Snape's part in death of Sirius

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 107855

   
> Potioncat:
> This could be a fun, meaty thread to debate, but I do have one
> major question. With all the errors we've made with Mark Evans and
> the HBP: Is it your thought that JKR is showing us that Snape
> delayed looking for Harry?
> 
> Neri:
> Do you mean that it wasn't her intension and she didn't do the 
math 
> of the timeline from everybody's point of view? Could be, but IMO 
> this fits well with the pattern of Snape's carelessness and 
> irresponsibility regarding Harry during the Occlumency lessons and 
> especially after he stopped the lessons.
> 


Potioncat:
First a disclaimer:  I'm worse with numbers and time details than 
JKR is.

One flaw I see in your timelines (both very good, but I snipped for 
space) is that some of the events overlap.  The other is that we 
don't know how long the trip to London took.  The train takes hours, 
but Harry is thinking that he is going faster than he ever has 
before.

The battle between the DA and DEs does not seem to last very long, 
but I couldn't begin to guess how long it actually is.  Then the 
Order shows up and it continues for a while.  Then DD sends Harry to 
Hogwarts and Harry watches the dawn. How long is a night in Hogwarts 
in June?

If we assume it only took the Order a short time to get to the MoM 
and find the battle (half an hour?) We could assume that was when 
Snape contacted them a second time. (That is, about 30 mins before 
they showed up.)


Even if the fight in her office had made noise, who would have 
noticed or cared? I would think the castle was pretty noisy by this 
time. Students  had been warned away from the area near her office.  
Most wouldn't care if something happened to her and might "overlook" 
the sound if they did hear it.

Snape finds out Black is safe.  He presumes Harry is with Umbridge.  
Harry once did detention with her from supper until midnight. When 
would Snape miss his students?  If he spends as much time in the 
Slytherin common room, as McGonagall does in the Gryffindor common 
room, then he wouldn't know about his students until they worked 
themselves free and came for help.

At that point (whenever that is) he finds out they left the castle.  
I still don't think he has any reason to think that Harry could get 
to the MoM.  Or perhaps this is the point that he contacts the 
Order, because he finds out that Umbridge and Harry left a "long 
time" ago.  He starts searching the Forest after he contacts the 
Order.

But still, I ask, does anything in canon indicate that Snape was 
delaying in JKR's mind?  If he was, then I would think it will come 
up in Book 6 or 7.  But this reminds me of SS/PS.  I once asked 
where Snape was while the Trio were working their way through the 
Tasks. Someone worked out an explanation.  And, for the kids to be 
the heroes, they have to be able to pull things over on the adults.
Potioncat