right into the 
> office where Crouch Jr. is being held.  All Snape had to do, of 
> course, was tell Fudge he won't escort him to Crouch's location with 
> a dementor.
> 


 In defense of Snape's motives, the elimination of active former Death Eaters is much safer for him than allowing them to remain in Azkaban. Barty escaped before and he could do so again. I mean, we all know just how competent Fudge's administration is - not! 

In the position Barty had been assuming he probably had first-hand testimony that Snape is no friend to Voldemort anymore. Considering what we've seen of Snape's rashness and headstrong, self-centered behavior in the past, the idea that he would in this case choose to subvert Dumbledore's wishes and allow the destruction of such a threat to his person is hardly surprising. He doesn't seem to go out of his way to take his former colleagues out, but when the opportunity presented itself here, there's a big part of me that can't bring myself to blame him for turning his head and passively letting it happen.  And afterward, he admitted exactly what had happened.

It might have been a wrong decision, but it's also an understandable one.