Odd parallels and FEATHERBOAS

[dicentra_spectabilis_alba]

No: HPFGUIDX 36812

Many apologies to those who have already seen this message on digests
and e-mail and such, but it never showed up on Webview. I found it in
the pending posts so I am reposting it.

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: dicentra_spectabilis_alba 
  To: HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002
9:08 AM
  Subject: [HPforGrownups] Re: Odd parallels and FEATHERBOAS


  --- In HPforGrownups at y..., "cindysphynx" <cindysphynx at c...> wrote:
  > David wrote:
  > > >As I remember 
  > > it, Snape believed that Lupin was helping (the escaped criminal) 
  > > Black, and was following with the aim chiefly of catching Black and 
  > > secondarily of proving Lupin's guilt.  It wasn't about getting 
  > >Lupin 
  > > fired at that point.
  > > Amanda agreed:
  > > >And regardless of his primary motivation
  > > (to catch Sirius and prove Lupin's complicity), Snape was *also* 
  > >trying to
  > > get (at the very least) Harry out of the situation. 
  > Cindy ponders:

  > Hmmm.  This is kind of interesting to ponder.
  > > The sequence of events is that Snape, knowing that Lupin has failed 
  > to take his potion and is going to transform, goes to Lupin's office 
  > with the potion.  At this point, Snape's motives are clear -- he is 
  > trying to prevent Lupin from transforming ["into a into a
  hideous, snarling, dangerous, wizard-killing, fully-formed werewolf"].  
  > > What doesn't make sense to me is why Snape leaves the castle at all 
  > if he's not going to bring the potion?  Snape doesn't know there is a 
  > cloak available, he doesn't know the trio is out at night, he doesn't 
  > know about Black.  Snape has to believe Lupin is going to the Shack 
  > to transform because there's no foundation at all for Snape to 
  > believe anything else.  

  Dicentra interjects:
  Unless he put two and two together as only Snape can.

  Cindy continues:
  Indeed, if Snape believes Black is in the 
  > Shack, then one would think he'd let Black and Lupin have a little 
  > reunion there in the Shack so Black can be torn to ribbons by a 
  > werewolf.  I think Snape would gladly trade Order of Merlin for that 
  > scenario.
  > > I've managed to thoroughly confuse myself, I think.  I don't see
why 
  > Snape would risk tangling with a werewolf to apprehend a criminal 
  > Snape has no reason to believe is even in the Shack.  I think I've 
  > talked myself into believing that there's no basis to think that 
  > Snape leaves the castle to apprehend Black or save the Trio or 
  > prevent Lupin from transforming.  This whole scene is starting to 
  > feel kind of FLINT-y to me now.
  > > Tough Dicentra wrote:
  > > >I had always assumed that he put the cloak on for
  > > eavesdropping purposes, but at the mouth of the Whomping Willow, he
  > > didn't know there was anything to eavesdrop on (although he may have
  > > thought Lupin was going to meet Sirius).  He must have been afraid 
  > of
  > > running into a werewolf again and therefore went into the situation
  > > invisible.  Saved by James again, Severus. What do you think about
  > > that, ya oily git?
  > > As much as I bow down to you because of your enthusiastic insults 
  > toward Snape, I'm not sure I'm on board here.

  Dicentra waves a white flag:

  All right already! I give! Uncle! Uncle! Snape wouldn't put on the
  cloak to protect himself from a werewolf because the werewolf would be
  able to smell him and also he's a fully formed wizard capable of
  tangling with such a beast and upon finding the cloak he would deduce
  that Harry was involved (he always knows Harry's involved) and so
  maybe he went to the shack not to save Harry but to get him expelled.
  AND get Lupin fired. AND apprehend Sirius. *sigh* It's just that the
  idea of the cloak-as-James's-proxy saving Snape was too good to pass
  up, even if it is so easily refuted.

  Who knows?  The scene is a bit FLINT-y, but I think JKR is relying on
  the already established convention that Snape Turns Up At The Worst
  Possible Time.  From Harry's perspective, that is.  Snape's only
  motive may be... well... that he's Snape, and that's what Snape does.   
  > Cindy attempts to save Dicentra's bacon:

  > So maybe the relevant parallel is that Snape is fulfilling the James 
  > role and is preparing to pull Harry out of the tunnel so Harry 
  > doesn't meet a fully-grown werewolf.  Oooh, would that erase Snape's 
  > life debt to James?  Yes, I like this bit because then Snape's motive 
  > isn't *really* to save Harry's life.  Snape's motives instead are 
  > self-serving -- he wants to get the Life-Debt-To-James monkey off of 
  > his back.  Snape as self-serving is good, very good.
  > Dicentra breathes a sigh of relief:

  THERE we go!  Parallel.  Now the universe makes sense again.

  > Dicentra again, in the distant past:
  > > >We don't really know why Sirius hates Snape so
  > > much, nor do we know what provoked him into sending Snape down the
  > > tunnel in the first place.

  Cindy jumps up and down, waving her arms:  
  > > Trapezoid!  Florence!  Trapezoid!  Florence!
  > Dicentra again, in the past:
  > > > And I'm not necessarily talking about CUPID'S BLUDGER or any of 
  > those
  > > other Cock-Eyed Yet Entertaining theories.  
  > Cindy innocently asks: 

  Cock-Eyed?  You mean Cock-Eyed in the sense of being completely canon-
  > based and spot-on?

  Dicentra innocently responds:

  Yes, that's exactly what I meant.
  > > Dicentra in the past (on the Dumbledore/McGonagall/Snape trio):
  > > >Could that mean that Ron will indeed go bad then come back as
  > > a spy, unbeknownst to us, the anguishing readers?
  > > > > Nah.  It means that Snape and Ron will both die.  And FWIW,
I think 
  > Ron will pre-decease Snape.  Sorry.
  > > ************
  > > Eileen wrote:
  > > > But, bloody ambush appreciation can co-exist with SYCOPHANTism. 
  > It's 
  > > the Avery thing again. Avery who is both sickened and attracted by 
  > > violence. 
  > > > Sure, FEATHERBOAS can co-exist with SYCOPHANTism.  Just barely, 
  > perhaps.  But I must admit I have no idea how one can wear a 
  > FEATHERBOA and have this pity for evil underlings thing going on.  
  > > I mean, in our many ambush scenarios, people are getting *killed*.  
  > Wilkes dies (although not in an ambush because Elkins said I couldn't 
  > kill him in an ambush).  Rosier dies.  They probaby had a lot to live 
  > for, too, and they valued their own evil little lives as much as 
  > Pettigrew values his.  Yet Rosier died at the hands of Moody, and 
  > Eileen and Elkins are bouncing on the sofa.  What's the difference 
  > between Pettigrew and Rosier?  And if you're mourning Rosier, why did 
  > you rejoice in his ambush in the first place?   Hmmmmm?
  > > Cindy (who doesn't know why she is challenging Elkins and Eileen 
  > about their FEATHERBOA credentials because if they both surrender 
  > their credentials, she will be a rather lonely FEATHERBOA)

  Dicentra reminds Cindy of something:

  I seem to recall being offered a key-lime-green FEATHERBOA.  Did I
  refuse it? No! I might be curled up in the fetal position on the deck
  of the Fourth Man hovercraft, but I'm really not such bad company if
  you don't mind conversing while lying on your stomach.

  --Dicentra, whose RL hovercraft trip from Calais to Dover nearly made
  her hurl