"The Spying Game" problems

[porphyria_ash]

No: HPFGUIDX 39721

I defended Pip's version of events by suggesting that Snape was 
trying to sabotage the events in the Shack in order to let Peter 
escape by accident (what I believe Pip has said):

>...lets think about what would have happened if Snape 
>had not intervened at all. It would have been quite likely that they 
>would have managed to do what Harry intended in the end: the whole 
>party would have made it back to the castle with Peter alive and in 
>rat form, they would have demonstrated his animagus quality to Fudge,
>and possibly he would have been incarcerated and Sirius set free. 
>Possibly. But it was a possibility that Dumbledore didn't want to 
>take according to Pip's theory. 

Marcus replied: 

> Snape is only awake for four pages out of more than forty from the 
> time the Harry and Herminone meet Black to Lupin's transformation.  
> So he only managed to slow things down 10% at the very most.  Now 
how
> much more could a competent!Snape do while cloaked?  

Well, if he hadn't been knocked out for real, a lot: a fake-knocked-
out Snape would have had much the same usefulness as a cloaked one. 
Pip suggests this was a glitch in the plan. Also, I'm not 100 percent 
sure of what he could do while cloaked; all magic has some effect 
even if he can do it wordlessly; I don't think he could have done 
magic and stayed undetected at the same time. He's establishing a 
reason for being there. 

> If push came to 
> shove, he could always decloak back at Hogwarts' park.  Everybody 
> would assume he had been waiting for them or had just come on the 
> scene, and nobody would be the wiser.  If Snape was trying to 
control 
> events, why would Snape and Dumbledore want to choose Pip's 
scenario 
> rather than the one I just laid out?  

I'm not sure he's trying to control events as much as tip them in a 
certain direction. Also, it's quite possible that he wanted to face 
Sirius and Lupin for his own reasons, if only for a little while. He 
still hates them both. Maybe he couldn't resist the opportunity to 
make them suffer. Also, Pip suggests he was improvising at this point 
anyway; that does give this theory some wiggle room. :-)

I remarked on Snape provoking Harry and how this always has the same 
effect of making Harry more stubborn. Marcus asks:

> Yes, but why should he count on his poking and prodding to provoke 
> Harry to attack now when it hasn't before? 

This is a much more life-and-death situation, not a classroom. If 
Harry wanted to get Snape out of the way he had to do something 
agressive. It seems plausible to me that he'd do so now. It's not a 
matter of a few house points at stake.

>  You cannot argue that his 
> antagonizing HHR is a sign of his true mission because that is how 
he 
> always treats them.

I'm afraid I do find this plausible and I do argue it all the time. I 
think Dumbledore takes advantage of Snape's natural personality by 
assigning him duties which work well with his menace. I don't think 
the fact that he *is* nasty and the fact that this nastiness can 
sometimes have a useful function negate each other.

> If Dumbledore and Snape had the goals as outlined by Pip, there are 
> far simplier ways to accomplish them, or at least more controlled 
> ways.  When Dumbledore allowed a first year to face down Voldemort 
> and his minion, it was in a Hogwart's dungeon.  Why not a similar 
> situation?

Pip has stated how this situation would have been a bit off the cuff; 
no one could have predicted when or how Peter would have made a run 
for it or been caught out by someone else. 

Not that the seven protections of PS/SS were simple! Controlled, yes. 
But Pip has argued that the story climaxes get more uncontrolled and 
dangerous each year so as to make Harry that much stronger and more 
resourceful. 

Marcus, I can't make you see the fun in this explanation of events. 
:-) I admit it might not be true, but I think it has some 
possibilites. It does explain some irregularites in the text. And I'm 
fond of conspiracy theories. 

~P.