TBAY: Assassin!Snape Meets Saboteur!Snape (WAS Saboteur!Snape's Next Mission)

Thu Nov 21 00:15:48 UTC 2002

No: HPFGUIDX 46878

Charis Julia was just getting comfortable on her bar stool. Her head 
buried deeply in the folds of her folded coat up on the bar, she had 
just reached that, mmmm, oh, so very, very snug and cosy stage when 
you are just barely aware that you are now falling asleep. . . 

Mmmmm . . . SLAM!

Charis leapt up with a start. Captain Cindy was blurrily standing 
before her hands on her waist tapping one foot impatiently. "Oh, 
no. . ." thought Charis groggily. "Cindy's back for more. Did it have 
to be * now*?" She dimly thought about trying to get away, but no, 
Charis sighed looking up at the Captain. That wouldn't work. Cindy 
looked resolute. As if she had arguments. Oh, groan. . . 

Cindy got going:

>"The problem with Saboteur!Snape is one of 
>logic, not one of Banginess. 
>
>"In the face of that Big set-up, we're to imagine that Snape is 
>going to Azkaban, will toss off a Patronus to make the Dementors 
>glide away and then –- what? Sit there, commanding the DE prisoners 
>to dig holes and fill them back up again? Tell the inmates to stop 
>making so darn much noise banging their tin cups against the bars? 
>Arrange conjugal visits for the Lestranges?

Cindy swirled round on her bar stool to face Charis with the aim of 
pushing her point through further with a bit of very poignant finger—
jamming on the counter, but stopped however mid—swivel when she 
finally notices the look on the other's face. 

And no, it wasn't one of drooping drowsiness. It was one of shock.

Charis could scarcely speak. And after all it is a generally very 
hard thing to do so when your chin is trailing loosely on the counter 
before you.

"Toss -- off -- a -- Patronus," she finally managed in a scarcely 
audible croak. "* A* Patronus!" she spluttered. "Make the Dementors 
glide away . . . just . . . just like that?! Just. .  just snap his 
fingers and Azkaban is his, is, is * that* what you've been imagining 
I'm suggesting! Oh, * boy* have you got it wrong, honey!" Charis was 
definitely beginning to regain full control of all her articulation 
functions at least. But, then, just as she was about to charge forth 
into a full—blown rant, Charis stopped, thought the better of it and 
turned calmly back to her drink. 

"Cindy, I'm not even going to bother getting excited over this point. 
The answer is too self evident to warrant the fuss. Now, look, let me 
point out a few things that might help you get the picture. I don't 
actually have my copy of PoA with me right now (lent it to the same 
friend who currently raptly caught up in my GoF), but my French 
version of the book when describing the lost Quidditch match says 
that the Dementors that flooded the field came up to about "une 
centaine". Charis shook her head solemnly "In other words, we are 
talking about almost one hundred Dementors present." 

"Now that's a lot of Dementors and these are only the ones situated 
at Hogwarts --- how many others were sent to other parts of the 
country in the search for Black? As for Azkaban --- well, if it can 
spare one hundred guards to place at one sole location like that, I 
don't even want to think about the numbers that must be swarming 
around that tiny rock of an island! Why the place must be seething 
with them! Not, I'm sure" Charis emphasised this with a meaningful 
look, "not an easy obstacle to hurdle."
"Besides," she continued in a lighter tone, "I don't have much faith 
in Snape's Patronus calling abilities. He's not, you know, a very 
happy man."

"And all this brings us to one more issue brought up by various 
bright list—members."

Acire wrote:

>Yes, exactly, he sends Snape off *right* *after* the events of GoF 
>have occured. And he's back by the Leaving Feast. Whatever he did 
>had to be fast, and probably nearby, as wizards cannot Apparate that 
>far, and maybe not even Bangy enough to not have been noticed by the 
>rest of the Wizarding World. There is a month between the third task 
>and the end of the school year. However, there is not mention of 
>Snape not being at Potions lessons or the lessons being cancelled, 
>and no mention of anything huge happening, like Dementors being 
>kicked out of Azkaban.

"Honey, hold on! What's the rush? Calm down, pace yourself, there, 
there, take deep breaths. . . First of all are you really sure that 
there was a whole month between the Third Task and the end—of—year 
feast? I know Harry says he couldn't remember much even a month 
later, which is a bit misleading, but after that I'm pretty sure we 
are returned back to the days just after the Task. Check H—R—H's 
visit to Hagrid which takes place on * the* Thursday as opposed to * 
a* Thursday. The Lexicon also confirms this timeline as you can see 
here:

http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/calendar_gf.html

"And, no, to get to the essence of your objection, I did not mean to 
imply that Snape hurries off to Azkaban and blows all the prisoners 
out right there and then. I realise it did rather come out that way, 
didn't it? But what I think would be far more likely would a rather 
more time—consuming expedition. After all, you see, breaking into 
impregnable wizarding forts is no piece of pumpkin cake. These things 
take planning. I don't think Snape set off immediately to kick the 
Dementors out. Rather what I would suggest is that Dumbledore 
authorised him to * prepare* such a mission, so that when the time 
was ripe he could set it into effect at once. That is also, by the 
way, why nobody has noticed the world –shattering event of Dementor 
expulsion: It hasn't taken place yet."

Acire again:

>Ah, but here's where I have the problem! Dumbledore DOESN'T send 
>Hagrid off right away. Hagrid doesn't leave until after the school 
>year has ended. Snape leaves right away.

Charis blinks blankly. "But, that was exactly my point! The Snape 
business is one of the few Dumbledore attends to before he sees 
Hagrid and M. Maxime. Just like the ridding of Azkaban of the 
Dementors is the one thing he advised Fudge to do before he turned to 
the Giants."

Charis Julia, who will have to put off really getting down to this 
whole very interesting discussion till tomorrow, `cos right now, 
she's beat.

*       *       *

Hypothetic Alley:

http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/faq/hypotheticalley.html

Inish Alley:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/database?
method=reportRows&tbl=13