What Snape knew

[marinafrants]

No: HPFGUIDX 35335

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Amanda" <editor at t...> wrote:
> It seems to me that unless you think Snape would stand outside the 
door and
> listen for a time before going in (which I think does not fit with 
either
> his character or the situation) or would feign unconsciousness 
after the
> attack (which is ridiculous), it is clear from going through the 
chapter
> carefully that he misses most of the important revelations.

<snip>

> This chapter is masterfully constructed in the timing of 
everything, when
> you look carefully at it; I can't imagine something as vital as 
when Snape
> de-cloaked and tried to take charge would be random.

So true.  Every time I re-read this chapter (and the time-turner 
events that followed it), I'm always amazed at how tightly 
structured it is -- so many characters, all with their own agendas, 
all possessing only a part of the complete story, coming together in 
precisely the right way to make the events come out as they do, and 
it never feels fake or forced.  JKR may not be the world's greatest 
prose stylist, but damn, can she tell a story or what?

I also think it's significant that she took so much pains to arrange 
the timing so that Snape only witnesses such a small subset of the 
important revelations, so that all his actions end up being 
motivated by a sincere belief in Sirius' guilt.  I think if Snape 
had been presented at the time with convincing evidence of Sirius' 
innocence (such as the actual sight of Peter in his human form, for 
example), he would've sucked it up and dealt with it.  In fact, it 
seems that he did suck it up and deal with it sometime before he re-
encountered Sirius in GoF.

Marina
rusalka at ix.netcom.com