[HPforGrownups] Re: The Kissing of Barty Crouch (was: Fudge and the Longb...

[Edblanning at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 40976

Snazzzybird:

> I've wondered about The Kiss too, but a different aspect of it: to 
> wit, *why* were McGonagall and Snape unable to stop the Dementor from 
> administering the kiss?  I have a hard time believing neither one of 
> them is capable of the Patronus charm.  They don't seem like the type 
> to lose their heads in a crisis and "forget" how to control 
> Dementors.  So... did they have reason to believe the Dementor was 
> acting on Fudge's orders?
> 

Mmm. The blame to which I alluded.

Well, it's not clear that *all* wizards can produce a Patronus. Or that all 
wizards actually *learn* to. OTOH, Competant!Snape should be able to manage 
it. ;-)
My impression is that, first of all neither of them were *expecting* the 
Dementor to act - they were both taken by surprise. In fact, McGonagall's 
account suggests that it simply came through the door and performed the kiss 
befor anyone realised what was happening.

Given the effect that a Dementor has, if one enters the room apparently 
legitimately, so that you cannot ward it off with a Patronus, then you are 
probably not at the peak of your powers to react if it starts to behave in a 
way that it shouldn't, anyway.

Also, when it came to Sirius' potential Kissing, Dumbledore said that he was 
powerless to countermand the Minister for Magic. McGonagall and Snape had 
even less power. The Dementor was with Fudge; I should think that they 
expected it to act only according to his instructions.

On a separate note, I do find something a bit FLINTy about the whole thing.
Snape's account is a little puzzling. He says, 'When *we* [my emphasis] told 
Mr Fudge....'
Now unless Snape is doing a Mrs Thatcher and using the royal 'we', who was 
with him? It sounds as if he's talking about himself and Minerva, which he 
can't be if he went to fetch Fudge and she was standing guard over Crouch. 

McGonagall's accounts seem to conflict too. On the one hand the Dementor 
seems to have acted immediately, on the other it sounds as if she warned 
Fudge that Dumbledore would not tolerate it before it acted.

Unless that's it - she was arguing with Fudge and the Dementor took advantage 
of the moment to act.

Eloise.



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